Go Back to the Leaders Update Archives

March 2021

Table of Contents
Convention
Advocacy and Program
Redistricting
Local Leagues Supporting Voter's Edge
LWVC Online Store
LWVC/EF Post Board Summary

President's Letter

Dear League Leaders,

One year ago LWV members faced the need to move operations, programming, and voter service work away from in person events and meetings into virtual versions online to protect everyone from the COVID 19 pandemic.  You did it!  Valuable League work continued through the pandemic, through a highly contentious election season.  You persisted. Take a moment to look back; to recognize how far and quickly you moved into the digital world; to celebrate how resourceful and resilient League members are.  Thank you all for your ingenuity, hard work, and willingness to adapt.  

Speaking of virtual events and meetings, please mark your calendars for the April 29th People Powered Fair Maps Day of Action.  Here in California we focus on local government redistricting by advocating for processes that promote public input from community members and to follow best practices for line drawing. The LWVC offers a toolkit to help your League plan for the day. Join in the nationwide League effort to support fair and representative redistricting.

Also online is the 2021 LWVC Convention in the week of June 7.  Registration opens on April 1.  Every League member, delegate or not, is invited to attend the workshops that range from issue focused to internal League operations to great ideas from Leagues.  Bookmark the LWVC Convention website and consult it frequently.  It contains answers to your questions about scheduling, events, and other useful information to help plan your League’s participation.  I hope to “see” you at Convention. 

The LWVC advocacy personnel are hard at work during this legislative season. Legislative Priorities for this legislative session are set.  These priorities help our volunteer and professional staff parse the 2000+ bills introduced to pick the bills in which the LWVC will have the most impact in encouraging good law. Advocacy involves not just writing letters, but also meeting with and strategizing with coalition partners and State Legislative staff to improve and enhance legislation.  Among the bills being monitored is one designed to expand the Racial Justice Act and a couple of bills to send vote-by-mail ballots to all active registered voters in subsequent elections.  Our Bill Status Report gives you information on what LWVC is following so far.

Finally, I thank all Leagues that participated in the Program Planning process and Legislative Interviews.  I hope these exercises provided valuable insight into your own League’s understanding and work.  It certainly helped to inform and advise the work within the LWVC.  Thank you again.  Please stay well.

Carol

LWVC Convention 2021 - Registration Opens April 1

While you and your League prepare for registration to open, here are some things you might consider discussing:

Is your League interested in hosting a caucus?

Caucuses will be held on June 7 (Monday) at 12:00pm, 5:00pm, and 7:00pm and on June 11 (Friday) from 1:00-2:00pm. Registration to attend a caucus will open on May 7. If your caucus request is approved, a Zoom meeting will be provided for you. LWVC will be responsible for setting up the registration and sending you a list of attendees (500 max). Caucus request forms are due by April 30.

Nominate your League for an award!

Convention awards are a chance to highlight some of the extraordinary work your League has done during the past two years.

There are five award categories. Please click on the link of the award title to submit an award application for your League. You are welcome to submit as many applications as you’d like. Deadline for submitting an application is Monday, May 3.

Do you have a great League project idea?

Did your League try a new project for voter service, advocacy, or community education related projects? We’d like to share your story in one of our “Great League Ideas” workshop! Complete this form by May 7 for consideration.

Does your League have an online store?

Are you interested in featuring your League’s online store on the Convention Marketplace page? Let me know! Send us convention [at] lwvc.org (an email) and we’ll send you more detail.

For more information about convention, please visit https://lwvc.wordpress.com/

 Back to Top

Advocacy and Program

Program Planning

A big salute and thanks to the many Leagues throughout California which gathered together its members to review and discuss State programs for 2021-23. Leagues  proposed a wide range of topics and interests for the League of Women Voters in California to consider for state programs and priorities for education and advocacy.  A wide range of topics were identified, from education, the digital divide, public health, health care, immigration, public health, behavioral and mental health to a focus on racism and DEI.

Topping the list were the following: Making Democracy Work,  Climate Change and Sustainability, Housing and Homelessness and Criminal Justice Reform.  There were also calls for a look at Water as a separate issue, and more focus on Civic Education.  The Board upon review of the results of the planning process will suggest these for program for 2021-23, adding Water under the broad umbrella of Climate and Civic Education under MDW.  Also the board confirms its support for continued work on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, not as a separate program, but to be woven into all of our League work.  These will be brought forward as Program Recommendations at Convention for discussion and vote.

Legislative Interviews

Kudos to all of the Leagues throughout California for tackling the challenging job of securing interviews with our state senators and assembly members and conducting interviews.  GREAT JOB and thanks to the 40 Leagues which were able to secure time on busy legislators’ schedules, plus often coordinating with nearby local leagues sharing legislative districts. Impressive work that strengthens our public policy work! Altogether, Leagues reached 53% of all state senators (21 of 40), as well as 53% of assembly members - 42 of 80. The responses were highly informative and will help guide the work we do in advocacy.

Local leagues got feedback on issues of concern for the League on housing, climate change and GHG reductions through smart agricultural and working land use, and how legislators think about a post Covid-19 world that ensures more equity — as well as had the opportunity to ask local questions and to build a relationship with their legislative representatives.  Having these constituent meetings demonstrate the breadth and depth of League engagement.

Legislative Priorities for 2021

At its March Board meeting, the LWVC approved legislative priorities for the current l session, providing our Advocacy team with guidance and direction on areas for more focused intervention on bills moving through Sacramento.  Not surprisingly, those legislative priorities also align with what has been LWVC program priorities over the past year.

