A weekly dive into the pages of Colorado Politics’ predecessor, The Colorado Statesman, which started in 1898:

Forty Years Ago This Week: In an interview with The Colorado Statesman, Gerry Bean, executive secretary for the Association of Public Colleges & University Presidents, a native Coloradan and an unabashed feminist, lauded what she saw as a myriad of positive changes for women that had taken place in her lifetime.

“We are the most powerful interest group in the country,” Bean said, referring to women as a demographic force. She pointed to the Colorado Women’s Political Caucus as a prime example of women organizing effectively to strengthen the feminist agenda.

Bean recounted that her parents had married in secret so that her mother could continue teaching until her first pregnancy could no longer be hidden, which ended up forcing her into early retirement – an issue that clearly touched a deep cord in Bean’s life.

No matter how diverse women’s needs and ambitions, Bean said that the real strength of the women’s movement was their “support of the choices made by other women.”

After a lifetime of interest in politics, Bean had made a successful bid in 1972 for a seat on the University of Colorado Board of Regents. In her campaign, she had been given the opportunity to travel around the state thoroughly.

“Women were interested that I was a candidate,” Bean said. “I felt very positive about what women could accomplish after that campaign experience.”

Bean pointed out that it hadn’t been all smooth sailing. When her youngest child started kindergarten, she wept for an hour in the bathroom and questioned what she was going to do with her time. Bean decided to go back to school for her teaching certificate and ended up years later with a Ph.D. in History.

“I still remember the moments of personal struggle as I moved from homemaker to student,” Bean said. “Personal decisions are often the most difficult to make but women are making those challenging choices and through those choices they are uncovering new directions.”

A study and corresponding survey conducted by Kathleen Murphy Beatty, assistant professor of Political Science at the University of Colorado, reaffirmed Gerry Bean’s thoughts on the women’s movement. The study participants were drawn from membership lists of organizations that supported the Equal Rights Amendment and also from petitions filed by Stop ERA.

The study showed that 94% of respondents reported voting all or most of the time, 68% had attended political meetings and 72% had written letters to officials.

Over 80% disagreed with the statement “people like me have no say in government” and 62% believed that officials care what women think.

On sex-based issues, nearly three quarters of women supported the ERA, 82% wanted equal treatment in the labor market and 75% believed that women should have an equal role in politics and business.

Thirty Years Ago: The front cover of The Colorado Statesman was conspicuously white except for the bold black word ‘censored.’ According to Editor Jody Strogoff, The Statesman was sitting on an explosive story concerning a prominent married politician and his adulterous affair. A story so shocking and banal that it would end his career.

“The Miami Herald broke the story about former Senator Gary Hart’s questionable liaison with model Donna Rice … that was eventually responsible for the demise of Hart’s presidential aspirations,” Strogoff wrote. “An article in Westworld insinuated, without any evidence, that Governor Romer had a personal relationship with his deputy chief of staff. Old News. We’re not talking about either of those instances here.”

The Statesman staff had spent four and a half weeks researching and collecting evidence. Strogoff wrote that the behavior of this particular elected official had, and would continue, to affect his ability to represent his constituents. The politician concerned had, that same week, even published campaign literature featuring a prominent picture of his family and constantly touted his “family values.”

Strogoff argued that the decision to voluntarily censor the publication of the article was not made lightly and that she had difficulty “setting ourselves up as a sort of moral police, and I question if it’s our role to pass judgment on others.”

Strogoff concluded that numerous men’s names would pop up as likely candidates and wrote; “Isn’t it a sad commentary on politics in 1990 that when campaign reform is uppermost on so many people’s minds, the idea of moral reform remains untouched.”

Rachael Wright is the author of the Captain Savva Mystery series, with degrees in Political Science and History from Colorado Mesa University, and is a contributing writer to Colorado Politics and the Colorado Springs Gazette.