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MtJnM. i. 4
friday, february 9, 1979
fathom
page 7
Senators women a minority, but not underprivileged
By Cindy Cogliancse
T.
hey caii cook, sew and raise n
family, maintain a household and keep a
husband. You might say a woman's place
is in the house and the Nebraska
Legislature.
Sens. Carol McBride Pirsch. Shirley
Marsh and Bernice Labed are the only
women among 49 senators. They all arc
mothers, wives and community leaders in
addition to their duties as senators. Al
though they have different objectives in
serving, they all agree that there are a few
more places for women in the Legislature.
Carol McBride Pirsch. the youngest of
the female representatives at 42, is a Re
publican from the northwest section of
Omaha. Her husband is the president of
Pirsch Brokerage Company. They have six
children.
Pirsch 's first involvement with politics
began with her election to Justice of the
Peace in the 1960s. She also has helped
campaign for other candidates for public
office. This is her first year as a Nebraska
state senator.
S
'he said her first role as a legisla
tor and as a woman is to express her com
mittment to the family, the middle class,
the free enterprise system and "the tradi
tions that made, and I hope remain as the
good life in Nebraska," she said.
"I truly have discovered no disadvan
tages in being a woman, and perhaps it is
an advantage to be a minority," Pirsch
said. She added that although there has
been good progress in establishing equal
rights for women in Nebraska, there are
still areas to be improved.
Pirsch, like the other women legisla
tors, said she is a firm believer in conserva
tive fiscal responsibility. The major pieces
of legislation that Pirsch said she will push
this session are efficient taxation programs
and some solutions in the water resource
problems.
Pirsch serves on the judiciary, law en
forcement and judicial committees and the
constitutional revision and recreation com
mittees. She also is active with UNO Parents
Association, Parent-Teacher Association,
and Benson Republican Women's Organization-just
a few among a long list of
activities.
P,
it ir 1 . 1
irsch ernduated trom UINU ana me
D
University of Miami-Ohio. She is an office
manager for her husband's brokerage firm.
"My only political aspirations are to be
the best senator possible and to represent
my constituents as well as possible," Pirsch
said.
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Sen. Shirley Marsh
Daily Nebraskan photo
Photo by Kathy Chenault
Sen. Bernice Labedz
Photo by Kathy Chenault
Sen. Carol McBride Pirsch
Sen. Bernice Labedz. 59, also is an
Omaha representative from south Omaha.
Her list of political involvement is long,
since she served as an executive secretary
in local, state and federal government.
"Coming from south Omaha, I am
aware of the many problems of the retired
elderly and with low and middle income
families," Democrat Labedz said. She said
this experience comes from four years of
work with Sen. Ld Zorinsky when he was
mayor.
She said her .ole as a legislator is to
check the budgeting effect on the limited
income families in her district by fighting
against high taxes.
Labedz serves on the appropriations
committee and the committee on commit
tees. During this session, Labedz said she will
try to eliminate sales tax on utilities, which
can amount to about S4 to S6 a month
savings for limited income families. She
also wants to push for legislation on a com
mission for the deaf, she said.
c
VaXoming from a family with sixteen
siblings, Labedz and her husband, a retired
police officer, have four children. She said
she is able to manage a household in ad
dition to her senatorial duties because her
household chores aren't that demanding
anymore.
Republican Sen. Shirley Marsh. 53, has
served in the Legislature seven years for
the 29th District in Lincoln. She also is a
homemaker and a social worker.
Marsh serves on the appropriations com
mittee and is the chairwoman on the com
mittee on committees.
Marsh said the major pieces of legisla
tion that she will work on this session in
clude a bill that would provide for perma
nent placement in child abuse cases and a
bill that would provide more guidance on
unclaimed property.
Marsh and her husband of 35 years have
six children and have been parents-away-from-home
for three American Field Ser
vice students. Marsh is active in her church.
Girl Scouts and various advisory com
mittees in Lincoln and Lancaster County.
She said she is able to handle her non
political duties and her role as a Irislator
"by putting things in their priorir ."
her role as a woman in the Legis
lature, Marsh said there are advantages be
cause of the "thrill of serving the state of
Nebraska."
"In the Legislature, it is not being a
woman, but the ability to sell one's ideas
on their merits that prove yourself." Marsh
said.
She said her political aspirations are un
decided. "One has to be prepared for opportun
ities," Marsh said. "It may be that I might
want to do something else."
She added that she would like to sec
more women in the Legislature because
three women cannot represent all the
women in Nebraska.
Marsh graduated from L'NL with a
master's degree in business administration
in 1978. She was president of the National
Order of Women Legislators and has served
as the chairwoman of the state advisor)
committee to the United States
Commission on Civil Rights.