Several female politicians in Butler County see the expected nomination of Hillary Clinton as the Democratic presidential nominee as a much-needed boost for women in politics.

Clinton this week secured enough delegates to earn her party’s nomination at its convention in Philadelphia on July 25 to 28.

“It’s a big step for women. One can’t help but get caught up in the excitement,” said county Commissioner Leslie Osche.

Osche compared Clinton’s nomination with President Barack Obama’s ascension to the White House as the first African American to become president.

“It was a social step forward,” she said.

She said whether Clinton’s principles differ from hers does not detract from what Clinton has earned. Osche is a Republican.

“She worked hard to get there,” Osche said. “It’s admirable for somebody to rise to that level of success. She’s certainly an inspiration.”

County Commissioner Kim Geyer agreed Clinton should be recognized.

“It’s great to see women get involved in government at every level,” Geyer said.

She said it’s important to have different perspectives.

“It’s good to have that balance,” Geyer said.

But County Treasurer Diane Marburger said she doesn’t get caught up in the fervor of a woman being the first to do something.

“I don’t get real excited about things of that nature,” Marburger said.

She said her lack of enthusiasm isn’t due to her GOP affiliation.

“I would say the same thing if she was a Republican,” Marburger said.

She said qualifications are what matters for political candidates.

“I’m gender-blind,” Marburger said. “I want the best person.”

County Recorder of Deeds Michele Mustello said Clinton’s nomination is good in two ways — she’s the first female nominee and she is the most qualified Democratic candidate.

“It’s exciting,” Mustello said. “I think it’s wonderful.”

She pointed out other countries have had women as leaders.

“It’s not always about the woman,” Mustello said. “It’s about the most qualified.”

Chicora’s mayor, Lisa Nagy, believes that qualifications are absolutely more important than a nominee’s gender or race.

“When I heard she had won the nomination I was not impressed, nor was my first thought, ‘Wow! Our first female nominee!’” Nagy said. “To elect someone because of gender is actually sexist. To elect someone because of race is racist, and to place value on someone because ‘they’ll be the first’ rather than on merit, trustworthiness, integrity and desire with ability to serve the needs of the people rather than oneself ... is wrong.”

Butler City Councilman Kathy Kline agreed that qualifications are the most important, but she’s also glad that a woman has finally been the one who the people view as qualified.

“I look to Hillary Clinton’s experiences and I will make my determination on whether she gets my vote or not based on her qualifications just as I would for any candidate,” Kline said.

“I would not cast a vote for her just because she’s a woman. I would hope in today’s climate that would not be the case (where people don’t vote for her because she’s a woman).

“To me, that’s just as wrong as voting for her just because of her gender. We should always, always, always look at the qualifications that a candidate brings to the table.”

Despite that, Kline is proud that a woman is finally leading a national party.

“Speaking from a woman’s standpoint, we’ve come a long way, haven’t we?” Kline said.

Similarly, Cathy Rape, mayor of Harmony, is not surprised that it has taken so long for a woman to achieve such political prominence.

“I think we were still in the mindset that men should be running the country, and I would be OK with that as long as it was an upstanding man and not part of the ‘good, old boys’ system.”

But for Rape it is upsetting that the first woman to be a major party nominee for president is Clinton, saying she does not believe Clinton is a good candidate.

“I’d like to say ‘it’s a shame that we have her as the first woman (to win a major party nomination),’” Rape said.

“Anybody that would stick with their husband after he disgraced the office of president, I don’t know why she would even stay in office.

“But I have no problem with a woman in chief of command there, but unfortunately, I’m not in favor of her.

“Personally, I don’t know the facts, but from what I’m hearing and seeing on the news ... It sounds like she’s pretty free with her e-mails and such. It just doesn’t sound like she’s a very responsible, upstanding person that I would like to see in office,” Rape said.

While women have been fighting to make strides in their professional, social and personal lives, Clinton’s accomplishment is still a major achievement for women in politics, according to Michael Coulter, a professor of political science at Grove City College.

Coulter said Clinton’s nomination should be recognized as a milestone for the country and an important achievement.

“It’s very rare in any developed democracy in the world to have a female as the head of any major party,” Coulter said. “You can count these, essentially, on your fingers.”

Even during the 1960s counter-culture movement, a woman running the country was a patently ridiculous idea, Coulter said. He pointed to the 1964 movie “Kisses for my President,” a comedy that proceeds on the premise that a woman has become president. It ends when the character, played by Polly Bergen, discovers that she is pregnant and resigns the presidency to focus on her family.

“Fifty years later, it’s not ridiculous anymore,” Coulter said.

He said that it might be easy for many people to miss or discount the significance of Clinton’s nomination, given her decades in public life and her husband’s two terms as president. Bill Clinton served from 1993 to 2001.

“It might even be a good thing that the significance isn’t so clear to everybody because it’s effectively normal. It doesn’t strike us popularly as so unbelievable,” Coulter said.

“But I think it will, in the end, mean more when we have people who have come to political prominence completely on their own and separate from their spouse.”

Eagle staff writers Tom Victoria, Phil Rau and Amanda Spadaro contributed to this report.