From Martha Goralka:
It is only February of 2019 and we already have plans in place for the upcoming 2020 elections. But first we’re focusing on Program Planning, selecting our issues of focus for the coming year. Especially if you’ve never done this, please plan to join in the fun on February 23 from 10 am to 1 pm in the Sequoia room at the Lafayette Community Center, 500 St. Mary’s Rd., Lafayette. We’ll review our previously adopted positions and consider new areas of study. The League takes positions after members carefully study an issue and participate in a process of reaching what we call a consensus, where almost every participating member agrees on a course of action. All of our action is based on these positions. Last year we did this at the national level. This year we’re considering the state level issues in preparation for next May’s LWV California convention, as well as our local positions and priorities (for more, see pages 5 and 6.)
Because of our new March primary, filing deadlines for county, state and federal positions have moved up to December 2019. We’re already planning the primary CCTV taped forums in January of 2020, as well as the November general election forums. The Schools Voter Education Team is kicking off its voter pre-registration and registration plans partnering with local schools. Even though we just celebrated our November 2018 election work, we’re on our way to the next one!
Check out our jam-packed League calendar as we continue to Make Democracy Work for everyone! This is a year you will be enticed to “Do it all”! And it’s not even our 100th birthday for another year!
From Suzan Requa:
Hello League members and friends:
Did you see the view of miniature satellites on 60 Minutes? It sends chills through me, how very much observed and data collected we are. We are behind in protecting ourselves and protecting our democracy from the implied threat of all these scientific discoveries and the possible corruption of their good intent.
“Never argue with a fool. Onlookers may not be able to tell the difference.” This Mark Twain line, repeated by Mark DeSaulnier, is a perfect statement of the frustration of our current political climate.
Note that we are suffering from an underlying political assault on federal workers and federal agencies as not important. We can change the messaging about our public employees as a talented and valuable resource for our country -- that has now become apparent after the government shut down.
We do have very good news. With the election of many diverse members of the House of Representatives, we have proven again that grassroots political discourse and avoiding dark money can be successful and very representative of the commitment to providing service to our communities.
You will see the results of our LWVDV strategic planning sessions play out in strengthened methods to accomplish our main goals of providing and expanding voter services and expanding volunteerism to promote and defend our democracy. Watch for our Schools Voter Education Team volunteer news and work to expand Voter Registration/Voter’s Edge venues throughout our communities. Watch for volunteer news on our newly reactivated Observer Corp and its relationship to Action and Advocacy, beginning with our March meeting.
After the recent Women’s March, it is apparent that we would all benefit from a stronger network to communicate action alerts and activities among non-partisan non-profits in our Central and East County cities that are working to promote involvement and action to meet community needs, without overwhelming everyone with information.
Have an interest? New to taking action? Would like to gain knowledge and experience? Let us know through email or office phone messages what is of interest to you. We are building teams and team support to meet our communities’ needs. Join in!
