When Moms Run Our Cities
Parent mayors and their focus on families
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This Mother’s Day marks a pretty retrograde year for women, in which abortion bans are being put into place and #tradwives are blowing up the internet. It’s also a time when attempts to explore the multidimensionality of professional mothers feels exceedingly complicated. Sen. Katie Britt delivered her 2024 State of the Union response from her kitchen six years after Sen. Tammy Duckworth famously brought her infant to cast a vote in the Senate. Where and how do we draw the line between domestic and professional identities?
Who gets to draw that line is the question at the center of a recent controversy. Drew Barrymore made a cringey, demeaning joke in conversation with Vice President Kamala Harris when she said: “We all need a mom right now …we all need a tremendous hug right now … we need you to be Mamala of the country.” Would she have said Joe Biden should all be our Daddy? Yuck and hell no.
Can’t women be serious elected officials and also embrace their roles as mothers? Yes, if it’s a decision they make, rather than one expected by the public. It can also be exciting when elected officials are prioritizing policies that make raising a family easier, safer, and healthier, informed by their own experiences.
Just five years ago, none of the mayors of the top 10 American cities was a women. Now, four of them are. And two of the mayors of the country’s top 10 cities are single mothers — Kate Gallego even ran for mayor of Phoenix while she was nine months pregnant and filing for divorce. It’s refreshing to see a generation of women mayors who are mothers, defying stereotypes and embracing their own authentic interpretation of these roles.
Below the paywall, I’ll explore how mayors are seeing their experiences as parents inform their policies. Though I profile three women mayors, it’s not just mothers whose parenting is reflected in policymaking: I’ll also feature one international mayor who is a father who has centered his city’s urban policies around children.