Hillary Clinton talks women's issues at Brooklyn forum

BROOKLYN – Hillary Clinton laid out a progressive agenda during a female-focused town hall meeting Tuesday, saying if elected president she’d support guaranteed equal pay for women, paid-family leave and a $15 national minimum wage.

Speaking at Medgar Evers College to a group of 400 diverse supporters, Clinton said she’d back universal pre-K and boost equality in the economy by making it easier for small women- and minority-owned businesses to get loans.

“We still have a long way to go before we can honestly tell our daughters you can be anything you want, including president,” Clinton said.

In her stump speech Clinton portrayed herself as the more practical - but no less liberal - choice than her Democratic primary opponent, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. She favored restructuring the way students borrow for college, but said she wouldn’t support free tuition for all, noting she expects wealthy residents to not rely on the government to pay for their higher education...

After the rally at Medgar Evers, Clinton posed for selfies and photos with supporters. Verna Brooks McKenzie, a 65-year-old health consultant who became a citizen last year after moving from Jamaica, said although Sanders was energizing voters Clinton had the record and ability to get things done.

“Energy is not enough to get you where you want to go,” Brooks McKenzie said.

Pierre Osias, a 27-year-old writer student at the college, said he attended a Sanders rally in the Bronx last week that 18,000 people attended. He said though a smaller crowd, the group at the Clinton rally were enthusiastic without “showtime” aspects such as appearances by Rosario Dawson and Spike Lee.

He said he liked both candidates but believed Clinton had a more nuanced understanding of how to get measures through Congress.

“I have to be honest, I think Hillary is a little more practical,” he said.

http://www.lohud.com/story/news/politics/elections/2016/04/05/new-york-primary-hillary-clinton-brooklyn/82648674/