The answer is yes, at least for Mary Norwood, heading into a mayoral runoff in her hometown of Atlanta. The Democrat and member of the Junior League of Atlanta turned in a vote total of 45% in Tuesday’s general election against a crowded eight-candidate race, sparking a two-candidate runoff scheduled for December 1.

We will let Mary speak for herself, but politics and League membership has long been a natural extension of the Junior League’s commitment to civic leadership, going back to Eleanor Roosevelt member of the Junior League of the City of New York. But how typical is Mary of today’s Junior League members (all 160,000 of them)?

  • Denise Murphy McGraw, recently elected to the Town Board of Niskayuna, NY
  • Kay Hagan, North Carolina’s newest Senator, elected in 2008
  • Doris Matsui, US Congress – California (5th District), elected in 2005
  • Carolyn Maloney, US Congress since 1993, 14th District of New York
  • Pat Evans, former three-term mayor of Plano, TX from 2002-2009
  • Glenda Hood, former three-term and first female mayor of Orlando
  • Margaret McTavish Konantz, first woman elected to the Canadian House of Commons from Manitoba (1963-68)
  • Margaret Chase Smith, first woman elected to the United States Senate (1949-73)

And there are others (but you get the point). Maybe you should learn more about The Junior League Movement and The Association of Junior Leagues International.