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Women have accomplished so much in politics so far Now, let’s make even more milestones

Hillary Clinton was the first female presidential nominee of a major political party in the United States.Hillary Clinton was the first female presidential nominee of a major political party in the United States.

Her defeat does not change the incredible magnitude of that accomplishment.

Neither does the success of Hammonton native Kellyanne Conway, the first woman in U.S. history to run a Republican general election presidential campaign.

‘Breaking Glass,’ regardless of results, is about jumping into the arena in the first place and saying, “I belong here just as much as he does.”

Here are the names of a few other women in the political arena who have done so this year, according to Self.com:

  • Catherine Cortez Masto: the first Latina senator;
  • Tammy Duckworth: the first female senator to have seen combat and the first Thai-American woman in Congress;
  • Kamala Harris: the first Indian-American senator and the first woman and minority to have held the position of attorney general in California;
  • Pramila Jayapal: the first Indian-American woman and the first person of South Asian descent to be elected to the House of Representatives;
  • Stephanie Murphy: the first Vietnamese-American woman to get elected to Congress;
  • Ilhan Omar: the first Somali-American Muslim female legislator in Minnesota;
  • Kate Brown: the first openly LGBT elected governor in Oregon and in the U.S.

According to the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, 104 women — 78 Democrats, 26 Republicans — will serve in the 115th Congress. And only one woman has won a gubernatorial race so far this year: incumbent Kate Brown (D-OR).

That means less than 20 percent of a legislature that governs a population that is 51 percent female will be women.

Let us all work collectively to change that. Here are some good places to start:

Christie unexpectedly takes Guadagno’s keynote speaking spot at League of Municipalities conference

As she has done in years past, Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno was scheduled to give the keynote address Thursday afternoon at a luncheon on the third and final day of the annual New Jersey State League of Municipalities conference in Atlantic City.But Guadagno instead yielded the floor to Gov. Chris Christie, who surprisingly added the event to his public schedule the night before.

Late to the event, Christie showed up to offer remarks on his recent decision to sign a 23-cent-per-gallon gas tax increase in order to replenish the Transportation Trust Fund, a move that Guadagno, seated just three seats to the right of Christie, publicly opposed.

“My successor, whoever they are, will not have to worry about funding the Transportation Trust Fund,” said Christie.

Christie added to Guadagno that, while unpopular, raising the gas tax was the right thing to do.

“It was time for real leaders to stop playing politics and make hard decisions,” Christie said.

The governor also talked up the recently passed ballot question that plans to dedicate all funds raised by the gas tax hike to the Transportation Trust Fund, saying that supporting the measure was one of the “difficult decisions” that “second-term governors are built to make.”

“I don’t have to pretend that it’s bad policy to dedicate a tax for the very purpose that the tax is paid for,” Christie said.

Guadagno, who is heavily rumored to be prepping for a gubernatorial bid and said Thursday that she will make a decision “after the holidays,” also publicly disagreed with Christie on the ballot question, saying that supporting it was the same as “a vote for the gas tax.”

Without naming Guadagno, Christie criticized opponents of the question for looking to “play politics.”

Throughout the week, conference-goers have speculated on the futures of both Christie and Guadagno, with many wondering if the governor will leave the state if tapped to serve in President-elect Donald Trump’s upcoming administration, leaving Guadagno to ascend to the office should Christie resign.

Christie said that, while he’s not sure about what the future holds, he currently has no plans to leave New Jersey.

“I have every intention of serving out my full time as governor,” Christie said.

Guadagno, who also publicly distanced herself from Christie on his support for Trump, whom she said she would not vote for, was asked by reporters following the speech if she felt Christie was speaking indirectly to her.

“Certainly, it’s a well-publicized disagreement that we have over parts of the gas tax,” Guadagno said. “I think he also said that he respected everyone’s difference of opinion.”

Guadagno added that, despite the unforeseen schedule change, she does still “fully intend to make the speech I wanted to today sometime in the very near future.”

“I’m going to give it to the appropriate people at the appropriate time,” Guadagno said. “I’m hoping that the mayors invite me to speak to them.”

She added that she thought Christie made a “fabulous speech.”

“It was a fabulous opportunity for the governor to talk to the municipalities and make his argument about the TTF,” Guadagno said.

Reviving Bridgegate committee not a priority for N.J. legislative leaders, they say at League of Municipalities conference

Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto said that, despite putting out a statement on the status of a Legislature committee on Bridgegate, his staff is simply going back through record and testimony in an effort to do “due diligence.”Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto said Wednesday that, despite putting out a statement earlier on the status of the state Legislature’s special investigatory committee into matters pertaining to the George Washington Bridge lane closure scandal, his staff is simply going back through record and testimony in an effort to do “due diligence.”

“On my hand, there is no need to do anything further unless we see there is a need to do something further,” Prieto (D-Secaucus) said Wednesday on a panel featuring the state’s four legislative leaders at the New Jersey State League of Municipalities conference in Atlantic City.

Senate President Steve Sweeney (D-West Deptford) said that his house was also doing its part to search for discrepancies between the legislative and federal inquiries.

The committee used its subpoena powers in the aftermath of the 2013 lane closures to help unearth documents related to the matter and bring testimony to light from several key players.

The work done by the committee is largely credited for helping to launch the federal investigation into the lane closures, which earlier this month resulted in the guilty verdicts for two former top aides to Gov. Chris Christie, Bridget Kelly and Bill Baroni. Another ex-Christie ally, David Wildstein, pleaded guilty earlier in the year for his role in the matter.

“I think the people of New Jersey are ready to move on,” said Senate Minority Leader Tom Kean (R-Westfield).

Kean added that he thinks New Jersey residents care more about finding solutions to issues like school funding, affordable housing and pension reform.

Assembly Minority Leader Jon Bramnick (R-Westfield) said the Legislature’s priority going forward should be to “stop the negative.”

“Whether it’s the media or others, I never found in business or in my family that it was helpful to dwell in negative,” said Bramnick.

If a reason is found to investigate the matter further, Bramnick said, the authorities should handle it, not the state Legislature.

“Let the prosecutors deal with this,” Bramnick said. “Let law enforcement deal with this.”