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December 2021

Table of Contents

Membership Roster Support Webinar
Apply to Join the 2023-2025 LWV California Board of Directors or Nominating Committee
Redistricting
Immigration Interest Group
Advocacy and Program
Mission Vision Values Statements
Post Board Summary

President's Letter

Hello League Leaders!

Congratulations on a successful year of voter engagement and advocacy!  Normally odd numbered years are somewhat quiet, but normal isn’t a word that is used much anymore.  A statewide recall election, the swirl of national politics, and redistricting made this a most unusual year.  Thanks so much for your work to empower voters and defend democracy.

There is much to tell you.  I hit the high points in the list below.  I urge you to click on the links to get the full picture.

1. Redistricting - The California Citizens Redistricting Commission is drawing lines and must finalize district drawings by the end of December.  Local redistricting is at a similar phase.  At this critical phase legal challenges to maps can occur at all levels of government.  Please contact LWVC if your Leagues intend to challenge maps or even just if other groups challenge the maps.  Please see the message on Redistricting for further information. Thank you for your work on this vital process.

2. Immigration Interest Group - This group formed after the 2021 Convention and is busy organizing.  The committee wants to urge consideration of this topic in LWVUS Program Planning. Read this for details on the newest interest group.

3. Program/Advocacy - Legislative Interviews are on the immediate horizon for all of us. The LWVC Interview Kit is in your hands now. The deadline to report on them is February 28, 2022.  Please see this report for the details on the results of the League’s legislative year, information addressing local Leagues and in district advocacy including the One Voice Policy Explainer and the new Action Request Form.
   

4. The Board of Directors formally adopted the Mission/Vision/Values statement of the LWVUS.  The LWVC and many local Leagues are already informally using the Mission in communications so the Mission part is familiar:  Empowering Voters! Defending Democracy!  It only makes sense to align our statement with that of the national organization.  It is a pithy explanation of our 100 year old organization. Read this for the full statement and explanation. 

5. In your League work, please remember League’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion policy. Click here to learn about the policy, its application, the Guide, and the People First Language Guide. 

6. The Nominating Committee for LWVC is open for business.  They seek suggestions from everyone.  Suggest someone; suggest yourself; please help the LWVC build a strong, representative board to the Leagues work into the next 100 years.  Click here for details.

7. And finally, a reminder that the primary election is June 7, 2022.  Redistricting maps are not yet finalized, but Leagues are thinking about candidate forums.  Please be advised that it is perfectly acceptable to run candidate forums online.  Leagues expressed a preference for them in the survey taken after the November election.  Check the Elections section of the LWVC MyLO members only page for information on running virtual candidate forums.

Thank you again for all your hard work. May all of you have a peaceful and restful last few weeks of December.

Yours,
Carol

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Membership Roster Support Webinar, hosted by LWVC

Are you the Membership Director for your League, or in charge of managing membership information in the LWVUS Roster Portal? We invite you to attend one or both webinar sessions that will help you manage your League’s membership data prior to the looming January 31 deadline.

We will NOT be recording these webinar sessions, because we will be accessing and sharing examples of real membership information.

Friday, January 7 from noon to 1pm – Register Here

Novice Roster Managers are encouraged to attend this session. This session will go through the basics of accessing the Roster Portal, adding and editing member info, and where to find resources and support.

Wednesday, January 19 from noon to 1pm – Register Here

This session will use a Q&A format. Whether you are a seasoned Roster Manager or very new to the position, join us if you have a specific question about using the LWVUS Roster Portal.

Apply to Join the 2023-2025 LWV California Board of Directors or Nominating Committee

Does this sound like you or a leader that you know?

• Passionate about our mission to empower voters and defend democracy

• Eager to help advance the League’s strategic goals and mission impact
  

• Ready to leverage skills and experience — in and outside of the League — to create an even stronger organization 

• Able to envision the League’s future power 
  

If so, please apply today to join the LWVC Board of Directors! For more information about the role and application process to nominate yourself or others, please email nomcom [at] lwvc.org.

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Redistricting

The 2021 redistricting process is drawing to a close. The state commission is scheduled to complete their maps on December 23. With some few exceptions, local redistricting is likewise almost all complete, or a path to completion soon. A huge thank you to all the League members who helped spread the word and encourage public input.

What’s next? We expect a number of challenges to maps at both the state and local level. These challenges will be on an expedited legal schedule so that maps can be finalized by the end of January. Some local Leagues are already exploring what their role will be in challenges to local maps.  Please consult the new Local League Redistricting Litigation Reference Guide to help your League analyze whether joining in an amicus (friend of the Court) brief is a good idea.  redistricting [at] lwvc.org (Please let us know) if there are any challenges being made to your local maps. We’d like to know about these even if your local League is not involved in the challenge.

If your local League is approached about joining a group to challenge or defend a map, or if you are considering challenging or defending a map, redistricting [at] lwvc.org (we strongly encourage you to talk with us). We want to ensure a consistent approach to local map challenges across the state, as well as providing local Leagues with uniform legal advice.

Immigration Interest Group

The new LWVC Immigration Interest Group provides a platform for LWV members and local Leagues in California to discuss various aspects of immigration policy and practices in the US, to share work their Leagues are doing, and do research and education around immigration issues.  The group is also working to make this a higher national program priority, as well as look at how federal immigration policies and practices are impacting Californians.

The group welcomes all League members to join in and meets monthly on the fourth Thursday of the month at 1 pm. To learn more about issues being discussed and to find out about their meetings, join the LWVC Immigration Googlegroup. To join, contact amusefisher [at] lwvc.org (Andrew Muse-Fisher).  

