Hillary Clinton made history Tuesday by becoming the first female presidential candidate from a major political party to head to the convention as presumptive nominee.
Clinton now has enough pledged delegates in place to claim the nomination on a first-round vote at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia in July, and declared victory over Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont on Tuesday night after primary victories in New Jersey and New Mexico affirmed her delegate count.
Some Akron-area women were thrilled at the possibility of a woman leading the country for the first time in its history. Others said they weren’t inclined to support her, and one professor talked about the double standards women face in politics.
“I literally got goose bumps watching her speech Tuesday night,” said Summit County Council President Ilene Shapiro. “It gave me a sense of history and a sense of how vital our nation is — ever-evolving in a positive way to move our community forward — and a flashback of all the years of struggling for all kinds of people to be recognized as equal.”
Stow Mayor Sara Kline said it was exciting for women and girls everywhere, whether or not Clinton is the person for whom they will be voting.
“I think that it truly does offer an image and sense of possibility to girls and young women across the country that they’ve never had the opportunity to see before. I’ve never had the opportunity to see it before, and I’m in my mid-40s.”
Breaking glass ceiling
Former Akron Deputy Mayor Dorothy Jackson said Clinton definitely has her vote.
“Some people just don’t want women in those high-powered positions,” Jackson said. “I have friends who think like that and say, ‘Women shouldn’t have that job, that’s a man’s job.’ Well, it’s not a man’s job. It’s the most qualified person’s job, and she’s certainly more qualified than Donald Trump.”
Marilyn Keith, the first woman president of Akron City Council, called Clinton’s candidacy a “landmark event.”
“I’m delighted. I find it astonishing that we got the right to vote nearly 100 years ago and it has taken this long to get to this point,” said Keith, who talked about a teary-eyed Clinton giving her speech. “When you campaign for as long as she has and you’re in the public eye for the years that she has been, it’s truly monumental.”
Ophelia Averitt, former Akron NAACP president, said she cried watching Clinton’s speech Tuesday night and recalled another female candidate in 1972 when Democratic Rep. Shirley Chisholm of New York was the first black woman to run for president for a major political party.
“She [Chisholm] told me that she knew she was stepping into deep water and would drown if she tried any harder, but she said she wanted to make a statement that when she was gone, she would be known as someone who tried to make a difference. And now another glass ceiling has been broken.”
Averitt said as a woman candidate, Clinton has taken a lot of heat.
“She has been through so much. She has been so picked apart and has admitted she would have done some things differently and has really stepped up to the plate,” Averitt said.
Jackie DeBose, a staunch Clinton supporter going back to her 2008 presidential bid, said she was moved by the candidate’s support for Barack Obama once that contest had been decided.
In February, DeBose and three other retirees drove to South Carolina to assist the Clinton campaign. DeBose said the state was too important for the candidate to lose; Clinton won that with 73 percent of the vote.
“Hillary is now on the brink of becoming the first woman president,” DeBose said. “The only concern I have is whether Bernie Sanders will be as gracious and smart as Hillary was in 2008 when she had to face the fact that she was not going to be the Democratic nominee for president.”
Equal playing field
There are women who aren’t celebrating the milestone, though.
Walking through downtown Akron with a friend on her lunch break, Billie Casey said she’s “not opposed to a female president, just not [Clinton].”
“I think it’s more of a trust issue for me,” said the local woman, who grabbed a Republican primary ballot in March and isn’t a fan of either Donald Trump, the presumptive GOP nominee, or Clinton. “I don’t even like to hear her talk.”
Christina Babus said her lukewarm feelings about Clinton’s win had more to do with policy than gender.
“I think it’s good that she’s a woman,” said Babus, 23, a child development and psychology major at the University of Akron. She said Sanders would do more to build on the social justice initiatives pushed by Obama, much to the dismay of conservatives supporting Trump.
In her circle of millennial friends, support had split for Sanders and Clinton based on electability, addressing student loan debt, banking regulations, gun control and other issues pressed by the two liberal candidates. At home and among minorities, however, the split has been more defined by age.
Her mother, for example, didn’t flinch when Clinton’s email scandal surfaced. That was telling, Babus said of older generations — whether female or minority, they are more likely to be unwavering in their support of a woman while young voters Babus prefer “an equal playing field for all.”
Major opportunity
Danielle Coombs, a political and sports author who teaches communications and journalism at Kent State, has a dual perspective on Clinton’s victory.
“First as a woman and a daughter and a mother, this is huge,” said Coombs, who has two little girls.
“As a scholar,” she continued, setting aside her emotion, “this is a major opportunity. What’s really getting nice coverage is how women have to run campaigns differently than men.”
There’s a double standard, Coombs said, and gender will factor into the race.
“ ‘You have to smile more. Don’t be shrill. You’re yelling,’ ” Coombs said, summarizing the rants of critics who’ve called out Clinton for her tone, finger-pointing and her outfits. “Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump can go out and yell, and it’s not a problem.”
Marilyn Miller can be reached at 330-996-3098 or mmiller@thebeaconjournal.com. Doug Livingston can be reached at 330-996-3792 or dlivingston@thebeaconjournal.com