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(Editor's note: Since joining the National Organization for Women in 1995, Kathryn Lake Mazierski has served as the president of the Buffalo-Niagara County Chapter and as a member of the statewide NOW Board of Directors. She was elected president of the New York State NOW chapter in June and, last month, moved the organization's headquarters from Albany to Niagara Falls.
A feminist leader with a proprietary interest in the Niagara Falls area, Lake Mazierski took some time recently to sit down with Reporter Contributing Editor Rebecca Day and discuss issues of particular interest to both men and women in Western New York.)
Q. The NOW headquarters recently moved from Albany to Niagara Falls. Why?
A. The office traditionally moves to where the president lives, and I live in Lockport. The rent is so dirt cheap in Niagara Falls that we really just took advantage of the situation.
Q. Are there any special goals or issues you want to address in Niagara Falls?
A. Obviously, since the state office is now here, the Buffalo-Niagara chapter has access to lobbying and research they can use to bolster their image. But on a general level, having lived here, there are issues.
Just the other day, my husband and I were coming back from a shopping trip in Canada and as soon as you cross the border at the Whirlpool Bridge, there's this big glaring sign that says, "Experience the experience." We burst out laughing. I said, "What's the experience? Infant mortality? Crushing poverty? Unemployment? What is the experience here?"
Each day, I look out my window and it's the most depressing sight ever. You can drive down any one of these streets and you can see by the architecture, the boarded-up stores, what the economy used to look like here. It's really sad. And then, of course, you see the women and the children walking around. There are a lot of issues. Child care, pay equity, harassment in the workplace, domestic violence, the whole gamut.
I don't see any vision. What is the plan here besides raising taxes? In fairness, it seems worse because of the illusion of prosperity you see across the river in Niagara Falls, Ontario. But really, $7-an-hour jobs aren't going to do the trick, particularly for women because we know that many women head up their households. They're responsible. When you look at child care--a woman making $7 an hour, she has to pay that much for child care. It's better for her to stay home.
Q. I take it you don't think too much of Mayor Irene Elia's administration.
A. Not at all. I remember watching the Accardo-Elia debate and just laughing. One of the things I've studied is the international economy and what makes economy grow, and for her to make the comment about bringing prosperity back to the city by opening dress shops on Main Street, it was preposterous. My only thought was, who could afford to buy the dresses?
Her proposed tax increase is appalling. Who is going to come to Niagara Falls to pay that? She has no vision. I went to one event and someone asked her why she wanted to be mayor and her response was that she never did. Just because someone is given the title of a leader doesn't necessarily make them a leader. In her case, that is very clear. Her knowledge of the political process, the political system, is very limited. Her knowledge of the economy is very limited. This is like a Third World country. She has a clear lack of understanding about socioeconomic issues, of the whole culture of poverty. She hasn't got a clue.
She comes from a privileged family, and it reminds of Marie Antoinette during the French Revolution saying "Let them eat cake" when the people said they had no bread. And we all know what happened to her.
She said Rudy Giuliani told her that if she beefed up the police force, Niagara Falls would begin to enjoy the same economic prosperity as New York City. I thought, how could she possibly believe that? And how could you compare Niagara Falls to New York City?
Business isn't going to come back here with this tax structure. Not only do you have to offer them what other places offer them, you have to make it better. People left here for a reason, and part of it was the tax structure.
Q. What are some of the things that are unique about New York State as opposed to the rest of the country?
A. New York State ranks dead last in terms of women's health. We've been saying for a long time that one thing that will certainly help women is preventative medicine. I don't know if you're aware of the Women's Health and Wellness Act, but it has been introduced and passed many times in the state Assembly and continually fails in the Senate.
What it does is address things like osteoporosis prevention and screening, breast cancer, cervical cancer and also equity in contraceptive devices and coverage. Most insurance companies do not cover contraceptive drugs for women.
The ironic thing is that after the Senate recommended that this bill go under study, two minutes later they turned around and approved a measure providing insurance coverage for prostate cancer screening. That is blatant discrimination against women.
We know that unintended pregnancies can keep women out of the workplace, we know that unintended pregnancy can have consequences for the employer. It just doesn't make sense to force women to have children when they don't want to have children.
Q. So why do you think it is that this can't be passed? Is it a fear of offending the conservative element?
A. The argument is that if the Senate passed the women's Health and Wellness Act, it would put insurance rates through the roof and employers couldn't afford to provide it. There have been a number of independent studies done which show that providing women with this coverage would cost just $17 a year per employee. There's insurance coverage for Viagra at $10 a pill, but they won't cover birth control pills. It doesn't make any sense to me.
My feeling is that if they took the contraceptive equity provision out of this legislation, it would pass hands-down. I know that there were, in the Assembly, some right-leaning Legislators who passed this measure because it was so broad and dealt with other things besides birth control. It gave them some cover to hide behind.
It's just another example of how we need to take responsibility for whom we elect to office.
Q. Were you encouraged by Hillary's election?
A. I think she's a dynamo. We recommended that the national NOW PAC endorse her and they did. I think she's very, very good for New York State. There were glaring differences between her and Rick Lazio. On one hand, he was trying to portray himself as pro-choice but he was only pro-choice until conception. Once a woman was pregnant, he just wasn't there. It galled me that he, along with Gov. Pataki, whom I still don't believe is pro-choice, got up there and said he was pro-choice when his record clearly showed that wasn't true.
This is where women need to be careful, particularly when they're thinking about voting for or financially supporting candidates. You have to look at the record, look into their background. Who funds them? What organizations do they belong to? And this is what I mean when I say we need to take responsibility.
Q. Do you encounter a lot of resistance to your ideas?
A. I think that when you say you're a feminist, for many women, I think it puts them in an uncomfortable position. You're seen as some radical kook. So if you don't want that title, you have to accept the status quo, and we all know what that is. Either way, whatever you decide, there's going to be some kind of backlash attached to it.
I think I've been a feminist all of my life. I do see the glaring differences between men and women on almost every scale. Women need to take responsibility for their lives. The thing I find disturbing is that some women are very willing to let women like myself and other leaders stand up and take the licks while they ride on the coattails and reap the benefits.