By Kathy Groob, Publisher ElectWomen Magazine

112 women are serving as mayors of cities in the United States with a population of over 50,000.  Hundreds more are serving as mayors of smaller cities throughout the U.S.  As of January 2009, of the 246 mayors of the largest cities with populations over 100,000, 14.6% are women including five African Americans and one Latina.

The U.S. Conference of Mayors women’s caucus, headed by Bowling Green Kentucky Mayor Elaine Walker, is focused on positioning those female mayors leaders among their peers.  “We have a two-fold agenda – to promote women within our organization, to apply for committee chair and leadership positions, and to encourage women to seek positions on the Board of Trustees,” said Mayor Elaine Walker.

“It is critically important for women to run for and assume these leadership positions,” said Walker.  “When you look at the way women govern, it tends to be a different type of leadership approach. Women try to bring people together to solve problems and work through solutions.”

The U.S. Conference of Mayors Women’s Caucus is part of the intense lobbying effort of the overall U.S. Conference of Mayors.  “It’s critical to be involved in this national organization, both to find out how other mayors deal with similar city issues and to join forces to help get legislation passed for our cities,” said Mayor Walker.  “We’ve helped secure community block grant funding and stimulus funding.”

Elaine Walker assumed her position as Mayor of the City of Bowling Green Kentucky on January 1, 2005.  She is the third woman to serve a mayor of Bowling Green, the four largest city in Kentucky and home to Western Kentucky University. 

Three women are vying to become their next cities’ mayors by winning elections this year.  Annise Parker is running for mayor of the nation’s fourth largest city, Houston.  Lisa Borders is running for mayor of Atlanta and Stephanie Miner is running for the mayor of Syracuse. 

For more information about the U.S. Conference of Mayors, visit : http://usmayors.org/

_________________________________________

[1] Courtsey of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, Women’s Caucus

[2] Courtsey of Center for American Women and Politics, Rutgers University (CAWP)