Welcome to the Saturday piece on Lismore Women in Politics, those who have run the gauntlet of Local, State or Federal Government Elections, their experiences, observations of political happenings, wisdom gained in the process and advice for Womxn who may choose to put their hat in the ring in the future.

This Lismore App Journalist was personally inspired by this Lismore Women, it was because of her that I decided to run in Local Government Elections and with her vast experience as the Mayor of Lismore for two terms, popularly elected, and now a mentor for dozens across the state, a fitting Women to lead with.

Dr Jenny Dowell OAM JP has spent 12.5 years on the Lismore City Council beginning in 2004 voted in as a labour candidate, 2 terms as Mayor from 2008 and was proud to be a councillor for the people, not just the people with the loudest voices, or the most money.

Jenny informs us that "when elected, I could see that there wasn't a voice for the LGBTQIA+ and there didn't seem to be adequate engagement with The Aboriginal community either." She sought to change this, and was active in listening to "young people, the elderly, people with a disability, teenagers, people who lived in housing commission and vulnerable members of the community, as well as the usual voices present in the chamber and events and to work in collaboration with my fellow councillors".

On her achievements in her long-term commitment to serving the Lismore community, she said "It's for others to assess my achievements but I am proud to have been able to be a full-time Mayor and available to everyone. Getting funding FINALLY for the Lismore Regional Gallery was a great achievement by the entire council as was saying no to CSG and getting that included a poll question for the community too". 

During her time on Lismore City Council (LCC) as Mayor and councillor over the period of 2004 to 2017, we asked Jenny what she experienced during that journey as a woman, and what the challenges may have been?

"Frequently I was the only female in the room of the Northern Rivers Regional Organisation of Councils (NOROC), now called the JO, Danielle Mulholland is the new chair, which is a meeting of the Mayors of the 7 regional councils, which I also chaired on, and I noticed that on a particular day, when I was there I saw that there was a man (whose name I won't mention), telling an 'off' joke, which he abruptly stopped when I walked into the room, saying that 'he better hold off because there was a lady present'; So I told him if it wasn't appropriate for when I was there, it shouldn't be told at all".

Jenny went on to further speak to her experiences in office saying, "I had a good role model in Ros Irwin in my first term and the presence of Vanessa Ekins who joined me in my first term. Apart from a few old fashioned attitudes toward women in a few men in the first council (2004-2008), I haven't felt the challenges faced by many of my colleagues. The tone and culture of a council is set from the top and both the General Managers during my time at LCC, Paul O'Sullivan and Gary Murphy were gentlemen who would not tolerate sexist attitudes. I did see some poor behaviour by male councillors from other Councils but it wasn't my experience at Lismore". 

Women represented half of the councillors elected in the last council, however across NSW represent just one-third of all councillors. Jenny went on to speak about this with reflection on her own experiences in council; "My main experience as a woman in politics is the self-doubt of women. Many women I know would be wonderful elected representatives but they lack both the confidence in their own abilities and the encouragement of other women (and men) around them. Women have so many incredible skills, there is the old adage that men looking at applying for a job, see that they have 3/10 skills and they will apply, if women look and have 7 they don't apply as they don't have the other 3! There just aren't enough women in positions of leadership".  

"Women seem to grossly undervalue their skills in communication, time management, dealing with competing demands, managing challenging behaviours and multi-tasking. Their experiences are so useful as elected members and oftentimes these skills are particularly, and naturally high in women compared with men"

When we asked what she found the most important in regards to her experience as a woman on Council, she stated simply, "Don't tolerate bad behaviour. Learn self-protective behaviours, learn what barriers to put up, the behaviour you walk past, is the behaviour you allow. There are some behaviours which are simply unacceptable and should not be tolerated. The vitriol, harassment and threats."

"You can't please everyone, but as long as you act with integrity, do your due diligence so that when you make decisions you can explain why, then people usually respect that, even if they may disagree".

What is Jenny's message to women entering politics in Lismore today?

"Go for it. When you do get there, and on the way, women need to have some kind of support mechanism around them, there is wonderful and free mentoring accessible through the Local Government. Make sure to plan switch-off time, such as not accepting phone calls between certain periods, or from certain people to set strong and safe boundaries".

"Spend time working out the challenges, and mitigating risks through tactics worked on with support. from people such as the General Manager (GM) or Team, or your mentor, sadly there can be a deterioration of relationships within the chamber, and it’s a responsibility of the Mayor and GM to call this out early, prior to code of conduct complaints. It’s their responsibility to call this out at the appropriate time" she said. 

She also spoke about what she had been up to in the past while, still heavily engaged within the political arena, Jenny said "I have been mentoring 21 mayors and councillors around the state. The Me Too movement has emboldened women across the state, and we are seeing real change for the protection of women in political workplaces. It needs to come from the top, however. Code of Conduct training has been prioritised by most councils as the first training for new councillors".

When speaking on the latest elections for Local Government Jenny said "this term has seen a lot of resignations across the State and limping towards the end, letting enthusiasm and vigilance drop, and we have seen some of the worse behaviours near the end. A fresh council is a chance for a new engagement and fresh start."

"It's truly a fabulous opportunity, and the best level of Government to enter to really have a role in determining the future of your own community".