Group celebrates women in power at Sunday tea

Montgomery Women aims to get more females elected

‘‘Well, I won’t do it again,” she said.

‘‘It’s not for you,” he said. ‘‘It’s for your husband the delegate.”

The story’s punch line drew hoots of wry laughter from the audience, roughly 75 women and one man, in The Mansion at Strathmore for a ‘‘power tea” on Sunday.

Morella, a Republican from Bethesda, served eight terms in the House of Representatives, as the first woman to represent the 8th Congressional District. She is now an economic ambassador for the United States. She joined Catherine Curran O’Malley, judge and wife of Gov. Martin O’Malley (D), for the woman-centric networking and award event hosted by Montgomery Women.

Montgomery Women began in 2001 to put more women in positions of power. The catalyst for the group was a series of male political appointments that angered politically active women in Montgomery County.

The organization endorses only women candidates for state and local office — but not every woman, President Fran Rothstein clarified. Endorsements are based on non-partisan criteria like experience and constituent service.

‘‘I think every time a woman paves the way in a position of power all women are elevated,” Morella said.

At the tea time event, which took place during Women’s History Month, Montgomery Women also recognized Kathy Lally of the Montgomery County Collaboration Council for Children, Youth and Families, with a ‘‘rising star” award for her leadership work.

The annual tea party gathers major players in Montgomery County politics. This year Donna Edwards, Isiah Leggett, three school board members and two County Council members were among them.

The event was held the day after International Women’s Day.

Some of those in attendance advertised their party affiliation on their jackets — specifically, ‘‘Hillary in 2008” — and O’Malley spoke of how the country ‘‘might be able to make history” in the upcoming presidential election. Still, the ‘‘power tea” organizers made it expressly bipartisan, billing a Republican and the wife of a Democratic governor as speakers.

O’Malley asked the women in the audience striving for influential positions or career success to keep themselves in mind.

‘‘It’s important, I think, as women, to realize we do have a career, we have families we need to take care of,” O’Malley said. She stressed ‘‘making sure we’re the best we can be so that we can be the foundation for the group we represent, whether it’s your children or the people in your community.”