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Address to NCCo Library Advisory Board - 10/6/04
FOP Forum - 9/27/04
Newark Methodist Women's Group Candidate Forum - 9/18/04
Introduction for David Cobb - 8/27/04
Minquadale Fire Hall Forum on Public Safety 8/17/04
Making the Vision of Universal Health Care a Reality Now 5/27/04
Cannon 2004 GPDE Convention Speech 5/22/04
GreenViews TV Appearance 4/18/04
Address to Joint Sunset Committee on DSWA 4/13/04
Salem Nuclear Power Plant 3/28/04
Women's Issues - 9/18/04 Speech at Newark Methodist Women's Group Candidate Forum
Hello. My name is J. Roy Cannon. I’m the Green Party candidate for the 9th District NCCo Council seat. My district extends from just outside of Newark to Prices Corner, on the North side of Kirkwood Highway. I live in Meadowood with my wife and two teenage children.
Thank you for having me here today.
As everyone here knows, many of the issues that today we call women’s issues -- like comparable worth, reproductive rights, wellness, quality daycare and so on -- were initially stressed by the women’s movement. But as everyone here knows, just because these issues were first highlighted by the women’s movement doesn’t mean that they are issues of importance to only women. Quite the contrary. Like other grassroots movements before it -- for instance, the civil rights movement and the union organizing drives of the 1930s -- the women’s movement developed an analysis that was important not just to its core constituency, but to all people who believe in democracy regardless of their gender.
In fact, although it’s important to deal with issues that speak specifically to women, it’s equally important to challenge the status quo definition of what is and what isn’t a women’s issue. Take urban and suburban planning as an example. These issues hardly ever mentioned as of particular interest to women. This bias exists in spite of the fact that women in Delaware, as well as in other parts of the country, have played a leading role in raising transportation, environmental and neighborhood issues. Women have played this role because they understand at least as well as men -- and sometimes better since they often are responsible for transporting children and overseeing their play -- that bad governmental developmental and environmental policies can hurt families in a lot of ways.
Take the county’s transportation infrastructure as an example. Because of a lack of pre-planning, that infrastructure has become a nightmare hanging around the county’s neck. Inadequate roadways, growing congestion rates, and a rise in traffic accidents are the price we pay for the county’s and state’s unthought-out transportation policies. Every time an employee drives to work or a parent transports their child to a friend’s house or to a local park, sprawl affects their lives.
A similar lack of planning -- born of a favoritism toward big business -- has resulted in New Castle County being among the worst 5% of U.S. counties in terms of pollution. Given this fact, and given the refusal of local government bodies to solve the problem, it’s no wonder we have unrivaled cancer and asthma rates here. Which brings up another problem: public health. Not only do we have, as I’ve just mentioned, some serious local health issues, but, just to make things worse, we also have a health care system that’s in such disarray that thousands of local residents must go without health insurance. If that isn’t a crime against the public good, I don’t know what is!
So here we are. We have two issues -- urban and suburban planning -- that according to the status quo aren’t “women’s issues.” Yet these issues are in fact of great concern to many women precisely because they are interrelated with other issues like public health, unsafe roads, environmental contamination and so on. Such realities show us the danger of accepting at face value stereotypes about what groups are interested in what issues. They also show us the folly of acting as if issues are disconnected from each other. In truth, most of the issues of concern to us have a reach that goes beyond themselves and don’t therefore exist in isolation.
Let me use the issue of comparable worth in order to make this point clear.
First of all, let me state clearly that New Castle County and the rest of Delaware need comparable worth legislation that guarantees that if a woman does work that is equal to what a man does, she will get paid equally. We need such legislation because the sad truth is that in our state women receive on average 22% lower pay than men. Not only are women often slotted into low-paying so-called “women’s work” occupations like typist, records processing, and low-level health services work, but too often they receive lower pay even when performing the same or similar work as men.
This is definitely an example of gender inequity and can only be solved by the application of the comparable worth principle.
But the comparable worth idea also has a democratic reach that extends beyond gender inequities. This is because the more we become familiar with the idea, the more we learn to apply it to all situations -- for instance, to the situation of pay disparities along racial lines, disparities that exist right here in Delaware.
Did you know that blacks’ per capita income in New Castle County is only 60.8% of whites -- that’s 40% less -- and that their poverty level is 3.4 times higher that of whites? The numbers for Hispanics are even worse. This is a horrible situation that calls out for the application of comparable worth ideas. Everyone, regardless of gender, race, nationality and so on, deserves fair pay and equal economic opportunity.
Because of this, comparable worth is not only an idea whose time has come, it is an idea which is too long overdue!
I think we all agree these are important issues. Unfortunately, the problems facing us won’t be solved if we don’t dare to place in office candidates and parties who are independent of the Republican and Democratic forces that created these problems. We need a new, more open-minded and thoughtful politics. This means candidates knowledgeable enough to define the issues, strong-spirited enough to put people first and principled enough to reject the parasitical relationship that exists between political corruption and enslavement to status quo politics.
I think when I talk about corruption, you know what I mean. Just look at the corruption scandals that have wracked NCCo Council for at least the last 14 years. From Councilman Ronald J. Aiello’s 1990 conviction for extorting a $100,000 bribe on rezoning votes straight through the current scandals surrounding Gordon and Freeberry, New Castle County Council has been more like a lab for producing illegal activities than a site of good government. This trend has created a New Castle County bureaucracy in which developers and political careerists have taken control of County life while government “by the people and for the people” has been replaced by a corrupt government of the good ol’boy and the backroom deal.
Given the nature of these problems, if I’m elected to New Castle County Council I plan -- first of all -- to pursue the policies I believe in and -- second of all -- to symbolize in all my behavior that it is possible to do a good job, be honest and stand up for grassroots people at the same time.
Now let me be specific about some of the policies I will pursue.
One: I will call for a new -- and completely independent -- Ethics Commission that has the power to bring county government corruption to its knees.
Two: I will call for the passage of ‘sunshine laws’ and open meeting laws that allow greater public inquiry into government affairs.
Three: I will support legislation that specifies that in order for a company to receive tax breaks and other enticements to locate in the state, it must first agree not to outsource jobs and to abide by stricter environmental regulations.
Four: I will advocate for, and help to write, equity legislation and/or policies on a variety of fronts. In the Delaware and America of the 21st century, racial, gender, ethnic, sexual orientation, and religious inequities must once and for all be eliminated.
Five: We must be more aggressive in preserving open space, reigning in the power of building contractors, and fashioning procedures for direct public involvement in decision-making on all significant development issues.
Six: In all that I do as a County Council member, I will work closely with grassroots leaders who are not afraid to speak truth to power, not afraid to fight against unethical and illegal government behavior, and not afraid to forge ahead on an independent path.
In closing let me say this: Wherever I go in this campaign, I give the same basic message. And that message is: we don’t just need change, we need serious change! -- like the reforms I outlined today. I’d love your support in pursuing these goals. I’d also like your vote in the upcoming election if you agree with my vision. If you have any questions I will be happy to meet with you after we adjourn.