THE FRONT Q&A
QUEENMAKER A Q&A WITH EMERGE ARKANSAS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR STEPHANNIE LANE BAKER.
Ladies, you better run. Emerge Arkansas Executive Director Stephannie Lane Baker is coming for you. Baker swooped across the state this summer, logging 1,000 miles to drum up new recruits and spread her message: If you’re a Democratic woman with your eye on public office, there’s a team in place ready to help you win. A single mom of two, Baker used to spend her free time helping women run for office. She took the helm of Emerge in December 2021 so she can do it full time. What is Emerge Arkansas? Emerge is an organization that recruits, trains and supports Democratic women running for office at all levels. Emerge is a national organization with chapters in over 20 states. Our candidates get the support of a national team of trainers, communications professionals and consultants. And since I’m here, you also get that person who’s working on the ground in Arkansas.
trainers. The third and most important thing, what I love most about our training, is that it creates a network of women we can rely on for practical help or encouragement. How do you pay for all this? We rely on donations from our supporters. Part of my job as executive director is to fundraise. For folks who share our mission, I offer the opportunity to invest in that mission.
BOOK RECOMMENDATION:
“Burn the Page” by Danica Roem, executive director of Emerge Virginia. SELF-CARE PLAN: When we
don’t have such ridiculously high COVID numbers I host a ladies night at my house once or twice a month. We hang out, have snacks, float in the pool. It’s just a space to connect. I also spend a lot of time cuddling with my kids.
Being a Democrat and a woman in Arkansas feels pretty tough right now. How do you keep your chin up? I think there are people in power who are trying to limit the rights of everyone else. But I see women who have power in their communities, who are respected in their communities. We are seeing trends of Democratic women doing better. I have to keep hopeful. We have two choices in the face of this unprecedented time. We can give up, or we can keep going. I don’t think giving up is a viable option in Arkansas right now. Every woman I met is energized and ready to do this work. They’re not going to stop. People who believe in common sense and decency will be the majority eventually. The best way I can see to achieve that is to recruit women, encourage them to run and give them the best tools possible to run their campaigns.
Tell us about your road trip. I just did over 1,000 miles across Arkansas spreading the word about Emerge, PAWPAC [Progressive Arkansas Women PAC] and AFDW [the Arkansas Federation of Democratic POLITICAL ASPIRATIONS: None Women]. It was my Win With Women Summer for me, but I really, really love Roadtrip Adventure. I wanted to physically go helping the women around me to other areas of the state and have events to run. let people know, hey, we exist, this is what we What are the issues energizing Arkansas do. PAWPAC exists, this is what they do. AFDW women right now? exists, this is what they do. Obviously the overturning of Roe has been We started out in Fort Smith, then went to Texarkana, El Dorado, Lake extremely energizing. When we ask people what’s important to them, Village, Pine Bluff, Helena and Jonesboro, then ended with a celebration we’re hearing reproductive rights, contraception, marriage equality. in Little Rock. In some cities we had four people show up, in some we People are fired up! I think people underestimated what SCOTUS had 30. In each city we had really meaningful conversations about would do and are feeling let down. We need to focus on the local again recruiting, about government, about difficulties of running a campaign, because now this is a battle at the state level. The other thing I’m especially in smaller rural areas. In every city there was enthusiasm and hearing about is climate. We’re seeing fires, we’re seeing droughts, energy and excitement that these resources exist. we’re seeing mudslides. People can look at that information and feel overwhelmed, or they can decide to take action. What kind of resources are you talking about? We’ve already completed training for this year. In election years we Would we be better off with more women in office? do bootcamp training, which is an attenuated version of the longer We live in a representative democracy that is not representative of the trainings we do in other years but covers the same topics. Class size is people it is serving. Women are more than half the population but make limited to make sure everyone gets enough focus and attention. We had up only a quarter of the Arkansas legislature. That is not representative. 24 applicants. I was told I could take seven, but finally got up to 11. The And data tells us that women tend to be better representatives. virtual training is 30 hours over one week. When they’re elected, there tends to be more transparency, more What we try to deliver to them first and foremost is the understanding communication, they literally bring home more dollars to their home of the nuts and bolts of how to run a campaign: how to craft your story, districts. They are more collaborative, they introduce more legislation how to create a story of self, how to create a budget, how to fundraise and get more legislation passed. for that budget. Secondly, candidates get these connections to expert —Austin Bailey ARKTIMES.COM
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