Westchester NOW-PAC News
Jon Wegienek, Chair

This year the Political Action Committee of Westchester NOW completely revamped its questionnaire for the evaluation of candidates running for the county board of legislators. Because county funding is critical to the operation of many programs beneficial to women and children, many of the committee's questions addressed specific local budget issues. Items covered included, among others, continued funding for programs to combat violence against women and for those which provide day-care subsidies, funding of civil legal services and case management support for poor and low-income elderly residents, and the allocation of funds for increased services for Westchester's Hispanic population.  Additionally, candidates were asked if they supported maintained funding of the independent Neighborhood Health Centers, an initiative to provide down-payment assistance for housing to female-headed households, and a plan to increase the availability of much-needed infant and toddler care in our county. Lastly, we asked about their stances on pay equity, affirmative action, reproductive rights (as evaluated by the Westchester Coalition for Legal Abortion), and the creation of a county Human Rights Commission. Candidates not supporting the establishment of the HRC were not endorsed.

Our thanks go to Amy Paulin and Ann Schaffer (Westchester Women's Agenda), Lottie Harris and Sandy Keely (Child Care Council), Polly Rothstein and Deborah West Zipf (Westchester Coalition for Legal Abortion), Graciela Heymann (Westchester Hispanic Coalition), Carole Morris (Mt. Vernon Neighborhood Health Center), Melanie Fitzgerald (YWCA), Alison Lake (Westchester Children's Association), Camille Murphy (Office for Women), and Mary Ellen Martirano (District Attorney's office) for their valuable input.  This project would not have been accomplished without them.