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The unmistakable trend in the Indiana Senate is the rapid rise to power of females, a development that began in 2006. In what used to be the ultimate boy’s club, there are now seven female senators in leadership positions, topped off by Lt. Gov. Beck Skillman (upper left) who presides over the Senate during session days. She also has the constitutional ability to break ties. Senate Minority Leader Vi Simpson (upper right with Senate President Pro Tempore David Long on Monday) became the first female caucus head in Indiana General Assembly history. Last week, Simpson appointed Sen. Earline Rogers of Gary (from lower left) as whip, Sen. Connie Sipes of New Albany as caucus chair, and Jean Breaux of Indianapolis as assistant caucus chair. They join Republican Majority Floor Leader Connie Lawson of Danville, Assistant President Pro Tempore Sue Landske of Cedar Lake and Assistant Majority Floor Leader Teresa Lubbers of Indianapolis who joined the leadership team of President Long in 2006. After President Robert Garton was defeated in the May 2006 Republican primary, it was a block of Republican women who threw their support behind Long and essentially clinched the top Senate job for the Fort Wayne Republican. He subsequently opened the gates to leadership for women. Simpson of Ellettsville was able to wrest the Senate Minority Leader post away from Sen. Richard Young last month. It came in a year when Hoosiers nominated Jill Long Thompson as its first major party gubernatorial nominee while U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton became the first woman to win the Indiana presidential primary. In 2003, Lt. Gov. Kathy Davis became the first female in state history to hold an executive branch office. The Senate convenes into its Organization Day session at 1:30 today. (HPI and Indiana Senate Photos)
Tags: Becky Skillman, Connie Lawson, Connie Sipes, Earline Rogers, Jean Breaux, Sue Landske, Teresa Lubbers, Vi Simpson
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This entry was written by and posted on November 18, 2008 at 11:24 am and filed under HPI Weekly. Bookmark the permalink. Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post.
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