Zanelli’s Second Annual “Progress in Politics” Conference Focuses on Getting More Progressive Women Elected to Office
Allentown, PA – “The women are coming.” And with that, Amy Zanelli introduced a panel of women Sunday whose passionate and resolute voices spoke about their work as elected officials, small business owners, minority activists, government employees, lawyers, community workers, mentors, mothers, wives and daughters on a mission to elect more females to public office.
Zanelli, Lehigh County District 3 Commissioner, hosted her second annual “Progress in Politics” panel discussion and brunch in Allentown for over 150 women and men who support Zanelli’s campaign to draw more women to run for office and implement progressive policies sensitive to women’s issues into politics from the local to national levels.
“We are far from done,” Zanelli said. Zanelli, the first openly gay Lehigh County Commissioner, swept into office last November and has continued her goal to “bring more women to the table.”
“There is so much more to strive for equity for women in leadership, politics and government, so we decided to do things a little bigger,” Zanelli said as she announced her latest endeavor – Your Mother, a political action committee to support progressive women candidates as she looks toward the 2019 election cycle. “Because mother knows best and it’s about time we put a few good mothers in office,” Zanelli said.
When polled, the members of the Progress in Politics panel agreed that voting and equal pay were the most important issues to pursue to significantly move toward true equality for all women.
“VOTE!” said Susan Wild, who if elected in the 7th congressional district would be the first woman ever to represent Lehigh County in the U.S. Congress. “We have the opportunity this year to elect more women than ever before, across the country at the federal level, the state level and the local level,” Wild said. “The only way we are going to ever achieve true equity for women across the board in pay, in family leave, in health matters is by electing more women across the board,” she said.
Pennsylvania District 103 Representative Patty Kim said, “I long for the day that women’s voices will be heard without us having to yell. And in order to do that we have to vote, we have to donate,” she said. Sharon Hill Councilwoman Sharon Booker agreed that by voting, more women will be elected to office and issues like wage equity will be escalated.
Philadelphia attorney Jennifer Gomez Hardy of the Gomez Law Group said, “We need to start demanding equal pay. Equal pay. Equal education. Then we are going to see women go way farther than they are now.”
“For me, it’s raising the minimum wage,” said Shavonnia Corbin-Johnson, former Obama administration assistant to the director of the Office of Management and Budget. “Money yields opportunity and we see that so much here in America. By having the minimum wage raised, women will be able to buy houses, they will be able to afford education and run for office.”
Amy Cozze, small business owner and candidate for state representative for Pennsylvania’s District 137, added that for there to be true equality for all women there must stricter sexual harassment laws. “The reason that women victims don’t come forward is because historically there haven’t been consequences for the predators. Until we have laws in place, to scare these people straight into treating us like human beings, it’s going to continue,” Cozze said.
When asked if the country is in a constitutional crisis, Wild didn’t hesitate to take the microphone and said, “The answer is yes and it’s because of a number of reasons, chief among which is the Supreme Court Case called Citizens United which put our government up for sale. We are a country that is now being led by corporate interests, not by duly elected officials,” Wild said. “I took a pledge that I would not take any corporate PAC money. I feel so incredibly strongly that elected representatives cannot represent their constituents when they are taking money from corporate interests,” she said.
Proceeds from Sunday’s event were donated to Susan Wild for Congress.
Information and images provided by:
Amy Zanelli
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