Business and Professional Women’s club celebrates Equal Pay Day

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Somerset Mayor Eddie Girdler stands in support of Equal Pay Day with members of the Somerset Business and Professional Women’s club, including Sandy Stokley, president Tammy Cundiff, Megan Damron, and Joanna Harness. Submitted photo

April 26, 2011

By SANDY STOKLEY, CJ Staff Report Commonwealth Journal The Commonwealth Journal Tue Apr 26, 2011, 07:00 AM EDT

Somerset —

The Somerset Business and Professional Women (BPW) celebrated Equal Pay Day for Women on Tuesday, April 12. The event was held at Amon’s Bakery. Nationally, women make approximately 30 cents less on the dollar compared to men. During this awareness campaign, men were asked to pay a $1 for coffee, while women only paid 70 cents for a cup of jo.

Somerset BPW President Tammy Cundiff pointed out that while women are more educated and account for 50 percent of the workforce, pay is still an issue. “The Equal Pay Act was signed 48 years ago, yet nearly a half of a century later, a woman still earns 77 cents for every man’s dollar.”

Since 1963 the pay gap has only narrowed by a cent a year. Given this current equation, it will take almost 48 more years to achieve pay equality.

Somerset Mayor Eddie Girdler adds that women are just as important to the workforce as men.

“Absolutely women should make the same wages as men. Pay should be focused on performance, not gender. Men and Women should be paid equal, but if a woman’s performance is outstanding, I believe she should be paid more.”

This year two key bills are being reintroduced to leverage the salary gap. The Paycheck Fairness Act, sponsored by Sen. Barbara Mikulski and Rep. Rosa DeLauro. The second bill is the Fair Pay Act, sponsored by Sen. Tom Harkin and Rep. Eleanor Norton. The Somerset Business and Women’s organization urges you to contact your local representatives and senators to voice your support for these bills.

Following the gathering at Amon’s, members of BPW released red balloons in honor of all the women that are making a difference in our country

“Women just want to be treated fairly and I don’t think that’s too much to ask for in today’s society. The best way for you to be heard it to contact your local representatives. They have the power to make the change,” Cundiff said.

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Pulaski carries Girdler to win

In the weeks leading up to Tuesday’s primary election, it was impossible to miss the colorful signs dotting nearly every Pulaski roadway. The names in the race for the 15th State Senatorial District seat popped out: A.C. Donahue. Chris Girdler. Mark Polston.

Once citizens hit the ballots, however, the results mirrored the dimensions of the signs themselves: Chris Girdler stood the tallest.

Girdler, deputy district director for Congressman Harold “Hal” Rogers, ran away with the votes inside Pulaski County’s borders, earning 3,926 votes for 62.05 percent of the total number cast.

That number more than doubled the next highest vote-getter, businessman Mark Polston, who raked in 1,624 votes for 25.67 percent.

However, Polston — who owns Classic Carpet, a home-flooring business located just off the southern 914 bypass — can claim a moral victory ... three of them, in fact. In all three counties in the district other than Pulaski — those being Adair, Casey, and Russell Counties — Polston actually edged out Girdler.

In Adair, Polston beat Girdler 629 to 394. In Casey County, it was 538 to 417, and in Russell, it was 1,862 to 1,038.

Polston said he just “couldn’t pull it out with the numbers” and that “the machine worked for” Girdler in Pulaski County.

“I think that was their strategy — I think they had a Pulaski County strategy all along,” said Polston. “They played the political game well.”

Polston said the difference between his and Girdler’s campaigns was that “mine was a very, very grass roots campaign,” he said. “I did not have a political machine behind me. I understand how this process works, and in this instance, he prevailed.”

As for why Girdler didn’t take three of four counties, the winning candidate — since there are no Democrats in the race, winning the Republican primary was effectively a final victory for Girdler — said he didn’t have an answer for that.

However, “I believe things happen for a reason and I hope the long and strenuous campaign will only heighten my desire to move beyond the bitterness and partisanship of the recent past,” said Girdler.

“Regionalism is a goal of mine, and I look forward to helping all four counties,” he added, noting that he campaigned heavily in each of them.

Sen. Vernie McGaha, the long-time state senator whose seat the candidates were vying for, actually supported Polston after Liberty’s Todd Hoskins dropped out of the race earlier this month.

Donahue, a local attorney, got 556 votes in Pulaski County, 8.79 percent of the vote. He only received 145 votes in Russell County, 74 in Adair County, and 75 in Casey County, where hometown candidate Hoskins almost matched him with 71 votes despite no longer being officially in the race.

Polston said he’s “still digesting” what happened, and though “the process has been a very good experience for me,” he wouldn’t commit to running again in the future. “I wouldn’t shut the door to anything, but I’m not opening any doors either.”

Still, “I think I got a lot of people involved in the process that had not been involved before and would not have been otherwise,” he said. “A lot of people got out and worked really hard, got motivated to talk to friends and neighbors. I think a lot of people became involved through this campaign that are going to be involved for a long time.”

Girdler stressed his “positive message” and said that Rogers is a “mentor and good friend” that he would turn to for advice in dealing with a frequently combative legislative body in Frankfort, one for which Girdler hopes to help change the culture.

Girdler said that he was “confident and optimistic” during the day Tuesday because he’d “worked extremely hard.” Nevertheless, the realization that he’d won gave him “chill bumps,” he said.

“I’m absolutely honored,” said Girdler. “The position of state senator is more than an honor, more than an office. It’s a charge to keep, and I will give it my all.

“I pledge to be the people’s state senator,” he added. “I look forward to working with everyone to move this region forward.”

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