Letter to the editor: Hoeven, Dalrymple have appointed many women

I write in response to Connie Hildebrand’s July 19 letter “More women should be serving on N.D. boards,” which said that former Gov. John Hoeven and current Gov. Jack Dalrymple hadn’t appointed enough women in their administrations. Hildebrand is clearly misinformed, and as Hoeven’s state director, and a woman, I want to set the record straight. Both Hoeven and Dalrymple have a strong record of placing women in important decision-making roles.

The fact is women held many key staff positions in Hoeven’s administration, including half of the cabinet-level posts. These include directors of the state’s Office of Management and Budget, which manages North Dakota’s $10 billion budget; Human Services, the state’s largest agency in terms of budget and personnel; the Department of Information Technology, which builds and maintains the state’s entire information technology infrastructure; the North Dakota Securities Department, which oversees the sale of securities and franchises in the state; the Department of Indian Affairs; the Labor Department; Job Service North Dakota, which manages all of the state’s employment and training programs; and the Department of Corrections, which oversees the state’s prisons.

One of these women has since retired and Hoeven appointed another to serve as a judge, but all the remaining leaders continue serving in Dalrymple’s cabinet. And Dalrymple also recently appointed a woman to serve on the Public Service Commission.

These facts refute any claim that either Hoeven or Dalrymple is neglecting to tap the talent, intelligence and energy of North Dakota women. The other fact — most important to me as a professional — is that both Hoeven and Dalrymple chose these leaders not to fill a quota, but because the women are smart, innovative and committed to the future of North Dakota.

I agree with Hildebrand, who said our objective should be to have women “fully participate in the political decision-making process of North Dakota.” Let’s recognize that Hoeven and Dalrymple are doing just that — elevating women to more critical decision-making positions than ever before in North Dakota. That fact was commended nationally two years ago by the Women’s Campaign Forum Foundation, which credited Hoeven and North Dakota as having among the top five most gender-balanced cabinets in America, with women composing half of the top-level gubernatorial appointments.

Julie Fedorchak

Bismarck

(Fedorchak is state director for Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D.)

Tags: opinion, letters