Reader comments
Loss bodes ill for women in politics, Wilson says

The object is not to get a certain gender into office. Since the primary determined two men should run for mayor we should go ahead and do what the citizens want. Regardless of what the gender police have to say about it.

Mrs. Wilson seems like a nice lady. I didn't vote for her because of her family life. I voted against her based on her lame politics. Her sex or family life were not my major concerns...
LLC

"Vote for me, I'm Ted's daughter" didn't work, so now it's gender bias? Gimme a break!

Ms. Wilson should consider her loss in the election for what it represents. The public does not agree with her judgement, policies or perspective. I read more news coverage on Ms. Wilson simply because she was the daughter of a former mayor.

What a pathetic cop-out by Jenny Wilson. She is making the classic political mistake of thinking her situation is broadly applicable. Actually, Jenny, all politics is local, and your defeat was based solely upon your lack of merit for public office.

In fact, you are the ONLY candidate who brought up your family. If you recall, it was your step-mother who opened the can of worms on her mullentown blog, and Rebecca Walsh who took the issue and ran with it in the Trib. And all this from private emails between your father and Rocky, that were never intended to be part of the public discussion. But you were excited to play victim. OH THE INDIGNITY! Then, as Ralph seized the momentum, and Rocky explained his comments, you saw another shot to play victim, and perhaps take back some of the female vote. Unfortunately, just like for your father against Bangerter, it was far too little, far too late.

So, go cry me a river on the Salt Lake City Council, an office you gained by beating a male ("Harmsen says his loss bodes poorly for men in politics" wasn't a headline, now was it?). Fact is, you've shown yourself to be an intellectual lightweight incapable of understanding the reason for your loss: It's not that you are a woman. It's that Ralph was more experienced with a better campaign, and Dave had a corner on the Republican vote. Rash generalizations about general darkness based on local cloud cover can hardly be taken seriously, and especially so in your case.

If you're a female or a minority, and you lose an election; it's always because of some supposed bias. Jenny, you simply didn't resonate with enough voters, accept the fact the city didn't want you (male or female) as its mayor, and stop blaming some boogeyman in the closet.

I'm hearing The Rock backed the big expensive loser, and put down the second place winner and suppressed women's ability to make headway...What kind of leadership do we need? Not what is leaving.

Loss bodes well for men in politics. I found this article hateful towards men.

If she is concerned about these issues she should not run as "daddy's little girl". She should drop the Wilson last name an run on her own. She has a good education and experience. It is clear she has kept the Wilson last name for political reasons. And not many wanted "daddy's little girl in office"

Playing the gender card is simply silly.

I live in (crazy) Eagle Mountain. In the final election we will have three women running, one for mayor and two for city council. Of those three I will support only Donna Burnham. I will not vote for Heather Jackson or Linn Strouse.

And it's not BECAUSE they're women. It's because, in spite of the fact that they are women, I STILL think they are incompetent. I want the best citizens to serve here. I don't give a hoot about their gender.

I suspect that the good people of SLC feel similarly.

rj is right. Rocky's comments were irrelevant.

And perhaps the reason that women are not running for public office really is that they have their hands full on the home front.

Couldn't possibly be that it is because she was the youngest, least experienced, candidate running primarily on her fathers name and good will? Poor little victim.

As I read each of these comments it only further confirmed everything Wilson just said.

I�ve lost complete respect for Jenny Wilson over this and I was a contributor to her campaign.

She doesn�t inspire leadership during the campaign; just look at how Rebecca Walsh and Pete Ashdown endorsed Ralph Becker.

For her to play the gender card is a true mark of insecurity after loosing a tight race.

After the Democrats smeered the good name and reputation of our "female" County Mayor, I am not surprised now that they resort to the gender bias defense. We should expect that I suppose from the liberal left who concentrate on Rights with no responsibility.

Jenny needs to get over herself. This had nothing to do with her gender. I supported Enid Greene and Deedee Corradini back in the day. I also liked Janneke House for City Council (but didn't live in her district so couldn't vote for her). Wilson just had a lot of problems as a candidate, one of which was that she kept complaining that her critics were being sexist. I'll be voting for Hillary Clinton next year. Wilson's loss had nothing to do with her gender. She needs to look in the mirror and think what she could have done differently rather than blame sexism.

Is there any chance that voters preferred Dave Buhler and Ralph Becker because they have more experience and both have solid records of accomplishments?

I might buy her argument if she lost to the village idiot, but come on! Use your county council seat to actually accomplish something for the county and in the future voters will give you another look, not because of gender but because you have a record of success.

... should explore why the proportional representation electoral systems used in many other democracies around the world result in the election of a greater percentage of women, and how to change the current winner-take-all system that leads to the under-representation of women in the United States.

Wrong Jenny. The loss only bodes poorly for you. How pathetic, she traded on her gender and her daddy's name and when everyone realized that those were the only positive things she had to offer, they moved on. That, and the fact that her arrogant, entitled, elitist personality had a chance to show itself.

Good riddance to this particular woman in politics. We'll judge the others just like we do the men -- individually.

I think this was a case of Becker just plain beating everyone else. He ran a good campaign. Give him credit for it and support him.