Proud Member of The Moms Clean Air Force
Print This Post
Apr
19
This article appeared in the print version of the Plain Dealer but here’s the blog post, which will “last” longer online. The gist:
City Councilman Joseph Suster e-mailed a sexually explicit photo to council colleagues last week as part of a raunchy joke about images that might be caught on traffic-enforcement cameras.
…
Suster, a longtime council member, said Tuesday that his e-mail had nothing to do with the council’s upcoming vote on traffic cameras. But he said he e-mailed an apology to his colleagues Tuesday morning.
“I’d like to say nothing more on it,” he said.
Garfield Heights has a male mayor and three of seven council members are women, at least one of whom went on the record with the press about her upsetment:
But at least one councilwoman, who opened the message on Good Friday, saw nothing to laugh about. At Monday’s council meeting she complained about the message. And on Tuesday, she demanded an apology from Suster.
“It was inappropriate, and I am still upset,” Councilwoman Debora Sarnowski said. “I felt like I was violated. There should be professional conduct if you’re an elected official. We should be held to a higher standard.”
…
Sarnowski expected to leave Suster’s apology unread.
“An e-mail apology is equally insulting,” she said. “You’re not going to open something from him if the first one was X-rated. What else is he going to send me?”
This story is just another one piling up about the sexism that exists and why women are reluctant to run for office. Here’s a column from the Chagrin Valley Times (4/2/09) titled, “Women might as well shut up.” In it, Barbara Christian writes about how Moreland Hills Mayor Susan Renda provided information to support the idea that she had and has voiced concern about the Chagrin Road closing (for three months) at a most inopportune time and was not deserving of the paper’s “Shut up” recognition, because indeed, Renda wrote to the paper, she had been working multiple angles to express concerns. Christian writes that Renda admits that she could have gone to the village council too, but did not do that, though she went everywhere else that is logical, all of which are entities one can be confident communicates with the Chagrin council.
Christian believes this is what went on:
So the question is, if Mrs. Renda was out and about talking up the closing of Chagrin Boulevard, did anyone hear? And if they heard, did they listen? From what we observed, it came as a complete surprise to Chagrin Falls a month ago.
We think we know what happened, and it has to do with the male-dominated intergovernmental council and chamber of commerce and the female vocal tweeter that does not interface with the male auditory woofer. The result is a communications malfunction women have recognized for years.
To put it in simpler terms, when women speak, men don’t hear, and the words are just so much la-la-la-la-la-la.
Christian will get no argument from me – I can just imagine how it could have happened that way. I have no knowledge that it did – I have nearly zero knowledge of these towns’ government. But I have been the lone or only one of two or three women on a board or in a high-level meeting where I’ve been shushed or otherwise encouraged to be silent, or just ignored anyway.
No one – no one – likes to be treated that way. And likewise, no one – no one – in their governmental capacity – should be passing on sexually explicit material, joke or not.
The sexism that underlies both of these situations is unacceptable. Period.
FYI, Suster has pulled petitions to run for re-election.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 3:22 pm April 19th, 2009 in Culture, Gender, Government, leadership, Ohio, Politics, Sexism, Women
Comments
One Response to “Garfield Hts councilman up for re-election sends, apologizes for sexually explicit e-mail”
Voted into Top 25 Political Mom Blogs
Now on sale-WLST essay included!
Posts About Pepper Pike City Council2010 WE Magazine 101 Women Bloggers to Watch
Category Specific RSS
Pepper Pike Cleveland+ Politics Women Ohio Elections Law Jewish
I remember stating to the President of a BOD I was involved with about a serious situation that came about
“ERRR I told you all this would happen – I expressed my concern numerous times”
And without rancour or vindictiveness this gentlemen stated ” Oh Loraine they wouldn’t have listened to you it needed to come from a “professional” “professional what I wondered…. accountant … hooker … politician….
and yes I have experienced the “shut up look” or the “sigh she is off again ” when I have pointed out things they would sooner ignore ( to their peril in most cases) they smile nod their heads and carry on anyway… but now well I have not exactly given up but am close to it……..