The purpose of the Marin Women’s Political Action Committee (MWPAC) is to increase women’s participation in the political process and to identify, recruit, train and support pro-choice candidates for election and appointment to public office.
While in pursuit of this goal, MWPAC will strive to win equality for all women: to ensure reproductive freedom; to achieve quality care for dependents; and to eradicate sexism, racism, anti-Semitism, ageism, violence, poverty, and discrimination on the basis of disability, religion or sexual orientation.
Membership in the MWPAC is open to anyone, without regard to ethnicity, sex, national origin, age, economic status, or sexual orientation, who supports the purposes and goals of the organization.
PRESIDENTLaurel Druke Laurel has been a member of MWPAC for more than 10 years and has lived in Marin County for over 15 years. She is committed to electing more women and women-promoting men to public office. She is a dedicated community activist and volunteers her time on local campaigns. She has a true passion for systems, being extremely organized, and leading with a welcoming and inclusive spirit. She enjoys reading mystery novels and spending time with her friends and family. |
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BOARD OF DIRECTORS 2025
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Elected Officers
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Elected Women's Luncheon - Board Photo 2024
Pictured from left to right: Gina Brewer, Barbara Matas, Tamara Hull, Christina Waldeck, Susannah Mrazek, Rachel Kertz, Catherine Way, Laurel Druke, Cathryn Hilliard, Michele Barni, and Julia Reinhard.
Not Pictured: Caroline Vance Bruister, Jeanne Friedel, Carole Mills, and Greg Brockbank.
Photo Credit: Cindy Charles
A Brief History of MWPAC
On July 10th 1971, 320 women from all over the U.S. met in Washington D.C. to found (or, perhaps in this case I should say, give birth) to the National Women’s Political Caucus.
Democrat Bella Abzug and Republican Virginia Allen were co-chairs. Some of the more illustrious early organizers were Shirley Chisholm, Betty Friedan and Gloria Steinem. NWPC’s primary mission was to identify, recruit, train and support women candidates for local, state and federal legislatures, state and federal judgeships, lobbyists, campaign organizers and delegates to national conventions.
To give you a sense of the times, in 1971 there was one female senator (Margaret Chase Smith, R-Maine) 15 female members of the US Congress and only 7 female mayors in all of the US.
Historical content written by Lynn Bornstein.
Read more here
The Marin County chapter of NWPC was founded in 1972. Barbara Boxer, Beverley Savitt, Jeanne Wasp and Dora Knell were original organizers and Barbara Heller, Carole Dillon-Knutson, Sue Severin, Joan Thayer and Joan Lisetor some of our most active early members.
From its inception NWPC insisted on a policy of “women only” endorsements. In 1996 the Marin Independent Journal took us on for that practice and we began to think seriously of “recommending” men when no qualified woman was in the race or if there were more open seats than qualified women candidates. We decided to implement this policy and continued to do so until 2010, when NWPC specifically stated in their revised by-laws, that men could not be “recommended” or in any way included in the endorsement process.
Several chapters that had been “recommending” men withdrew from NWPC over this issue. Marin County followed suit and, in that year, under the leadership of then President Barbara Matas, we became Marin Women’s Political Action Committee. To the delight of members, now that National wasn’t taking most of our dues money, we were able to lower our yearly dues. We were also able to expand our activities and meet with other women’s political groups all over the Bay Area. Today, we have a healthy, growing organization of dedicated and informed women carrying on the original mission in a more open and inclusive way.