About 20 people gathered in front of Kalamazoo City Hall Monday evening to say they want to see more women in elected office. In particular, they said, they want to see more women serve on the Kalamazoo City Commission. The only female incumbent, Barb Miller, is not running again.
"We could have the first Kalamazoo City Commission with no women on it since 1964. And that – it’s crazy that that’s even possible," says attendee Jodi Michaels.
Four women are running for city commission this November. Two of them, Erin Knott and Shannon Sykes, spoke at the event Tuesday evening. Both are endorsed by the group that organized it, the Progressive Women’s Network of Kalamazoo.
Margy Belchak also attended the rally. She says the commission should reflect the people it serves.
"We need people of color on the commission. We need LGBT folks on the commission. And women, obviously. Important that we have actual representation of all the voices in Kalamazoo. And we live in a very diverse and vibrant community," she says.
