The twelve state ballot measures, one county measure, and several local measures were complex and brought numerous questions from voters, and LWV Pasadena Area speakers came through with flying colors during our Pros & Cons sessions!

Of course, this year was totally different. All but two of our presentations were done through Zoom—either as regular Zoom meetings or as webinars. We all learned the basic ins and outs of Zoom, but when unexpected problems arose we had the able assistance of Elsa Pendleton and Gayle Oswald as our LWV-PA technical team.

The bottom line is that between September 20 and October 18 we made twenty-four presentations to more than 1,000 voters, according to the Zoom participant counts. However, that doesn’t reflect the true count: A large percentage of the events were recorded for future viewing and by now have been viewed many times as voters prepare to cast their ballots on their own schedules. Two events were broadcast on closed-circuit TV channels, so those viewers also are not included in the Zoom count.

It would not surprise me if the final number of people we reached topped 1,600. We talked to groups as small as 8 and as large as 150. They included houses of worship, retirement communities, groups of retired teachers and professors, and of course our own Thursday with the League. It’s ironic that, even with the pandemic’s restrictions, we may have reached more people than in any previous year. That’s a small silver lining to an otherwise awful 2020.

I am SO grateful to the wonderful dedication of our Pro & Con speakers: Marna Cornell, Debbie Fagen, Hannah MacLaren, Bob Pendleton, Mikala Rahn, Jane Wallace, Michelle White, Marilynne and Roger Wilander, Margan Zajdowicz, and Ann Zeiss. (Marna won the P&C Derby with nine presentations!) It takes a tremendous amount of time to digest all of the ballot information and then be able to present it in an abbreviated but comprehensive fashion. Many, many thanks to the speakers! Each of you deserves a medal and a rest.

—Robbie Davis