Sheila Kuehl
When Kuehl was elected as a Democrat to the California Assembly in 1994 a Republican majority was seated for the first time in 20 years. This was due largely as an out-flowing of the enthusiasm stoked up by Newt Gingrich's strategy supporting Republicans for the Federal Legislature. Kuehl recalled "The Republican majority was quite a different kind of Republican, not a moderate, not a Rockefeller Republican. They were primarily Bible-thumpers and very right-wing. So it was not the most welcoming Republican group, though they loved Zelda Gilroy, and it was very difficult for them because they already liked me so much…. And to their surprise, we all got along very well. ...The Republicans were pretty horrible about LGBT stuff. They all virtually said stuff like, 'Well, they're all spawn of the devil, oh, but not you, Sheila….'"
Jill Alper
Alper co-founded the Women's Information Network in 1989. In 1991, she was voted a "Rising Star" by "Campaigns and Elections" magazine. In 1993, she received the Women of Distinction Award from the American Association of University Women. In 2006, she was recognized by The American Association of Political Consultants as the "Best Democratic Campaign Manager" in the nation for Granholm's re-election. In 2010, she was named to the Aristotle Campaign Dream Team. Actress Cheryl Kaleda was cast to play Alper in the movie Recount (film), a chronicle of the weeks after the 2000 U.S. presidential election and the subsequent recounts in Florida, starring Kevin Spacey. From 2011 to early 2013 she wrote a bi-weekly Sunday column for the "Detroit Free Press", "Politically Speaking".