New York City Council Caucus Joins Push To Put Woman On $20 Bill

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A campaign to get a woman's face on the $20 bill has gained steam online, and local politicians have also gotten involved.

As CBS2's Cindy Hsu reported, an online video petition seeks President Barack Obama's support for removing President Andrew Jackson's prominent portrait from the $20 and replacing it with that of a prominent woman.

The group "Women on 20s" is behind the push. Barbara Ortiz-Howard came up with the idea about a year and a half ago.

"There are no women on the money and I thought, 'Geez, this is a crazy omission,'" Ortiz-Howard said.

So Ortiz-Howard and her friends came up with what they called a list of 15 amazing women, and asked the public to vote online. The group said more than 600,000 votes were cast over 10 weeks, and escaped slave and legendary abolitionist Harriet Tubman came out on top.

"She risked her life, over and over and over again," Ortiz-Howard said. "I mean, people put themselves so out there."

Others in the top three included Eleanor Roosevelt and Rosa Parks.

On Saturday, New York City Councilwoman Margaret Chin (D-1st) and other members of the council's Women's Caucus announced a resolution calling on the federal government to put a woman on the $20 bill.

President Barack Obama remarked that a little girl had sent him a letter asking him to put a woman on U.S. currency, "which I thought was a pretty good idea."

The president can direct the Secretary of the treasury to make the change, and the group is doing all it can to get the word out.

Those fighting for the change are hoping the new $20 bills will be in circulation by the year 2020, which marks the 100th anniversary of the woman's right to vote.