Allentown, PA<\/strong> \u2013 \u201cThe women are coming.\u201d 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.<\/span> 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.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cVOTE!\u201d said <\/span>Susan Wild<\/a>, who if elected in the 7<\/span>th<\/sup> congressional district would be the first woman ever to represent Lehigh County in the U.S. Congress. \u201cWe 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,\u201d Wild said.\u00a0 \u201cThe 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,\u201d she said.<\/span> <\/p>\n Information and images provided by: <\/p>\n <\/p>\n
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\n Zanelli, Lehigh County District 3 Commissioner, hosted her second annual \u201cProgress in Politics\u201d panel discussion and brunch in Allentown for over 150 women and men who support Zanelli\u2019s campaign to draw more women to run for office and implement progressive policies sensitive to women\u2019s issues into politics from the local to national levels.<\/span><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/unnamed-3.jpg\")
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\n \u201cWe are far from done,\u201d Zanelli said.\u00a0 Zanelli, the first openly gay Lehigh County Commissioner, swept into office last November and has continued her goal to \u201cbring more women to the table.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>
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\n \u201cThere is so much more to strive for equity for women in leadership, politics and government, so we decided to do things a little bigger,\u201d Zanelli said as she announced her latest endeavor \u2013 <\/span>Your Mother<\/a>, a political action committee to support progressive women candidates as she looks toward the 2019 election cycle. \u201cBecause mother knows best and it\u2019s about time we put a few good mothers in office,\u201d Zanelli said.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/a>
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\n Pennsylvania District 103 Representative <\/span>Patty Kim<\/a> said, \u201cI long for the day that women\u2019s voices will be heard without us having to yell. And in order to do that we have to vote, we have to donate,\u201d 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.<\/span>
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\n Philadelphia attorney <\/span>Jennifer Gomez Hardy <\/a>of the Gomez Law Group said, \u201cWe need to start demanding equal pay. Equal pay. Equal education. Then we are going to see women go way farther than they are now.\u201d<\/span>
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\n \u201cFor me, it\u2019s raising the minimum wage,\u201d said <\/span>Shavonnia Corbin-Johnson<\/a>, former Obama administration assistant to the director of the Office of Management and Budget. \u201cMoney yields opportunity and we see that so much here in America.\u00a0 By having the minimum wage raised, women will be able to buy houses, they will be able to afford education and run for office.\u201d<\/span>
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\nAmy Cozze<\/a>, small business owner and candidate for state representative for Pennsylvania\u2019s District 137, added that for there to be true equality for all women there must stricter sexual harassment laws. \u201cThe reason that women victims don\u2019t come forward is because historically there haven\u2019t been consequences for the predators. Until we have laws in place, to scare these people straight into treating us like human beings, it\u2019s going to continue,\u201d Cozze said.<\/span>
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\n When asked if the country is in a constitutional crisis, Wild didn\u2019t hesitate to take the microphone and said, \u201cThe answer is yes and it\u2019s 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,\u201d Wild said. \u201cI 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,\u201d she said.<\/span>
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\n Proceeds from Sunday\u2019s event were donated to Susan Wild for Congress.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nAmy Zanelli
\n***In effort to share the Lehigh Valley’s events and happenings with out bias we will accept political press releases and positive opinion pieces. These articles do not necessarily reflect the opinions of The Valley Ledger, staff, advertisers, affiliates, or any other associates of The Valley Ledger.***<\/span><\/p>\n
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