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Perdue to address Lillian's List

Submitted by ryanteaguebeckwith on December 16, 2008 - 1:55pm.

Gov.-elect Beverly Perdue will speak at a Lillian's List gathering.

Perdue will be the keynote speaker at a Jan. 28 "victory breakfast" by the group, which promotes pro-choice female candidates in North Carolina.

The event will be held at the Cardinal Club on the penthouse levels of the Raleigh skyscraper known for the time being as the Wachovia Capitol Center.

It's not known what Perdue will say, but the state's first female governor will no doubt reference the group's namesake, first female Southern legislator Lillian Exum Clement.

The breakfast will also honor candidates backed by the group, including state Reps. Alice Bordsen, Jane Whilden, Margaret Dickson, Alice Underhill, Lucy Allen, Linda Coleman, Maggie Jeffus and Jennifer Weiss.

Tickets cost $100. Sponsorships are also available for $250 to $4,000.

Registration is online here.

Female Firsts in North Carolina

Submitted by ryanteaguebeckwith on December 9, 2008 - 12:04pm.

Gov.-elect Beverly Perdue will be the state's first female governor.

But it won't be the only first for women in North Carolina. Below, a list of other female firsts compiled by N&O researcher Brooke Cain.

STATE REPRESENTATIVE: In 1920, Lillian Exum Clement of Buncombe County was the first woman elected to the state House and first female Southern legislator.

DEPARTMENT HEAD: In 1921, Kate Burr Johnson of Morganton was the first woman in the country to serve as state commissioner of public welfare and the first woman to head a major department.

STATE SENATOR: Gertrude Dills McKee was elected the first female state senator in 1931.

CONGRESSWOMAN: In 1946, Eliza Jane Pratt became the first woman to represent North Carolina in Congress.

SUPERIOR COURT JUDGE: In 1949, Susie Sharp became the state's first female Superior Court judge.

SUPREME COURT JUSTICE: In 1962, Sharp became the first woman to serve on the N.C. Supreme Court.

BIG CITY MAYOR: In 1977, Isabella Cannon was elected the mayor of Raleigh, the first female mayor of a major North Carolina city.

ELECTED PROSECUTOR: In the late 1980s, Jean Powell became the state's first elected district attorney, winning in Hoke and Scotland counties' District 16A.

BLACK CONGRESSWOMAN: In 1992, Eva Clayton was elected the first African-American Congresswoman from North Carolina.

SHERIFF: In 1994, Barbara Pickens was elected sheriff of Lincoln County, the state's first female sheriff.

COUNCIL OF STATE (APPOINTED): In March of 1996, Gov. Jim Hunt appointed Janice Faulkner the first female secretary of state and the first woman on the Council of State.

COUNCIL OF STATE (ELECTED): In the fall of 1996, Elaine Marshall became the first elected female secretary of state and the first woman elected to the Council of State.

LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR: In 2000, Perdue was elected the state's first female lieutenant governor.

LABOR COMMISSIONER: In 2000, Cherie Berry was elected the first female labor commissioner.

AGRICULTURE COMMISSIONER: In 2000, Meg Scott Phipps was elected the first female agriculture commissioner.

U.S. SENATOR: In 2002, Elizabeth Dole was elected the first female U.S. senator in North Carolina.

SCHOOLS SUPERINTENDENT: In 2005, June St. Clair Atkinson became the first female superintendent of public instruction.

STATE TREASURER: In 2008, state Sen. Janet Cowell was elected the first female state treasurer in North Carolina.

STATE AUDITOR: In 2008, Beth Wood was elected the first female state auditor.

COUNCIL OF STATE MAJORITY: In 2008, six women — Marshall, Berry, Atkinson, Perdue, Cowell and Wood — made up the first female majority of the 10-member Council of State.

Are we missing anybody? Let us know in the comment thread.

Who was Lillian Exum Clement?

Submitted by ryanteaguebeckwith on December 9, 2008 - 11:19am.

Answer:

The first female legislator in North Carolina and the first female legislator in the South.

Born near Black Mountain in 1894, Lillian Exum Clement went to high school in Asheville and studied at Asheville Business College. Working as a sheriff's deputy, she studied law in her spare time, and was admitted to the bar in 1917.

She was the first female attorney in North Carolina without male partners. A local judge gave her the nickname "Brother Exum," which stuck with her throughout her life.

In 1920, the Buncombe County Democratic Party asked Clement, then 26, to run for a seat in the state House of Representatives.

She beat two men in the primary election, essentially guaranteeing a win in Nov. 2 general election in what was then a one-party state. At the time of the primary, the 19th Amendment had not been ratified, so women could not yet vote in the election.

Taking office in 1921, Clement said she wanted to help women.

"I want to blaze a trail for other women," she said on the day she was sworn in. "I know that years from now there will be many other women in politics, but you have to start a thing."

Clement introduced at least 17 bills, 16 of which passed. They included measures to require testing of dairy herds and lower the number of years of abandonment required before a divorce.

After marrying Eller Stafford in 1921, Clement did not run for office a second time. She died of pneumonia in 1925, leaving behind a 21-month-old daughter, Nancy.

In 1930, Jackson County voters elected Gertrude Dills McKee as the first female state senator.

Until 1972, no more than two female legislators served at one time in the General Assembly. That year, nine women won seats in the legislature.

In 1998, a group of pro-choice Democratic women formed a political action committee named Lillian's List in honor of Clement. In 1999, the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources dedicated a historical marker to Clement in Asheville.

The N.C. Council of Women also offers the Lillian Exum Clement Stafford Journalism Award to journalists who cover issues of importance to women.

SOURCES: North Carolina Collection, UNC-Chapel Hill libraries. "Dictionary of North Carolina Biography," Volume 5. Lillian's List biography.

Brief:

The first female legislator in North Carolina and the first female legislator in the South.