50/50 Campaigns Goals Are 100%

East Hartford realizes a more equitable democracy through programming

The goal of realizing a more equitable democracy is spreading. Towns and cities are realizing the need for increased racial and gender representation in their ranks in order to create a more equitable democracy. In a new initiative, East Hartford is partnering with the Hartford Region YWCA on a 50/50 Campaign to increase civic participation amongst marginalized communities.

The 50/50 Campaign was spearheaded by the YWCA Hartford Region as “an initiative to promote gender equity and racial diversity on municipal boards and commissions.”

They provide education for community members and encourage them to “participate in the decision-making process, and help improve the quality of life for women, those who identify as women, children, and people of color.”

The 50/50 name stems from their efforts to focus 50% on working with municipalities to reform policies, processes and practices to make them more equitable, and 50% on the community to ensure their voices are heard.

Currently, they are piloting this program with the City of Hartford, the Town of Bloomfield, and the Town of East Hartford.

In a public notice about the program, East Hartford encouraged folks to apply for several positions in town. These included Board vacancies on Planning and Zoning, Economic Development, Inland-Wetlands, Commission on Service for People with Disabilities, and Commission on Culture on Fine Arts. They created a very brief infographic – just six easy steps – to become a board member.

The 50/50 Campaign was in part devised as an answer to the passage of Public Act No. 21-49, that itself responded to the Secretary of the State’s Report on Gender and Racial Composition of Connecticut State Boards and Commissions in mid-2020.

CCM believes deeply in this mission. In that same year, CCM began its CCM CARES series which raised the voices of local officials of color. In turn, we partnered with the Campaign School at Yale University for Representation Matters. It is in its third year, helping hundreds of interested folks learn the ins and outs of running for office or serving on boards or commissions.

This is one of the most crucial projects in Connecticut and the country right now. The 50/50 Campaign quotes the late Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm, the first African American woman elected to congress, “If they don’t give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair.”

It is about time that we started making the table bigger and more inclusive and stopped making people bring their folding chairs. Thanks to efforts like the 50/50 Campaign and its pilot partners, there’s more people than ever working to make that table as inclusive as ever.