The Mendocino County chapter of the National Women's Political Caucus (NWPC) has joined the debate over welfare reform and Lois Kugelmass, an NWPC member, is playing an active and visible role.
The following article is a summary of her views and activities relating to welfare "reform" as an NWPC member.
Lois Kugelmass was born and raised on Long Island and attended Wellesley College on an English scholarship. She initially had aspirations of becoming a writer, but her career took an activist turn in the early seventies when she became a union organizer. She found union work rewarding but eventually thought it necessary to take time off to raise her son Joseph.
She, her husband Joel and their son moved to California in 1976 and to the town of Mendocino in 1984, where Lois found work as a legal advocate with Redwood Legal Assistance, where she is currently employed. Kugelmass stated the sense of accomplishment derived from working with Redwood Legal Assistance is not unlike that of her union career and stems from long-held beliefs about the poor and about working families.
Kugelmass is the coast vice-chair of the Mendocino County Chapter of the NWPC which she describes as a national, non-partisan political organization whose primary goals are to acquaint women with issues that affect their lives and encourage their involvement in electoral politics, whether by running for office or participating as campaign volunteers.
The Mendocino County chapter of the NWPC has an informal structure. There is an executive board that meets every other month; membership meetings take place two or three times during the year. Val Muchowski, a school teacher and resident of Philo in the Anderson Valley, is chapter chair and responsible for publishing the chapter's monthly newsletter.
In pursuing its objectives, the NWPC has occasion to work jointly with other local women's groups who have similar objectives, including the League of Women Voters and the American Association of University Women. Though the NWPC encourages women to be engaged in politics, the group does not automatically endorse women over men. However, they do tend, in Kugelmass' words, to give them "the benefit of the doubt."
Though not a native Californian, Kugelmass has developed a great affection for the Mendocino coast and speaks enthusiastically about the beauty of the landscape and qualities of its people. She believes Mendocino County to be fertile ground for the NWPC. Many local women are articulate and well-versed on political issues. Environmental and social justice concerns affect us all, and the women of Mendocino County have frequently taken the lead in addressing them.
Though she finds the NWPC's non-partisan stance a bit confining, preferring, on occasion, that they adopt a more activist approach, Kugelmass believes the chapter offers excellent opportunities for local women to become informed on political issues and to be involved in politics. According to Kugelmass, the chapter provides a unique and indispensable voice for women and works for things "I truly believe in."
A factor contributing to the NWPC's interest in welfare "reform" is that issues involving the "safety net" are of immediate consequence to women. This was substantiated through numerous polls taken at the time of last November's election. "Women, as a group, more readily understand these issues," Kugelmass believes. Accordingly, women tend to vote more progressively than men on questions of social import.
There are several aspects of contemporary American life, highlighted by the debate over welfare "reform", that Kugelmass finds troubling:
1. the basic inequities in society - conflicts between rich and poor and urban and rural cultures;
2. the rapacious practices of multi-national corporations - Kugelmass asserts that "the common enemy is greed;"
3. refusal to acknowledge the deficits facing America's underclass - jobs, health care and child care are not there;
4. the tendency to use immigrants and the poor as scapegoats for dislocations in American society;
5. the undertone of racism incumbent in various policies and pronouncements involving welfare "reform."
Kugelmass believes that welfare reform has become the focus of divergent opinions over the nature of the social contract. Should the more restrictive, punitive versions of welfare "reform" become dominant, large numbers of people will be thrust into poverty and unable to extricate themselves. Homelessness will become common-place, malnutrition widespread. The adverse effects on children will be particularly acute and she envisions an exacerbation of racial tensions.
The challenges posed by welfare "reform" are not foreign or intimidating to Kugelmass as she finds the alternative unacceptable: acquiescence to the dictates of a distant and unresponsive government bureaucracy.
Kugelmass is skeptical of governmental bureaucracies, accusing them of engaging in empire building and a lack of compassion and leadership. They divert into pilot projects resources that more properly should be allocated to meeting people's fundamental needs.
Nationally, welfare has been perceived as an urban problem, primarily involving minorities. Kugelmass believes this works to the detriment of rural communities whose needs are frequently ignored.
Mendocino County is rural and economically disadvantaged. There is an urgent need to expand the job base and develop non-polluting, value-added industries.
Had the interests and conditions in rural America been fully taken into consideration when the welfare "reform" bill was drafted, Kugelmass believes the unrealistic provisions regarding work requirements would have been substantially altered.
