Want Change? Vote for a Mom!

For many, it's primary election season. It's hard to imagine that we're heading out to the polls again, but there you have it. If you have a chance, I'd like to ask you to vote for one of my favorite Mothers of Intention. I'm not going to call them "mama grizzlies" because, well, I'm not a fan of the term and I don't appreciate how Sarah Palin and her crowd are trying to usurp the idea of political motherhood from those of us who were in on the ground floor.

Anyway, here are three moms who deserve your vote. If you live anywhere in the shadow of the nation's capital, you should keep your eye on these women who were motivated by issues that impact their children and their families to take the bold step of running for political office to help make things better for everyone's children, even if that means taking a little less time for their own kids:

1. Krystal Ball. While she's not in a real primary fight in the 1st Congressional District in Virginia, she will be in the general election in November since that part of the state is a real Republican stronghold. But Ball, the mother of a two-year-old daughter, never really thought about politics until she became a mom, and she's been going all out ever since to make a move to become a true new young gun (Hey Politico! Not all the young guns are guys).

2. Ariana Kelly. Ariana has been involved in politics and public policy for a long time and finally decided to get in on the elective action by running for Maryland State Delegate. Most recently, she's been on the MomsRising team as the National Campaign Director. I'm bummed that even though Kelly lives in my neck of the woods, given how the district boundaries are drawn I can't vote for her. But I know there are plenty of you who can. Check out her campaign site and see why we need Kelly in the House of Delegates in Maryland!

3. Aimee Olivo. Do you live in Prince George's County, Maryland? Then you need to check out this Washington Post-endorsed (and former D.C. Metro Mom blogger) whose running for the School Board there. Neither of her two young sons are in school yet, but she's been committed to her local elementary school for years and decided that the she needed to take her commitment to public school education one step further.

If these three women aren't Mothers of Intention, I don't know who are. I'm sure there are plenty to find in your own districts if you look. And if you're asking why you should vote for a mom, just look at it this way -- we've always got our kids' best interests at heart, we amazing multi-taskers, and isn't really about time you saw more moms taking charge?

After Joanne heads out to her polling place, you can find her talking about other issues moms care about at her place, PunditMom.