The League of Women Voters of San Luis Obispo County (LWV SLOCO) respectfully requests the following action by your league: That during your upcoming program planning session, your members consider prioritizing the adoption of LWV SLOCO’s position on Civil Discourse during your League’s upcoming program planning meetings in preparation for the 2019 LWVC Convention.
For more on the LWVC concurrence procedure, see http://archive.lwvc.org/lwvonly/docs/program-planning-2017-19-policy-P-12-on-concurrence.pdf.
Read the proposed position.
BACKGROUND
The current and widespread degradation of basic courtesy and civility in public discourse undermines both citizens’ active participation in government as well as the League of Women Voters’ commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion -- a focus of the 2018 National Convention. “Civil discourse” and “diversity, equity and inclusion” are interrelated principles supporting and promoting respect for differences, outreach to diverse groups, empowering underrepresented groups, and identifying hidden bias.
During the 2012 mid-term election, members of LWV SLOCO became concerned about the tenor of the campaigns and the rise of incivility in political discourse and decided to undertake a study. The 2016 election and again the recent election cycle have confirmed the need for a call to civility. Even League candidate forums have experienced serious breaches of courtesy and civility. We can expect more disturbing incidents like this during the 2020 election cycle unless we develop and adopt strategies to promote respectful and constructive communication.
OUR PROCESS
In June 2014, the LWV SLOCO completed a “Study of Civil Discourse in San Luis Obispo County” – an intensive, year-long grassroots study of civil discourse and its impact on citizen participation in our democracy. We reached consensus on a definition and best practices that resulted in an update to our existing position on Government that now includes the statement “Promote civil discourse through action and education for all government bodies, staff and citizens for the purpose of improved public policy decisions and processes. Civil discourse means, at a minimum, mutually respectful, courteous, constructive and orderly communication”. Once our update to our existing position on Government was approved by our membership, we placed the “Study of Civil Discourse in San Luis Obispo County” on the LWVEF Clearinghouse website for other leagues to access.
THE RESPONSE
After the LWV SLOCO accepted our Civil Discourse Study and adopted our Civil Discourse position, our Civil Discourse (CD) Committee convened workshops for Monterey, Tulare, Kern, Fresno and Merced county Leagues and participated in a CD panel in Santa Barbara. North County San Diego’s League adopted civil discourse language as part of their Education position, and both Oregon and Washington state leagues have adopted the LWV SLOCO’s position by concurrence. The Snohomish County League in Washington state has translated our civil discourse brochure – “Civil Discourse in the Public Area: Effective Ideas and Solutions” -- into Spanish and made the translation available to other leagues. Four leagues represented by the Leagues of Women Voters of Santa Clara County Council (San Jose, Palo Alto, Los Altos/Mountain View and Cupertino/Sunnyvale) created a Civil Discourse Committee, established a charter, and held workshops for League and community members on civil discourse topics.
Other CA Leagues have requested CD materials and are considering adoption or incorporation of CD principles in their existing positions. As recommended by our league, the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors and all 7 city councils in SLO County adopted codes of civility, including a countywide “Regional Code of Civility”.
We have communicated extensively with other organizations and Leagues active in civil discourse and believe this is the time for the LWVC to adopt the LWV SLOCO’s Civil Discourse position by concurrence, thereby allowing Leagues throughout California to take a position and advocate for civil discourse in their communities.
WHAT’S NEXT
Once the LWVC adopts the Civil Discourse position by concurrence, your local League will be able to engage in the process of education and advocacy in your community with respect to codes of conduct, civility guidelines, and other strategies to improve courteous and respectful public discourse. We will also be empowered to educate and influence our elected officials in all jurisdictions, thereby replicating the principles of civil discourse throughout our communities.
We will contact you in the coming weeks to discuss any questions you may have; in the meantime, please feel free to contact us at president [at] lwvslo.org or (805) 782-4040. Please note the attachments to the email version of this letter – a position paper and a reference/resource guide.
Thank you for your consideration of this request,
Ann Havlik and Cindy Marie Absey
Co-Presidents
