WS Chronicle

By: Jess Schnur 

The Chronicle 

At the end of March, a slurry of headlines across various media platforms reported on the resignation of House Representative Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) from the Freedom Caucus. The move for Rep. Luna was spurred by contentions over her proposal to sanction proxy voting for new parents working in Congress – both mothers and fathers – for up to 12 weeks after the birth of their child. Having been a new mother herself, Rep. Luna’s proposal stems from her personal experiences with complications in the birth of her son, as she had been frequently traveling throughout and immediately after her pregnancy to vote on issues in the House.  

Throughout U.S. history, fewer than 14 mothers have served in Congress. But the struggle for work-life balance, especially for those with children, is not an exclusive issue for those in Capitol Hill; here in Winston-Salem, many local politicians have overcome unique experiences as parents in public service. 

Having Kids While Serving on the City Council 

“I have a 16-year-old high school student and a 14-year-old middle school student, along with my wife of 17 years,” said City Councilmember Scott Andree-Bowen in an interview with The Chronicle. “[Work is] taking me away from dinner time, being with family, pickup times for sports activities. So, it’s important that I had [my wife’s] support and very good open communication about time. And then when I decided to run for office, after I had that conversation with her, we had the conversation with our kids together and just, like, look, full support if either of you are not on board with this, I want you to express that so that moving forward you know that this is going to take me away for a little bit. I’ll have extra work.” 

Councilmember Andree-Bowen works full-time at Second Harvest Food Bank while being a part-time member of the city council. When balancing family with the duties of public service, open communication, Andree-Bowen emphasizes, is key. Through family group chats, communal schedules, and the support of his wife and kids, Andree-Bowen works hard to be there for his family while upholding his work in politics. His family has even accompanied him to city council meetings, as they are active and interested in politics on their own merit.  

However, there are certain barriers when it comes to pursuing a career as a politician. While money is not the main incentive when serving one’s community, council members earn an income of $32,000 from the City. But there also is a price when it comes to filing to run for office, as well as a deficit in personal funds when it comes to campaigning. To maintain his full-time job along with his city council position, Andree-Bowen has used paid time off (PTO) from his full-time position to supplement his endeavors in politics – such as going to Washington, D.C. to advocate for Winston-Salem amongst state representatives or going to meetings. 

“With local level politics from the county, the city, I would even say the state general assembly, the way the system is set up is really geared toward people who either are independently wealthy, retired, or are able to not have to work on a full-time job. So, I work a full-time job, and I am also working as a part-time city council employee. It takes a lot of effort and energy to go through. So, I think that because of the hours that the meetings are and the time structure and the pay that is around it is not substantial enough for an individual who’s a part of a family. So, I could not quit my full-time job and then just be on city council as the way it is now.” 

It is important, Andree-Bowen harkens, that politicians’ identities reflect the communities which they serve. Yet, as the system stands, without having a pre-established safety net of wealth to fall back on, it stands as a less accessible means for younger, diverse voices to represent their community. 

City Councilmember Regina Ford Hall is the mother of two young children while working in office. Having worked in the government in different capacities over the years, Councilmember Ford Hall currently works as an executive director in the nonprofit sector. But one of her greatest achievements is her ability to balance her duties in politics with parenthood. 

“I was pregnant with [my daughter] and the doctors did not know. People were thinking that she was going to come on Election Day because of all the excitement that was going on. On Nov. 5, we had the election. I won. And then seven days later, Nov.12, [my daughter] was born,” said Ford Hall in an interview.  

“So, I had [my daughter and] stayed in the hospital. And I was discharged from the hospital on Nov. 14. Well, that was the day that we were having the new council member orientation. So, I was in the hospital. And I told them I more than likely will still be able to join just as long as there’s a virtual option. I’m not going to be able to be there in person. And the city manager and the clerk made sure that there was a virtual option for me to join. I joined from my iPad from the hospital room while I was waiting on the discharge paper. The baby was asleep, and my husband was just kind of waiting, reading the papers. So that’s how I was able to join. Working things out like that is important.”  

Ford Hall’s career, she assures, never outshines her love for her daughters. From canvassing while pregnant in the primaries, to picking up her 10-year-old daughter from school every day, her resiliency allows her to stay committed to her family alongside those she serves in the city.  

“I took this job with the city council because I wanted to make sure that people understood that you can do both. And you should be able to do both because it’s important,” she said. “Being a parent gives you another perspective of how you do things, a sense of purpose.” 

But parenthood did not come without struggle; five days after the birth of her second daughter, Ford Hall had to be readmitted to the hospital due to postpartum preeclampsia. However, her medical complications did not falter her unwavering call to service. 

