Phoenix celebrates 99th year of 19th Amendment, plans for centennial

PHOENIX — The city of Phoenix celebrated the 99th anniversary of women gaining the right to vote nationwide by kicking off a year of honoring suffragists.

Mayor Kate Gallego said the city is working with its women’s and arts commissions to organize events celebrating the 19th Amendment, culminating with the 100th anniversary of its ratification on Aug. 18, 2020.

Gallego said Phoenix is the largest city in the U.S. to be governed by a female-majority council and that representation spreads to the rest of the state.

“We have multiple women elected statewide. Our U.S. Senate delegation in Arizona is entirely women,” she told KTAR News 92.3 FM on Tuesday. 

PHX is largest city in U.S. governed by female-majority council. Strong women leaders play an integral part in PHX’s history. 2020 marks 1️⃣0️⃣0️⃣ years of women’s suffrage. Over the next year, we will host events to educate & celebrate women, focusing on the work still to be done. pic.twitter.com/wGqx51bx58

— Mayor Kate Gallego (@MayorGallego) August 20, 2019

“So I don’t think these milestones would have happened without the 19th Amendment and women’s ability to vote.”

Secterary of State Katie Hobbs said she and others in public office “are standing on (the) shoulders” of the suffragists before them.

“I think that for me being a woman in Arizona, I’ve never really thought about, ‘I’m a woman, I can’t be in politics,’ because we’ve had such great role models,” she told KTAR News. 

Gallego said it’s important not to take the right to vote for granted.

“It’s important for us to reflect on this,” she said. “There are women living today in our community who were born when women did not have the right to vote.”

Gov. Doug Ducey also marked the anniversary, noting that Arizona gave women the right to vote in 1912, 12 years before it was added to the U.S. Constitution.

Today is the 99th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th amendment- a momentous occasion in our nation's history when women were given the right to vote. Arizona was proud to give women the right to vote in 1912, which was eight years before the U.S. ratification. pic.twitter.com/3D9ua6nWgC

— Doug Ducey (@dougducey) August 18, 2019

KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Amy Phol contributed to this report. 

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