Mary-Ann Lutz (LWV Pasadena Area) and Beryl Flom (LWV San Diego) serve as co-chairs of the LWVC Immigration Interest Group and were instrumental in pulling the statewide group together following their caucus at the state convention in June.  

Another element of the work of the Immigration Interest Group is to request that the LWVUS in 2022-24 increase its lobbying work in support of legislation for comprehensive immigration reform and increased path to citizenship for the undocumented. The group plans to reach out to Leagues across the country to encourage them to request that the LWVUS make this topic a higher priority for its lobbying work.  

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Advocacy and Program

The 2021-22 Legislative Interview Kit was sent to local leagues on December 1st for scheduling meetings with their state legislators to discuss redistricting, children and youth mental health, and water as areas of League concern, along with their local question and hearing about priorities of their local representative. Deadline is February 28 for leagues to submit their reports.

To orient local Leagues to the process and provide more in-depth information about the three issues we will be asking legislatures to respond to, there will be two Legislative Interview Townhall webinars led by members of our Advocacy team. These are scheduled for:

• Thursday, Jan. 6 from 4:00 to 5:00 PM

• Saturday, January 8 from 2:00 to 3:00 PM

To sign up for the Townhalls, and for more information about the Legislative Interviews, see our Legislative Interview Members Only page.

Our Advocacy Teach-In and Tune-Up is slated for Thursday, January 20 from 6:00 to 8:00 pm and is open to any League member interested in joining the state Advocacy team as a legislative analyst. The workshop will be a refresher and training for both continuing League volunteers who do analyses, plus new legislative analysts. You can register for the event here. Advance registration is required.

We also want to share additional advocacy documents to give you updates on our accomplishments as well as the processes behind our statewide advocacy work:

• Our 2021 Advocacy Wrap-Up - Read highlights of our hard-earned victories, some lamentable delays, and a preview of our goals for next year.

• Speaking with One Voice - This explainer covers the different levels of League advocacy, who does what, and how we speak with one unified voice.

• LWVC Action Request Form - This brand new form is designed for Leagues and Interest Groups who are seeking permission to take action on a state issue. You can find this form and the Speaking with One Voice guide on the Program & Advocacy page on Members Only.

• Join an interest group listserv - We have several interest groups that work on various education and advocacy issue areas, including climate change, criminal justice reform, healthcare, housing & homelessness, immigration, and water, and you are welcome to join the listserv for any of them. Please email amusefisher [at] lwvc.org () for help joining the listservs. 

• Bill Status Report - This report shows all of the bills that the state League has taken a position on for the 2021-2022 legislative session. You can access the letters we sent to learn more about why we took a position on each bill. 

• Bills of Interest Report - this report is similar to the Bill Status report, but it also includes bills we are following and analyzing. We ask that you not share this report outside of the League. 

Have you seen our People First Language Guideyet? The purpose of the guide is to help League members use people-first language and avoid terminology with negative, dehumanizing connotations in both our advocacy and educational work. We recognize that our language is still evolving as we become more inclusive, and that many of these terms and their usage may change. As such, this is a living document, and we will continue to update it periodically.

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Mission Vision Values Statements

The LWVC Board of Directors adopted the Mission/Vision/Values Statement of LWVUS so that California’s League is now aligned with the LWVUS, our national organization.  Local Leagues are free to adopt and/or use all or parts of it as they wish.

The pithy, elevator speech style of explaining what the LWV is and why it exists works well in today’s communication style. The LWVC has been using this language informally. The language used is easily understood, can be easily incorporated into press releases and social media releases, and makes verbal communication easier.

Mission: Empowering voters. Defending democracy.

Vision:  We envision a democracy where every person has the desire, the right, the knowledge and the confidence to participate.

Values:  We believe in the power of women to create a more perfect democracy.

The Values portion of the statement is a recognition of the history of the League, its original reason for existence plus an affirmation of, and continuing recognition, that women have an important place in the American form of government.  This combined with the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion provision in all League bylaws shows that the League is an inclusive organization that recognizes the value of everyone’s contribution to perfecting democracy. 

The commonly used statement below is not repealed.  

“The League of Women Voters, a nonpartisan political organization, encourages informed and active participation in government, works to increase understanding of major public policy issues, and influences public policy through education and advocacy.”

This statement very clearly explains the “how” of what the League does, covering both voter education/engagement and advocacy.

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December 2021 Post Board Summary
LWVC/LWVCEF Boards of Directors Meetings
December 4, 2021 – Electronic Meetings

Adopted the following Mission, Vision, and Values statements to align with the LWVUS statements.

Mission: Empowering voters. Defending democracy. Vision:     We envision a democracy where every person has the desire, the right, the knowledge, and the confidence to participate. Values:             We believe in the power of women to create a more perfect democracy.

FINANCE

• Received and filed the Treasurer’s Reports: LWVC Financial Statements for the period ending September 30, 2021.

LWVCEF MEETING SUMMARY

The LWVCEF Board of Directors acted as follows.

GOVERNANCE AND ADMINISTRATION

Strategic Planning Task Force

Adopted the following Mission, Vision, and Values statements to align with the LWVUS statements.

Mission: Empowering voters. Defending democracy. Vision:     We envision a democracy where every person has the desire, the right, the knowledge, and the confidence to participate. Values:             We believe in the power of women to create a more perfect democracy.

FINANCE

• Received and filed the Treasurer’s Reports: LWVCEF Financial Statements for the period ending September 30, 2021
• Authorized disbursement of up to $10,000 from the Strategic Initiative Fund for payment to secure an appropriate consultant to help guide the strategic planning process.

Caroline de Llamas
LWVC/EF Secretary
cdellamas [at] lwvc.org

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