How Katie Paris is igniting the political power of suburban women
By Sharon Holbrook
As from the epicenter of an earthquake, political power is radiating across America from Shaker Heights, from one suburb to the next, from woman to woman. That epicenter is Katie Paris, a Boulevard neighborhood mother of two.
Paris is the founder of Red Wine & Blue, a political advocacy group that aims to ignite and multiply the political power of suburban women – particularly in swing states like Ohio. She started the group after noting the remarkable role of suburban women in swaying the 2018 midterm election. She saw that suburban women, though a diverse group, seemed to coalesce around some common principles in that election.
From top: The BBC filming a piece on the power of Suburban Women 2020; Red Wine & Blue PAC hosts an Ice Cream Social for Nan Whaley for Governor; Red Wine & Blue members at a Vino the Vote party, RW&B’s version of an organizing house party.
This wasn’t a novice attempt to enter the political arena. Paris has been a force in politics for more than three decades. Around age 9, she volunteered for her first political campaign. By senior year of high school, she was playing key campaign roles and was credited as a volunteer coordinator for Harvey Gantt’s close but unsuccessful bids in the ‘90s to defeat Senator Jesse Helms in North Carolina. Before founding Red Wine & Blue, Paris spent decades in Washington, D.C. – and later, working remotely for D.C. organizations from Shaker –building her political chops in a series of powerhouse roles at organizations including Media Matters, a media watchdog organization; Faith in Public Life, a progressive coalition working for social justice; and The American Independent, a progressive news platform.
Then she met her future husband, Jeremy. “At that point I had never even been to Ohio, but I think probably by the second or third date, I knew that I would one day live in a place called Shaker Heights,” laughs Paris. Jeremy attended Shaker schools all the way through high school. His parents, Debby and Zack Paris, still live in the Mercer neighborhood. Jeremy was convincing. “I loved the sound of it, honestly, even before I’d been here,” says Paris.
“He talked about this diverse community that really invested in its public schools and valued public education. And that sounded like a great place to raise a family to me. I loved being in D.C. at the time – we both did – but we knew eventually we’d want to raise family around family.” Visits sealed the deal, says Paris. “Once you’ve been to Shaker Heights a few times, it’s hard to not think it would be a good place to settle one day. It just completely reflected my values.”
Friends and colleagues, Paris jokes, thought the politics-obsessed couple would never leave D.C. But in 2012, just after the election, the Parises made the move. Ten years later, their roots are deep, and hey have a son at Boulevard School and another in preschool. Paris is officially the “suburban woman” that Red Wine & Blue seeks to reach.
Mission-Driven Work
That realization after the pivotal 2018 election – that she was herself a suburban woman – was a driving force in Paris’s move to found Red Wine & Blue.
Suburban women are not a monolith, says Paris, but they are connected by a desire both for the community that suburbia offers and for the advantages of living near cities. Relationships are at the center of everything for suburban women, she says. In sharing life experiences, supporting each other, and building connections, they accumulate wisdom about what they want to see from this country and its politicians.
The name comes from not only a patriotic nod to America’s red, white, and blue, but is also a tongue-in-cheek nod to the sociable mood she sees when women gather, even for political purposes. The actual beverage doesn’t matter, Katie says, but there’s always that desire to welcome and connect. It’s more than just business – once again, it’s relationships. Red Wine & Blue is focused less on particular political positions than following the lead of the women in different communities. The focus may shift somewhat in different places and at different times, but “opposition to extremism” is always a focus. Recently, that means that the women of Red Wine & Blue have been organizing around opposing book bans in school districts and advocating for reproductive rights. One way to get involved, Paris says, is by signing up for “The Great Troublemaker Turnout,” in which women commit to do more than just vote in the 2022 election. Participants, through a one-hour training and access to ongoing support from Red Wine & Blue, learn how to talk with their friends and others in their social networks about issues and elections.
“Suburban women are not a monolith, but they are connected by a desire both for the community that suburbia offers and for the advantages of living near cities.”
These resources aren’t just available in Ohio; Red Wine & Blue also has suburban women organizers in Michigan, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina, with plans to add Virginia next year. The national Facebook group, Troublemaker Trainings, and other resources are available anywhere.
Many people vote for the high-profile positions on the ballot, such as governor or senator, but don’t vote “down ballot” for offices such as state supreme court judge or state school superintendent because they feel they don’t know enough about the candidates or the stakes of who fills those positions. This is a way, says Paris, that Troublemakers can be really helpful to people in their networks – by sharing information about those down-ballot elections. Elections matter right down to the local level, and it can often be easier and feel less partisan to discuss those races with family, friends, and acquaintances, she says.
This “relational organizing” is effective, and also easy for busy women to fit into their lives, because they’re already texting and calling friends. There are dozens of Shaker Heights women who are already participating in the Red Wine & Blue Ohio Facebook group – Decanted OH by Red Wine & Blue – and who are signing on to The Great Troublemaker Turnout.
Paris loves connecting with so many women in the community. She and Jeremy chose Shaker for its high-quality, diverse public schools, and she says the sense of community she has found here makes her love it even more.
“It’s amazing to live here. Honestly, Shaker influences me just in terms of the ethos of who I am and to be the person who would start this organization,” says Paris. “In Shaker, you are involved in your community – that is part of the ethic here: We fiercely love our families and our community, and we see those things as a mixture. And so, you know, being a suburban mom in Shaker Heights… for the first time in my life, I feel like what I do professionally is wholly who I am.”
