Thoughts about League while reading the news:

• Honoring courageous Georgia State Representative Park Cannon, who knocked on the door of the invitation-only bill signing by the Governor. She was there to make her statement about voter suppression included in the bill he was signing. Racism was clearly visible in her mistreatment and arrest in Georgia. Check out LWV.org to learn about national League activism in this current battle to protect our democracy.

• It will cost the taxpayers of the state of California $100 million dollars if we must hold a special recall election of our current governor. Another several million will be spent in campaign contributions to candidates running to replace him. Is this our best choice of solutions for the physical health and the economic recovery of our state? Really? We can't wait until 2022 when there is a planned election?? 

And speaking of elections, our recent program on the Electoral College will be available soon on our YouTube channel. The Electoral College has been structurally defeating the popular vote for President of the United States, as happened in the 2016 election. We highly recommend this expert discussion on its current status and past history.

• The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARP) is a $1.9 trillion economic stimulus bill passed by the 117th United States Congress and signed by President Biden. You may know friends, neighbors, and family members who have benefits coming from this plan.

Do you know what is in the plan for our nation, our state, and Contra Costa County, and how the ARP can constructively help all of us recover from the pandemic?  Watch our LWVDV website for more detailed information on this plan. You can also search the Internet for the details of the ARP, then share the details with those who may benefit from it.

To learn about the pending decisions of our cities, school districts, and our county on how they will allocate the ARP dollars they receive, follow the LWVDV Observer Corps reports on our Observer Corps webpage!

• The same is true for the county sales tax, Measure X, that impacts all our local communities by providing longer term revenue to design and deliver solutions for our social safety net programs. Do you have knowledge of tested successful model programs that you would like to see come to fruition in our communities including Racial Equity and Social Justice? Now is the time to speak up about these model program opportunities. They are essential to implementing lasting change.

Your volunteerism is welcome any time with our LWVDV. Sign up online to become a member or donate to help us keep working to keep you informed.

Suzan