Anne Holton, the former Virginian Secretary of Education and wife of Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Kaine, said she goes where the campaign needs her to go.
And this weekend, it was Pennsylvania.
While in Allentown on Friday — the same day a 2005 video surfaced, showing Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump making lewd comments about women — Holton said she tries to not to talk about the Republican ticket, The Morning Call reported. She then continued.
“I will say there are some things we as women can sometimes think that we can almost take for granted, that we have made such progress on so many things. And certainly the notion that women should be treated equitably in the workplace, and that women should have the right to make decisions about their own most intimate personal freedoms, reproductive rights, things we almost take for granted. Sadly what is going on the other side reminds us we can’t always take those things for granted.”
Holton spent Friday in Reading and Allentown and Saturday in Philadelphia, Ardmore and West Chester. “It’s been a real pleasure,” she said, adding that she spent Saturday morning with educators in Philly.
Everywhere she goes, Holton said she hears from people who want to invest in education and about schools that are doing more with less. But there is work to be done to make sure Americans are really prepared to invest in education, everything from art classes to making sure buildings are updated, she said.
Holton spoke to The Incline Saturday via phone about her hopes for Sunday’s presidential debate and registering to vote.
“Hillary [Clinton] is such a good listener and loves to talk directly to voters,” Holton said of Sunday’s debate. She added that she expects Clinton, the Democratic presidential candidate, to “hit it out of the park.”
And as far as topics, Holton went back to education. Affordable higher ed is a topic that can be talked about more because it impacts Americans fundamental way of life, she said.
For K-12 education, Holton said she’d like to hear more about issues like pre-K education and ways to combat school infrastructure challenges. She said schools in urban and rural areas face very serious challenges that most suburban schools don’t, such as having modern buildings and broadband access.
And Holton said she wants you to register to vote.
The Pennsylvania registration deadline is fairly early, but it’s easy to do, Holton said, adding it takes about five minutes to register online (the “young people way to do it”) or to go online and check registration status. (The Democratic National Committee is promoting iwillvote.com, but you can also register here before Tuesday’s deadline.
“When people vote, democracy works,” Holton said.
