Local event focuses on Capital Women
PAC looks to help women interested in running for office
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. » The International Women’s Day event, which was postponed on March 7 due to weather, was held Wednesday evening, March 21, at Longfellow’s Restaurant in Saratoga Springs.
This year’s event focused on women in politics and the various ways in which women could become more involved, both as candidates as well as educators, trainers, advocates and supporters of candidates.
The focus of the evening was on Capital Women, a recently-formed PAC that was created in the living room of cofounder Kathryn Allen’s home in Loudonville. Allen, along with JoAnne Smith and Libby Post, a political consultant and regular guest on WAMC’s radio talk show, Roundtable, formed the group in late November 2017 to educate, support and advocate for women interested in running for political office.
“We started out with 45 women,” said Allen. Today, there are approximately 500 members working to protect “the rights of women and all other groups who have yet to achieve their full rights under the Constitution,” according to the mission statement on their website.
The fundraising event at Longfellow’s drew about 80 women from throughout the Capital Region, many of whom were there to help expand the PAC’s membership in Saratoga, Schenectady, Warren and Washington counties.
Speakers at the event included Libby Post, former Mayor Joanne Yepsen, local writer and political activist, Ruth Fein, who coordinated the event, and Saratoga Springs Supervisor, Tara Gaston.
Fein told the assembled guests that the purpose of the event “is to celebrate how far we’ve come and how far we have to go.” She introduced Joanne Yepsen, whose term in office expired in January and marked the end of twelve years in local politics.
“After twelve years of public service, I want to enable more women to succeed and it makes sense to help Capital Women expand across all the counties. It makes so much sense [for Capital Women] to be the hub for women,” said Yepsen. She added that, “unless we get more women elected, we will not get the things we need and want.”
Supervisor Gaston pointed out that it takes an average of nine “asks” before women will consider throwing their hat into the political ring, adding that women tend to think of all the reasons why they should not run. Those reasons typically include concerns over their children and families, their ability to do the job, and fundraising and developing a support network.
Gaston said that one of the goals of Capital Women is to educate women on the issues and develop a support infrastructure and network on a year-round basis, so that women are ready when election season begins.
Gaston talked about the number of ways in which every woman present could become involved, which included volunteering, networking and supporting, as well as running for office. She also asked the women to consider what factors were stopping them from getting involved and to identify what specific things they need from Capital Women, such as classes or training, networking and fundraising, or help in raising potential candidates’ visibility.
The audience consisted of a mix of women who were already politically active, such as Ellie Dillon, who is the Democratic Committee chair for the Town of Milton and vice-chair of Saratoga County Democratic Committee. Dillon recently joined Capital Woman, noting that the PAC “reached out to us and we heard the call.”
Caroline Boardman, wife of Schenectady mayor, Gary McCarthy, was also there to support the PAC and help expand their presence in Schenectady County.
There were also dozens of other women who have never been politically active until recently. Katrina Railton of Wilton, who works in the finance department of Global Foundries, was there with her friend, Tai St. John, who is the Director of Selection for Northwestern Mutual. The friends were energized after the 2016 presidential election and they made the trip to Washington in January 2017 to participate in the Women’s March. They attended the Longfellow’s event to learn how they could support local candidates as volunteers and participants in the campaign process.
Libby Post, in her comments to the group, used the PAC’s name to demonstrate women’s willingness, ability and potential to be a force going forward in local and state politics. “We are ‘capital’ women,” said Post, elaborating on the play on words by talking about the collective skill, drive and potential political power in the room. Post said that, in their first year of existence, they raised $18,000 and “pumped” $17,000 into local races. The PAC hopes to increase the amount of money they raise to support the increasing number of women and progressive candidates who are entering the local, regional and statewide political arena.