Member
honored for frontlines politicking
By SHERRY HALBROOK
This spring, PEF member Carol Olszewski was honored by the Labor Religion
Coalition of the Capital District with its On the Frontlines award.
The award, presented by the coalition at its 25th Anniversary Awards Dinner in
Albany, was “in recognition of her work as a political organizer and activist.”
Olszewski is PEF’s political action liaison (PAL) for state Assembly Member Paul
Tonko.
PEF Region 8 Coordinator Tom Comanzo said he has seen Olszewski’s political
skills and savvy grow remarkably over the three years she has been a member of
the Region 8 PAC, which he chairs.
“She’s very active in the PAC and is always willing to volunteer when we need
her,” he said.
Olszewski traveled to Pennsylvania, New Hampshire and Florida to work on John
Kerry’s presidential campaign in 2004.
But it was primarily her impressive efforts supporting political newcomer
Kirsten Gillibrand’s 2006 upset victory over the Republican incumbent in the
20th Congressional District that earned Olszewski the Frontlines award.
As the political affairs director of Democracy for the Hudson-Mohawk Region (DHMR),
Olszewski introduced Gillibrand to the group in April 2005.
“It was the ardent conviction of all members of the group that our government
must improve its policies toward the poor and middle class, end the war in Iraq
and promote civil liberties throughout the country,” Olszewski said. “We
believed the greatest contribution that could be made locally was to substitute
a progressive leader in Congress for the unaccountable administration of the
incumbent.”
From that point on, the DHMR made Gillibrand’s campaign its own — giving house
parties and fundraisers, and introducing her to local union and community
leaders, circulating her nominating petitions in Saratoga and Rensselaer
counties, and building her volunteer base. Olszewski organized groups to canvass
for Gillibrand weekly in areas from Lake Placid to Rhinebeck and, in June, they
launched phone banks in Columbia and Dutchess counties.
Inspired by her mother’s passion for the democratic process, Olszewski’s
daughter Gina now works for Gillibrand in her Washington office.
In her own day job, Olszewski is an administrative law judge in Albany for the
state Workers’ Compensation Board, and a steward of PEF Division 363.
Olszewski is a member of the Troy Central Labor Council and serves on the board
of directors of Citizen Action.
She also participates in Citizen Action’s Alliance for Quality Education which
works to improve funding for inner-city schools and youth programs. This year,
she is focusing on school board and city council races.
Next year, she vows to work for “a fundamental change on the national stage.”
The Communicator June 2007
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