Though she was aware of efforts by the County Board of Supervisors and Department of Social Services to plan for the implementation of welfare reform in Mendocino County, Kugelmass has become convinced that citizen participation in the planning process required another forum, one independent of governmental influence and restriction. Without public scrutiny and an independent voice, Kugelmass believed there was a distinct possibility that the planning process would result in compromises leading to enactment of regressive programs and regulations.
As a coast resident, Kugelmass initially directed her efforts toward activities close to home. She played a major role in organizing the Sane Welfare Action Coalition (SWAC), a coast group concerned with welfare rights and equity. Later, in March and April of this year, Kugelmass became concerned about the lack of organized activity regarding welfare "reform" in Ukiah, the county seat. She contacted Val Muchowski, who suggested that the NWPC hold a meeting on welfare "reform" in Ukiah, inviting representatives from various Ukiah area organizations as well as the general public.
On May 8, about thirty people attended the first meeting. A cross-section of community groups and interests were represented, including community-based organizations, political parties, the inter-faith community, Native Americans and the schools.
Since then there have been two additional meetings, both well-attended, with Val Muchowski facilitating. Kugelmass is highly appreciative of Muchowski's work, praising her leadership and dedication.
The group has enabled coastal and inland residents of the county to form an alliance around welfare issues, thereby enhancing communication between the major population centers and facilitating the possibility of county-wide, coordinated action.
Kugelmass believes welfare issues should be introduced into the local political arena. On the face of it, politicizing welfare may seem to be a questionable goal, but social welfare policies and programs have been part of the political debate since the 1930's; whenever public resources are involved, politics enters in.
Traditionally, issues involving welfare in Mendocino County have been addressed within the administrative framework of county government, involving the Board of Supervisors, the Department of Social Services and various community-based organizations. Kugelmass finds this too limiting. As a county governmental entity, the Social Services Department is restricted in its ability to advocate for the poor. Issues having a crucial impact on people's lives, such as social welfare programs, are by their very nature political.
Mendocino County is well placed to influence state policy on welfare "reform." Its role is disproportionately large because State Senator Mike Thompson occupies a key position in the legislature as chair of the Senate Budget Committee and co-chair of the "super-committee" assigned to draft welfare "reform" legislation.
Assemblywoman Virginia Strom-Martin has also expressed willingness to discuss local concerns about welfare "reform." Both Thompson and Strom-Martin have met with SWAC representatives in Fort Bragg.
Though she is enthusiastic about the role played to date by NWPC, for the longer term Kugelmass advocates formation of a county-wide coalition that can lobby directly with the Board of Supervisors for progressive social welfare policies. Such a coalition, she feels, should be a large, multi-faceted bloc consisting of various community interest groups, organizations and individuals that would address concerns of the poor, not only through traditional methods of networking and mutual support, but through political activism as well. Such a group would not be restrained by the strictures normally placed on organizations serving in an advisory capacity to county government.
There would be plenty to do. Kugelmass stated that twice-monthly meetings would be justified for such a group. The coalition could seriously address issues of poverty, child support, and treatment of the poor by county agencies and the courts. It would serve as a voice for the poor, offering grassroots support and encouragement. The resulting network would discourage fragmentation and formation of departmental "dynasties," thereby reducing the possibility of conflicts over territory and prerogative.
A primary goal of the coalition would be to educate the public, including the Board of Supervisors, on the nature of poverty and the poor so that welfare recipients are not seen as the enemy. An alliance would be forged within the body politic, seeking common ground between the poor and sympathetic elements from the business community, labor, professional organizations and the inter-faith network.
Kugelmass is cautiously optimistic that the group initially formed through NWPC may evolve into the coalition she advocates. She points out that the group already has had an impact, citing their role in recruiting persons to testify before the Board of Supervisors in June, opposing reduction of the General Assistance grant, as proposed by the Board's Health and Welfare Committee. The proposal was defeated on a three to two vote. Kugelmass considers this not only a victory for General Assistance recipients, but a moral victory for the entire county. The General Assistance grant level represents a minimum standard of decency and survival and should not be tampered with.
Whatever the course and consequences of welfare "reform" in Mendocino county, one may safely assume that - as this article makes clear - Lois Kugelmass will be involved.
Copyright Mendocino Environmental Center 1997
Permission granted to excerpt or use this article if source is cited