More women are running for and winning elected office in the Tri-State. Hamilton County specifically has the most women in elected offices than any other of Ohio's 88 counties, with women holding seats in 8 of 11 offices. Women also make up half of the judicial seats in the county.
WVXU is bringing some of them together for conversations about public service across the political spectrum in our Women In Government series. First up are Cincinnati Council Member Liz Keating and Hamilton County Commissioner Denise Driehaus.
Keating was first appointed to Cincinnati Council in December 2020, filling the seat of then-suspended council member P.G. Sittenfeld. She ran in 2021 to keep the seat, coming in ninth as the only Republican on Council. She is one of four women currently serving on City Council, the most at one time in the city's history.
Driehaus became the first woman elected to the Hamilton County Board of Commissioners in 2016; the subsequent elections of Stephanie Summerow-Dumas and Alicia Reece mean the board is made up entirely of women for the first time. Prior to joining the Board of Commissioners, Driehaus served four terms in the Ohio House of Representatives.
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Here, Keating and Driehaus talk about learning bipartisanship, the perspectives women bring to the table and more. We started out by asking what inspired each to go into politics.
This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
DENISE DRIEHAUS: I'm delighted to be here with Liz Keating — Liz and I have known each other for a number of years.
I was inspired to go into politics because I wanted to lift the voice of the people in this community. I had done quite a bit in previous iterations of my life as a member of the PTA, and I was on parish council and I was a member of the Cincinnati Recreation Commission, so serving the community in those ways, but then had the opportunity to become a state representative and represent people in my district, which was good fun. I did it for eight years, and now as a county commissioner, I just feel like these are all extensions of the work that I've been doing for a number of years — as a mom, as a member of our community, as somebody that wants to give back and really provide a voice to the community.
LIZ KEATING: What inspired me to go into politics (is) I grew up with a grandfather who was in politics and who was in journalism, and so much of my childhood was listening to stories and understanding how different events going on in the community impacted everyone as a whole. My grandfather (and) my father made it their mission to every time they volunteered with an organization, they took one of their kids or their grandkids with them. I got to see so many different aspects of our community and learn different ways that we could make an impact long term. I got involved with different organizations, from the military and children's literacy programs and sports and adaptive athletes, and always being engaged. Then I was inspired to study politics when I went to UCLA, and then later on in life, I always wanted to go into policy, and eventually a door opened, and I went for it.
DRIEHAUS: That's great. Liz, from my understanding, you're one of five children. I'm one of eight children. We're both middle children, and so I feel like you and I have a lot in common. We sit on opposite sides of the aisle, but I really don't think it matters. I loved hearing that explanation about your background.
KEATING: Thank you. I was going to ask you, because you are known for your bipartisan work and you come from a big family — and for me, I was one of five kids (so) I learned how to get along with everybody and all different points of view all the time, just living in a household with so many different opinions — I was curious how being one of eight impacted your ability to get along with everybody and understand all sides?
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DRIEHAUS: Absolutely, you have to get along or you get left behind. I also like to tell people when I'm in a large room without a microphone, I can speak loudly because I'm one of eight kids — you had to do that in order to be heard, so I think it did play into my approach. The other thing that has been important to me, as I think through it, I grew up in an area where there was a lot of Republican voices and Democratic voices in my life, and so I was taught to listen to all voices and then try to understand different perspectives. I wonder if you have that same kind of experience, not only because of your family background, but because of your life experience?
KEATING: When I was a kid, my grandfather would get many different newspapers every single day, and we would all sit around his kitchen table and he'd have us read the same story, but in a different newspaper. We had to see the different perspectives of one story written from different journalists, and then we had to come to him and (bring) as part of the conversation, our opinion on it. We couldn't just take an opinion on a story because he took an opinion or my dad took an opinion or somebody else, we had to have a reason. He taught us how to have a voice but also to understand and evaluate all different sides. I think also growing up with the Republicans around and then studying political science out at UCLA, a very liberal campus, that gives me a lot of balance.
DRIEHAUS: Yeah, and it's so important in our work to be balanced; to not vilify people that don't agree with us, but rather say, "Oh, that's a really different perspective. Let me think about that and let me try to understand it and approach you with that common understanding of where we're both coming from."
KEATING: We're in this world (where) government leaders for so long have been (and) so many positions (have been) held by men. We're in 2023, and we see so many prominent roles now being filled by women, we also need to recognize that us, as women in this role, part of our job is to fill that pipeline of who's going to come after us, but also do a good job today so that we set those who come after us up for success. You started the (Commission on Women and Girls) in your role as county commissioner, and I wanted to understand a little bit more about why you thought that was so important, and the impact that you think it is making today and for generations to come?
