January 2008

Happy New Year!  It’s 2008 and we are entering another election year with the confidence of electing the first woman as President of these United States.  I believe this will become a reality and in January 2009 Hillary Clinton will be sworn in as President.

I am dedicating my column this month to past-Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto of Pakistan who was assassinated on December 27, 2007 after her return from exile.  She is my shero of the year and she was only 54 years old. She stood for peace and equality, and was shot down by the ignorance and hatred that exists in the struggle for peace.

The political leaders of countries around the world have included women as Presidents, Prime Ministers and Queens for centuries. Some of these countries include: Bangladesh, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Great Britain, Ireland, New Zealand and the Philippines. Liberia has a newly elected woman as President for the very first time in an African nation.

Here in the United States we have women elected officials at the local, state and federal levels . What’s interesting is comparing the percentage of women in cabinets and parliaments around the world. The countries with the highest percentage of women in office are peaceful and are not engaging in wars: Austria 28%, Sweden 44%, Spain 28%, Germany 32%.  The United States has only 16%.  I find it appalling that only 86 out of 535 House and Senate members are women.

Locally we have 5 women mayors serving in the Coachella Valley: Jean Benson, Palm Desert; Mary Roche, Indian Wells; Kathy DeRosa, Cathedral City; Lupe Ramos Watson, Indio; and Yvonne Parks in Desert Hot Springs.  Remember 1992 when we elected five women to the U.S. Senate - that was “The Year of the Woman.”  Unfortunately, too many thought that meant our work was done.
Women entrepreneurs are the fastest rising group of new businesses in the U.S.
As of 2006, there were 10 million majority-owned, privately-held, women-owned firms
employing 18 million people and generating $2.32 trillion in sales. Women own 28% of all businesses.  Locally, most of Old Town La Quinta’s stores, twelve of the shopping area’s 15 retail stores and 16 of the 31 shops and restaurants, are independently owned by women.

This is an election year and the most important issue facing us is our political process and taking the time to vote. We must also encourage other women to vote and get involved in local politics. In the last general election in 2004 over 122 million people went to the polls to vote but 22 million registered women voters did not?  Why?  Where are they?  We have countries around the world where women are not allowed to vote, where people walk miles to stand in line for hours to vote. We women need to pay attention to our politics in this country and take the time to vote for and protect our rights.

The women of yesterday who were beaten, raped, jailed and bullied did not stand up so that the women of today could ignore the struggle that got us the right to vote.  It was a long hard struggle, and I for one am proud of those women who led the way for me to serve and vote today.

This is a new year with a unique chance to make a difference with your vote.  I am supporting Hillary Clinton because I believe a woman will lead us to peace and acceptance, not the war and intolerance that men have fostered.

I want to wish everyone a Happy New Year, and of course I want world peace.

Melinda Tremaglio

President, PSNOW

PO Box 1219-ps 92263, Palm Springs, CA 92263  Phone:(760) 333-8304  Email: mail@psnow.org