“I could not be there physically, and I was in no condition, mind you, to be there physically. But mentally, I was fine. I was mentally acute. I had all my faculties in that manner. And so I think that we should recognize that while one’s physical condition may prohibit them from being somewhere, it does not necessarily mean that, mentally, they’re not sharp and that they wouldn’t be able to engage in discussion or be able to share their thoughts on a matter, particularly around important policies and procedures that are germane to local government,” said Ford Hall.  

“And I wanted to make sure that people saw that, which is why I continued to run after finding out I was pregnant. I didn’t stop. There are several people that have asked, ‘Are you still going to run? What happens with your race?’ I keep going.” 

Being a Mother on the Bench 

District Court Judge Carrie Vickery was pregnant while she served on the bench in 2020, as well as during her subsequent run for reelection. As a mother of young children with a busy courtroom schedule, Judge Vickery always managed her time to fit her family into her duties, whether it be adjusting recesses to allow her to breastfeed or seizing the opportunity to fit in a preschool Easter Egg hunt during a 20-minute break. But planning has not always been exclusive after her children were born; as a politician, there comes an extra consideration when thinking of starting a family amidst a career. 

“Running for office is a really interesting way to get a job, and it takes a lot of work,” said Judge Vickery. “My husband and I spent a lot of time thinking about timing when we wanted to start a family and how that coincided with election cycles. You know, being a parent takes up a lot of time and so does running for office. And it felt like we wanted to be able to do both of those well. And it felt like it would be very difficult to do them both well if they were happening at the same time. And so that was a very conscious and planned decision. That’s a privilege. Not everybody has that privilege, whether they’re having fertility issues or all kinds of reasons.” 

Parenthood while working for the government comes with a unique set of challenges, both logistically as well as socially. Oftentimes, working under the state and federal government comes with a tradeoff of salary for benefits that are typically extended to those working in the private sector. Things such as retirement benefits, family leave, adoption assistance, and child-care services, Vickery explained, are a few benefits that are not granted while working for the government. But on the clock, there can also be an underlying bias when it comes to these parent politicians. 

“I was hearing DWIs [one] day, and I must have been pretty far along because I had a very visible belly. I was like very visibly pregnant,” said Vickery. “And there was a DWI that was going to be pled where the driver had a young child in the car at the time that they committed the DWI. And I found out later that the lawyer told the litigant they had concerns about entering that plea before me that day because I was pregnant. They said that they were concerned that I was going to be overly harsh about this DWI where the child was in the car because I was pregnant. And I just thought that was very strange because I thought, surely, I think everybody could agree whether they’re pregnant or not pregnant, that driving while you’re impaired with a child in the car is not a good idea. I don’t feel like you have to be pregnant to understand that that’s bad or a problem. I felt like my brain was the same when I was pregnant, before I was pregnant, and after I was pregnant, and that the judgments didn’t change anywhere in between that time.” 

Being a Father Before Becoming Mayor 

Mayor Allen Joines has an extensive history of working in the public sector before becoming mayor. But while his role may have changed within his career, his role as a father has always prevailed.  

“Back when my kids were small, they were doing all the little league baseball and cheerleading and dance classes and things like that. So being a parent, I tried to make it my number one priority,” said Mayor Joines. “And occasionally, I did have to reallocate my schedules. Fortunately, my children’s mother was really good, and she could fill in for me with the kids a lot. But I tried to be there as much as I could. So, I did probably miss some meetings back in the early days of my career because of wanting to be with the kids.” 

Because of the pandemic, remote working has become a new standard in many facets of the modern workforce. With this newly established method of staying connected, the City of Winston-Salem has decided to make use of these tools for many of its members.  

“We’ve actually approved a way for remote voting for councilmembers who may be experiencing a medical condition or some other type of emergency where they can’t be there. So we saw that as something that we should do with today’s technology. It works really well, and we don’t want it abused, obviously, so there has to be a pretty clear certification of a medical emergency or a family emergency of some sort,” said Mayor Joines. “I think offering alternative meeting opportunities is one way that we can make it a little easier for employees to be a good parent and a good employee at the same time.” 

From Parent to Parent 

Like all jobs, politics is not exempt from the hardships of work-life balance. It is important for the people of Winston-Salem to know who represents them, and to better understand how the situations of these politicians may resonate with their own and ring true through our local government. While we continue to see the construction of barriers for unique voices and perspectives on a federal level, it is important to reflect on how we can observe and learn from our local sectors to inspire change and protect the sanctity of representation within legislation.