DRIEHAUS: Thanks for the question. We have more women elected in Hamilton County than any other county in the state right now. Many of the executive offices are held by women, and 50% of the judges are women, so we have come a long way. But when I started in 2017, that wasn't the case. As I was on the (campaign) trail, women and girls really did want to be heard, they wanted their voices to be lifted, and so I started this commission. It's 20 women and 10 high school girls, and we work on issues that they have defined as priorities. This commission has been able to build girls to think of themselves as leaders. It's really been interesting because it was intended to do that, kind of, it's been a nice byproduct. We're trying to remind girls that they can be leaders in this space, whether it's in politics, or anything else. Their viewpoints are important; their voices are important. It's just been a real thrill to meet all the girls, meet all the women, and kind of lift the voice of them and the ideas they brought to the county commissioners.
I wanted to ask you a question. When you took your seat on City Council, you were (and) you are a young mom — you were even a younger mom then with very young children — and it's hard to balance the work with the home life. How has that worked for you, and how could we systematically make things a little bit easier for young moms to participate as being elected officials?
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KEATING: When I was first appointed to council, I had a one-year-old and a baby that was just a few weeks old. I was new in motherhood myself, and then getting into this new role, I didn't realize how important it was to have a voice of a mother on council and government making policy decisions. It also really opened my eyes to truly understand that this world was not set up for two working parents or single parents. This world wasn't really set up for working mothers, and understanding and being able to help bring that lens to different policy discussions, even things (like) setting up how government functions. We didn't even have a mother's room in City Hall and I needed a place — we had four-hour long budget hearings — and I needed to be able to leave to be able to pump to be able to feed my baby. The (former) city manager, Paula Boggs Muething, created a mother's room, which is still there today. Now, women who work for the city of Cincinnati have a place after coming back to work after having a child. (I'm) also looking at things and I've had discussions with our reps in the statehouse, being able to have virtual options, too, so when I have to leave to pump or a mother has to go pick up a sick child, they can still participate and vote, but do it virtually. There was an evening that I spent overnight at Children's Hospital with a sick baby and I was not able to participate in committee meetings because I didn't have the virtual option. (It's about) understanding those little changes that we can make to allow mothers to still be mothers and do their public duties and create more access and allow more women to get engaged because that voice is so important and it's been missing for so long.
DRIEHAUS: I agree. I often get asked what difference does it make that there are women at the table? I'm working on something right now with the Commission on Women and Girls related to period products in schools. I suspect — well, I know — that no men have offered this kind of legislation in the past, because I think there may not be a clear understanding of how important it is to have free access to period products for girls — it's from 5th grade to 12th grade in schools — and not to stigmatize having your period. A lot of the men I've spoken to said, "Well, can't you go to the nurse's office to get period products?" I'm like, "Yeah, but they're not sick." Right? Why do they have to go to the nurse's office? I describe it, as the girls have described to me, why isn't it treated like toilet paper? It's something that girls need once a month, and it should be treated as a regular bodily function and the product should be available in the bathroom. It's so simple to them. It's been so interesting because I think a male-dominated legislature is maybe not going to think through even bringing that issue forward. It does take women listening to women and girls to say, "Oh, this is something that should be addressed." It's a health issue. It's a safety issue. It's an education issue. We're trying to get that thing passed; I am talking to a lot of men about it.
I do think it's important to have women at the table and to make these roles available and accessible, as you say, so that when something does come up, you're not seen as "Oh, you can't participate; you're kind of the weak link," but rather, "What you're doing is important and the value you bring because of your experience is so important."
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KEATING: And (to) set up women who come after for success in the future. We can pave the way and create those opportunities and open the door and give them access.
DRIEHAUS: That's right.
KEATING: It's so important, so thank you so much for the work that you've done. You've led the way, you've inspired me. I'm really excited because I think, together, all these girls that are coming up behind us are going to have better opportunities because (of) women like you inspiring women like me and the next generation,
DRIEHAUS: That was way too gracious. I really respect what you do. I am so thankful that you're on City Council. Thank you for what you're doing and showing young moms that you can participate in the elected official role and do it in a really significant and smart and thoughtful way. That's what you bring, and I'm just delighted to be doing this with you. Thanks for coming today.
KEATING: Thank you.
