Oakland march marks 100 years of women voting

[AsahinaKimi]

OAKLAND -- Hundreds of women, and a scattering of men, marched through Lakeside Park in Oakland on Sunday, marking the centennial of women gaining the right to vote in California.

The suffragists wore early 20th century garb. Elected officials gave speeches. Girl Scouts led the march. But mostly, people tried to reconcile what a woman's vote is worth.

On the one hand, in this city believed to have hosted the state's first suffragist march in 1908, women now rule.

Six of the eight council members are women. So is the mayor, the city auditor and the city attorney, though the latter was appointed to fill a vacancy. Three of Oakland's four state legislators are women. Its congresswoman is Barbara Lee.

"It's fantastic that the men in California are starting to elect women," said Sandra Threlfall, chair of the organizing committee for Sunday's suffrage parade. "It's an important step forward."

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/10/02/BA9M1LCIDN.DTL#ixzz1ZiVy0uGR