Carole Kaye 2010's photostream

I have spent my lifetime on advocacy issues promoting social justice and equality.

1) I am a woman who clearly remembers the time before the passage of Roe v. Wade when it was not an issue of maintaining a woman’s right to choose, but that women had no legal option when faced with an unwanted pregnancy.

The right to make one’s own reproductive decisions must continue to be absolute.

2) Ever since I was a child, I wanted to be a teacher. Early on I recognized that education is the key to success in life and can remember clearly the grammar and high school teachers who made such a difference in mine. When I was 11, I experienced anti-Semitism and bullying based on the fact that I was one of maybe 5 Jewish kids in the entire 6th grade. My teacher was wonderful in helping resolve my emotional trauma. He was also the first teacher who permitted me a make-up test when I was unprepared for a surprise quiz.

Teaching is the most difficult and most important job one can undertake. A classroom must be an exciting place to learn and it is the teacher who creates the “magic”.

I was the president of the Future Teachers of America Club in High School and went to a teacher’s college: Lesley, in Cambridge Massachusetts. I transferred to NYU after my sophomore year and my first job was teaching 2nd grade in Harlem. It was 1968 and when the teachers strike occurred, our lives and jobs were threatened should one refuse to not cross the picket line. I obviously sided with the union. Shortly after, I was hired to teach pre-K at the Henry Street Settlement House.

Although I left teaching for the business world, I remain in awe of good teachers and the selfless contribution they make in the lives of our children. Their salaries should be commensurate with the role they play in the development of our children. Teachers need to play an integral part in curriculum development and not teach only for the FCAT.

Critical thinking develops at an early age and our teachers must foster that skill-set when children are eager to learn. I support all efforts to better compensate our teachers.

3) Entering the business world in 1970 was an effort to achieve economic justice! Women were underpaid and most career opportunities that young women today take for granted, were simply non-existent. So I say with pride that I was the first woman to be hired by the business information division of Dun and Bradstreet and although I ended up in the hospital the last day of the annual sales contest, I refused to give up my first place position until the contest ended. I won my division and it was reported to me by my parents when I returned to my room post surgery!

4) I entered the world of advertising sales and become one of the first female advertising managers in publishing in the mid- 70’s. I was very active during that time working on the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment in New York. I was employed at a company often accused of objectifying women, but the 90 % all female sales staff was thrilled with pay parity, career advancement and a publisher who vigorously supported the political work of Bella Abzug.

5) I was the victim of an armed robbery. I was held up at gun point on an elevator in NYC in lower Manhattan at 5:30 pm.

I was also jumped by two people on the subway platform and had my purse stolen. I was pick-pocketed in broad daylight on 57th Street in Manhattan.

The protection of our citizens is the most important function of local law enforcement. We rely on a quick response to a 911 call and when such a call was made in the middle of the night to Delray Police when my alarm sounded, the response was immediate. That is why it is imperative that, especially when our resources are limited, that manpower be used exclusively for the protection of the community.

6) My father was a World War 2 veteran. During his last year of life, 2007, I applied for Aid and Attendance benefits for him as he required around the clock assistance.

My application was filed, lost, re-filed, lost, re-filed, not processed properly, appealed, lost, re-appealed. Despite the ongoing progress, when he died, the claim was incorrectly closed. I reopened it as my mother was still alive and her care became my responsibility. It remains active to this day as I refuse to not pursue the monetary benefits to which he was entitled. I even wrote to Eric Shinseki.

Even with the help of then Congressman Robert Wexler, the claim remains outstanding.

In my father’s memory, I will continue to fight for the benefits that all our Veterans are entitled to receive.

7) Consumer advocacy is another hot button issue for me. Corporate indifference if not rising to the level of greed requires an educated consumer. Assisting those who are systematically ignored and providing them with ways of dealing with their problems regarding paid purchases and/or services is extremely important.