Female business owners gain more political clout

[Rose Siding]

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Longaberger, CEO of the Longaberger Company basket-making empire, one of the USA's biggest female-owned companies, has been a big Republican supporter. She gave more than $50,000 to the party for last year's elections.

On Monday, Bush named her chair of the National Women's Business Council. Longaberger, 44, is succeeding another big GOP donor, Marilyn Carlson Nelson, CEO of her family's Carlson Cos., a mammoth hospitality services business.
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The number of women giving $10,000 or more to federal candidates rose 78%, to 6,392, in last year's election cycle from 2000. That compares with 69% growth among men, to 17,689, says a new USA TODAY analysis of data from the Center for Responsive Politics, a non-partisan group tracking campaign finance.

Bush's choice of a party backer follows a pattern that was similar under president Bill Clinton. Clinton's last two council chairs — catalog queen Lillian Vernon and USA Networks founder Kay Koplovitz — were Democrat boosters.
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Asked if {Longaberger's} gifts were a factor in this week's appointment, White House spokeswoman Erin Healy said: "We base personnel decisions on the most qualified person." Longaberger declined comment.

http://www.usatoday.com/money/companies/2005-05-18-women-usat_x.htm