• Making Democracy Work - voting rights, voter protection and service, election reform, money in politics and redistricting.
• Housing supply, availability, affordability and production and HomelessnesS
• Climate Change
• Criminal Justice - Racial Justice Act for All (League is a co-sponsor)

This is a busy time for the LWVC Advocacy team as League volunteers who serve as legislative analysts and often experts in the policy areas carefully watch for bills being introduced.  A typical session may have as many as 2,500 bills introduced — so having legislative priorities strategically guides the Advocacy team, but does not necessarily limit LWVC action.  League looks at a range of bills with which we have positions and where the League support or opposition will have impact.

See our LWVC Bill Status Report to see what actions we have already taken:https://lwvc.org/legislationbills/bill-status-report.   In addition, the Advocacy team is watching and following many other bills working their way through the process.

Kiss the Ground: Hear from Experts Why We Should

Learn about California's Climate Smart Agriculture Programs and how you can support these efforts. Panel discussion on Wednesday, April 21, 2021 from 12:00 - 1:15pm. Register here. For more details, please view event flyer.

 Back to Top

Redistricting

Join in the People Powered Day of Action - April 29, 2021

Join Leagues all over the country in advocating for full public participation from members of all communities in the redistricting process. In California, we are focusing on our local governments – cities, counties, school districts, community college districts, special districts – urging them to follow best practices and to set up processes that encourage and promote robust public input from members of the community. Make April 29th the kick off date for your education and advocacy efforts!

The LWVC Day of Action Toolkit includes:

• A sample letter to a Board of Supervisors
• A sample public petition
• A sample resolution
• A statement of purpose for a coalition
• A sample letter to the editor
• A sample op-ed piece
• A list of other resources available
• A letter to a jurisdiction that says “we don’t need to redistrict”
• Social media post ideas -- a still blank(!) document

Where should you start?

1. Make a list of all the agencies that will be redistricting. Your Registrar of Voters is a good source of this information.
2. Contact the agencies to find out what their redistricting plans are, who is in charge, and how the public can participate.
3. Use the information to decide on your next steps:

•  educate the public about redistricting, and how they can participate, and
•  advocate  for public input at all levels.

4. Use the Toolkit samples to kick off your efforts.

What do we still need?

We need some samples of social media posts!

To learn more about redistricting in your community, or to find out how you can participate in League work on redistricting, contact redistricting [at] lwvc.org.

 Back to Top

Local Leagues Supporting Voter's Edge

Thank you to the following Leagues who donated to Voter's Edge this year, helping to make it possible for millions of Californians to plan and make informed choices on their ballots last November!

It's not too late to support Voter's Edge. Make your League's FY2020-2021 contribution here.

 Back to Top

Check out the new products in the LWVC Online Store

Shop our store for League branded gifts for the whole family. We offer several themes on hats, phone cases, clothing, pins, mugs, masks, yard signs, and more!

• 100 Years of Women Voting - Limited Editions, Gone Soon!
• NEW! Democracy Nerd
• NEW! People Powered Fair Maps
• NEW! Justice for All
• Facemasks Assorted LWV logos
• Women Power the Vote
• I Believe in the Power of Women

Products are shipped directly to you and a small portion of your purchase supports the LWVC.

Visit our store. 

Back to Top

March 2021 Post Board Summary

LWVC/LWVCEF Boards of Directors Meetings
March 20, 2021 – Electronic Meetings

IMPORTANT DATES TO CALENDAR:

•  April 1, 2021 – LWVC Convention Registration Opens – See Convention Blog
•  April 22, 2021 – Earth Day
•  April 29, 2021 – Redistricting – Day of Action – See Redistricting Update
•  May 3, 2021 – Convention Awards Application Deadline – See Convention Blog
•  June 7-13, 2021 – LWVC Convention 2021 – Virtual – See Convention Blog

LWVC MEETING SUMMARY

The LWVC Board of Directors acted as follows:

GOVERNANCE AND ADMINISTRATION

Development of LWVC Governance Committee

• Approved Charter for the Governance Committee
• Requested the Executive Committee submit the names of three board members for board consideration of appointment to the Governance Committee.

Ratification of LWVC Special Meeting Actions

• February 3. 2021 – Special Board Meeting – Components of Board Committee Structure and LWVC Board Job Descriptions
• March 16, 2021 – Executive Committee Meeting – Personnel Matters.

Resignation as a Local League Coach (LLC)

• Lisa Ratner (LWV Palo Alto).

Appointments to the Charter School Committee

• Kay Bertken (LWV Fresno)
• Veronica Jones (LWV Pasadena Area).

PROGRAM/ADVOCACY

• Adopted Legislative Priorities for the 2021 Legislative Session.  See Legislative Update for details.
• The Board members recognized an increase in local League participation in both the program process and with legislative interviews this year.  

LWVC CONVENTION 2021 RELATED ITEMS

• The LWVC Board approved three (3) proposed bylaws amendments for consideration by the delegates to Articles II, V, and VIII.  Detailed information on these proposals will be posted soon on the Convention Blog and sent out with the Second Call to Convention.
• The LWVC Board also approved the 2021-2023 Recommended Program based on program planning results from the membership for consideration by Convention 2021 delegates. Please see the Convention Blog for detailed information as it becomes available.  Information will be included in the Second Call to Convention as well.
• The Nominating Committee Report for the 2021-2023 term for officers, directors, and three members of the nominating committee was received and filed.  The slate will be voted on by Convention 2021 delegates.  Watch for its posting on the Convention Blog.

LWVCEF MEETING SUMMARY

The LWVCEF Board of Directors acted as follows:

VOTER SERVICE

• The Board discussed the possibility of a recall election in November. 

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

 Back to Top