Contra Costa Herstory

							Contra Costa Herstory


Name: Jeanne L. Scholz

Address: 38 Topside Way, Mill Valley, CA 94941

Telephone: 415-381-4839 Fax: 415-381-0853

Email: jeannescholz@yahoo.com

Birth Date::5/5/40        Birth Place: New York, New York

Education: K-8, Yonkers New York, HS, Bronxville H.S. New York, Colleges
attended: Hiram College, Ohio, Fordham U., Bronx, NY, Columbia School of General
Studies, NYC, Southern Connecticut State, New Haven, CT, UC Berkeley graduated
1975

Work: Bank Teller and secretary to VP. 1961-63, Ford Foundation, administrative
assistant, 1964-67. Attorney, Lombardi & Lombardi 1979-81, Knudson, Tanke and
Scholz, 1981-83, Law Offices of Jeanne L. Scholz 1983-1995. 1997-2002, co-owner
and manager, human resources director, general counsel, etcetc. of Shaba Games, LLC.

No appointed public offices

No Elected offices

Moved to Contra Costa in 1973 due to husband’s new employment in SF.

Experiences that shaped perspectives on politics:

I grew up in a staunchly Republican family, however, no one in my family ever did
anything political. My father was a private detective who, at one point in his career, was
hired by Thomas E. Dewey (then New York State Attorney General) to wiretap for the
government. My Dad did a great job with technology he had developed himself, and
secured evidence which allowed Dewey to prosecute some pretty slimy people.
However, the prosecutions may also have been politically motivated. Dad was later
prosecuted (by Dewey’s political enemies) for wiretapping and found guilty, also guilty
on appeal. Dewey did not lift a finger to help him, even though Dad was prosecuted
under a law which had been passed after the acts for which he was prosecuted.
Meanwhile, attorneys and court costs were depleting my family’s resources, and, since
wiretapping was now illegal, a major source of income no longer existed.

I remember going to the New York State Superior Court (which is the highest state court
there), with Dad and my sister and mom. The justices on that court couldn’t believe that
the case had not been thrown out of court at a much earlier stage and reversed the lower
courts. While it was a relief that our Dad would not be put in jail, it was still distressing
that teachers and other parents would ask us if it was our Dad who was being described in
the newspapers. It’s hard for people to believe that someone who is accused of a crime
can truly be innocent. The fact that New York papers referred to Dad as “King of the
Wiretappers” didn’t help. From that time on, my Dad’s business went on a downward
slide, and I think he never fully recovered emotionally from Dewey’s betrayal.

That experience made me realize how important the law could be in one’s life, even
though it was many years until I studied law myself. Other such experiences taught me
that it was important to understand the rules by which we live and know what to do to
protect oneself. At that time, I knew no one who was proactive in changing laws or
challenging the system.

In addition to wiretapping and a plethora of other cases, Dad was called upon a number
of times to help out young women who were “in trouble.” Although I knew about this in
a very general way, it didn’t seem to apply to me, although I felt sorry for these girls.
My parents were very circumspect about this, and most of what I learned was from
comments my mother made many years later. One such girl, 13 at the time, had run away
with her boyfriend to the South. She was a talented and sensitive girl, the same age as
my younger sister. Dad was called upon to trace the couple and bring them back. He had
located them and was ready to go South to be the intermediary. But tragically, the young
couple had a fatal car accident before they could be contacted. My parents were always
pro-choice, although the subject never came up as a political issue. Instead, it was a
given that any action in that regard should be covert, and that there were doctors, lawyers
and people like my father who would help out.

Another major experience in my life was a young and very unhappy marriage. Without
skills or education, and with a young son, I felt horribly trapped. But it was rare for
young women in my town to get divorced. And in New York, the only ground for
divorce was adultery. Luckily my then-husband had concealed from me a serious
medical condition, something which could have jeopardized my and my son’s safety. I
was able to obtain an annulment on the grounds of fraud. My half brother was my
attorney, and, being busy and also having a full social life, he didn’t work very fast on my
behalf, so I had to do most of the work myself.

These experiences, and others, slowly made me realize that it was important to take
charge of one’s life and to be aware of social and political forces which operate to form
and to take away one’s choices. Still, when larger issues were at stake than my own
personal welfare, I was apathetic.

A variety of experiences slowly chipped away at my indifference. Working at the Ford
Foundation introduced me to some wonderful people with a liberal outlook on life,
people who were working to fund efforts around the world to address many needs, from
hunger to the arts.
How and why I got involved in Women’s Politics…this is covered in the statement I sent.

Women as Leaders in Public Office

        I know women have come a long way. Even though the ERA never passed, the
need for it has been lessened by many other legislative acts. It amazes me to see how
changed our perceptions are from what they were forty years ago. I would never have
dreamed of female CEOs and certainly female U.S. Presidents!! But we need to look at
the pros and cons of the way things are today. The flip side of the freedom to terminate
a pregnancy is the freedom to have a child. Sadly, our governmental systems have not
adequately addressed the problems of thousands of welfare mothers, people who are
possibly undereducated, unemployed, unhappy, and transmitting this life to generations
who come after them. I think more needs to be done to give girls and young women the
tools they need for occupations other than, or in addition to, motherhood. That is a
formidable task. Young men need to be similarly educated, which is an even tougher
job. I could go on and on….

Impact of women in politics

I can’t speak to Contra Costa politics at this point. I’ve been living in Marin for over
twenty years.

Barriers and resistance: Early on, one perceived barrier was that women didn’t have the
practical experience or education to be effective in government.     Dianne Feinstein,
Barbara Boxer, and many others have proven that women do have the skill and
determination to be successful.

What is different today? Today women are more free to concentrate on other issues than
that of their being female. I think the perceived handicap of womanhood no longer
exists. In my lifetime we’ve had female Supreme Court justices (even though I may not
agree with some of them), and women in most of the highest elected and appointed
offices in the country. Forty years ago, that was certainly not the case. People have
learned that a good woman can do the same as or better job than a good man, and
certainly a better job than many of the men in public office. Forty years ago, people
would talk about ambitious and effective women with deprecating sly smiles. While
there may still be a few of those dinosaurs around, their numbers have dropped
dramatically.

I can’t speak to why it is important for women to remain involved in politics. I think it’s
important for everyone to be involved. I think the goal should be for all people to work
toward health, fairness, happiness, economic parity, etc.

However, if women’s participation in public offices decreases, that could cause a
resuscitation of the old boy network…a system which isn’t really good for anyone,
except the old boys.
I have no advice for the next generation. The problems that will face them are problems I
can’t anticipate.

Favorite quotes:

“Politics is not a picture on a wall or a television sitcom that you can decide you don't
much care for." Molly Ivins

“A woman without a man is like a fish without a bicycle.” Gloria Steinem

“The only way for a woman, as for a man, to find herself, to know herself as a person, is
by creative work of her own. There is no other way." Betty Friedan