President’s Letter January 2023

President’s Letter January 2023

Type: 
Blog Post

Happy New Year to League Leaders and Members!

2023 is here! The start of a new year is typically a time for reflection and for setting goals for the year ahead. Our League “year” begins in July, so here are some of the things we accomplished over the past six months.

In July and August, our incoming Leadership Team got organized for the year ahead, planning and preparing for our activities leading up to the midterm elections. We initiated our Coffee and Happy Hours, an opportunity to get to know our fellow members in a social setting.
 
September and October were an intense, but very successful, period of election-related webinars, Pros & Cons presentations, candidate forums and roundtables – the focus of our continuing commitment to Make Democracy Work.
 
We also made two very successful and well-received presentations on Civic Discourse and the challenges of Mis- and Disinformation, with more presentations and resources being developed for the months ahead.

November was the culmination of our election-related efforts, with several of our members participating on the Contra Costa Election Observer Panel and working the polling places throughout the county on Election Day. Late November and December were both a time of rest and a regrouping for the work ahead, continuing the efforts of our Action/Advocacy, Voter Services, Communications, Observer Corps, and Civic Engagement committees, as well as conducting new member orientations.

You may not be aware that the LWVUS has a team of League members who act as citizen lobbyists on Capitol Hill - the League Lobby Corps!  The Lobby Corps actively lobbies members of Congress and their staffs to promote League interests. 
 
In 2022, the Lobby Corps focus was:
  • Removing the deadline for passage of the ERA.
  • Advancing the Disclose Act which would amend the Federal Election Campaign Act to provide for additional disclosure requirements for Super PACs and other organizations (thereby eliminating so-called "secret money"). 
  • Youth Voting Rights.
  • Supporting the Expanding the Vote Act, which expands the availability of election materials in multiple languages. 
In 2023, the main areas of focus for the Lobby Corps will be presented to the LWVUS Board for approval but will likely be:
  • Voting Rights Reforms-the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.
  • Reforming Campaign Finance - the Disclose Act.
  • Protect DC (a stand for DC statehood).
  • Redistricting (lowest priority as much was accomplished in 2022).

We will keep you updated on the progress of the work of the Lobby Corps!
 
Looking ahead, January is the start of a new legislative session for our government and our League will have legislative interviews coming up. We have scheduled our date for the next General Membership meeting for Saturday, February 11, 2023, from 10:00 am – 12:00 pm. This will be a Zoom meeting, primarily focused on LWV Diablo Valley’s Program Priorities for our year as well as those for LWV California. Please SAVE THE DATE and be on the lookout for more information about this important meeting. We need your ideas!
 
Thank you for your support!
 
Anne Granlund, President
Sue Brandy and Janet Hoy, Co-Vice Presidents

This article is related to which committees: 
LWV Diablo Valley Board of Directors
League to which this content belongs: 
Diablo Valley