Former Greek-American Congressional
Candidate Counsels NYC Mayoral Hopeful
Ona
Spiridellis, who was politically active in her own 1992 run for U.S.
Congress (11th CD, NJ) and actively campaigned for Sen. Bill
Bradley in his run for the office of president, believes John Catsimatides
should think about the power and needs of women in today’s society as he
campaigns to be New York City’s mayor, a decision that became public the
week after Easter.
“Having
thirty years of professional freedom behind them and great opportunities
in the future offered in the professional world,” Spiridellis said,
“women also must make difficult choices.” She believes that in order
to make those choices, they need a government that works for them, and she
encourages Catsimatides to embrace women’s issues and thereby earn
women’s support.
Critical
of the Bush administration’s misrepresenting itself as being committed
to women, Spiridellis notes that it has repeatedly acted against them and
believes Catsimatides can make a difference, at the very least in the way
NYC deals with women’s issues.
“I
hope he will work to protect every woman’s right to choose; protect
women’s rights in the workplace; support pro-family and pro-children
policies; ensure affordable, quality health care for all Americans; and
crack down on violence against women,” she said, pointing to specific
Bush administration actions that worked against women.
“The
Bush administration says it is committed to women. But it has repeatedly
acted against them. It has deprived women of the legal right to choose an
abortion; banned fetal tissue research which could lead to great advances
in ovarian and breast cancer research; opposed the Family and Medical
Leave Act and broken its promise to raise the personal tax exemption for
children. Thanks to this administration, women cannot seek punitive
damages for gender-based workplace discrimination because of its opposed
to both the Equal Rights Amendment and a strong Civil Rights bill.”
Spiridellis
points out that the issue isn’t about whether abortion is the “right
thing to do.” Rather, she said, “it’s about whether criminal law
should be applied against women and their doctors in the most difficult,
private, and painful matters that can arise. Remember what it was like
before Roe vs. Wade. Illegal abortions did not stop them from happening;
it only made it more dangerous for women who were subjected to butchering
by unqualified people or who tried unsuccessfully to perform their own.”
Spiridellis
believes it is important to use whatever scientific means are available to
find cures for diseases, and says politics should not interfere with
science.
“Too
little attention is paid and too few resources are devoted to the medical
problems that women face.”
Spiridellis
believes women will support Catsimatides if he is a “leader who values
families and will empower those who rely on welfare with education,
training, child care and medical coverage, so they can break the cycle of
dependency and go back to work.” And what does she believe will be his
reward for a proven record and solid proposals for progress and reform
when it comes to women’s issues?
“American
women will work to help elect him and other like-minded individuals to
government office.”