THE VOTER
THE LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS®
OF SONOMA COUNTY
Volume 12, No. 8
November, 2007 2
FUN IN FUNDRAISING? YES! COME PARTY WITH US!
Join LWVSC members and guests at our ANNUAL WINTER SOCIAL AND SILENT
AUCTION
Date: Sunday, December 2, 2007 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm
Place: 753 Hurlbut Ave., Sebastopol
Once again Phyllis and Bob Clement will host an important League event in their
home. Wine, other beverages, tasty savories and sweets will be served. Proceeds
from the Silent Auction support local League programs and activities.
A successful Silent Auction is dependent on the number and quality of items put up for
bid. Phyllis says, “If you don’t use it—maybe you should give it to the LWV Auction!
Call Phyllis at 823-0925 and give her a description of the item you will donate, since lists and bidding sheets must be
prepared in advance. She can also give driving directions or arrange for pickup of your donation. Janie Hawker at
584-5210 will coordinate refreshments and try to get rides for members who need one.
Directions: From South/East, take Highway 116 West from 101 through downtown Sebastopol to Hurlbut Ave. Turn
right on Hurlbut and IMMEDIATELY notice balloons on right at entrance to narrow lane leading to house. From
North/East take Highway 12 West from 101 to Highway 116 West, then right on Hurlbut Ave. Again IMMEDIATELY
notice balloons on right at entrance to the narrow lane leading to the Clement’s home.
CONTENTS:
Book Group Corner
2
LWVBA President’s Message
5
President’s Message
2
Board Briefs
5
International Relations Discussion Group
3
UNAFF Film Festival Notice
6
New Members Glossary
3
Pros/Cons speaking Training
6
Advocacy/Action
3
6
Representative Needed!!
4
Raven Discussion Series—Undocumented
Immigration
Touch Screen Voting Systems/Elections
Immigration Study Part III
4
New Members/Roster Changes
7
Common Interest Development Elections
Project
Voter Service
5
November Calendar
8
5
6
THE VOTER
VOL. 12, NO. 7, OCTOBER 2007
The League of Women Voters
of Sonoma County
If you have questions about the book group, please call or
send me a message.
100 E Street, Suite 209
Santa Rosa, CA 95404
707-546-5943
[email protected]
http://www.lwvsonoma.org/
http://www.lwvc.org/
http://www.lwv.org/
http://www.smartvoter.org/
Lynda Hungerford
539-5770
[email protected]
Officers:
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
Carol Adams, President
Elaine Book, Secretary
Susannah Likins, Treasurer
Before You Automatically Say
No to Being a Presenter, Read
This…
Chele Gummer, VP Action
Nancy Richards, VP Administration
Sandy de Lorimier, VP Program
Will Richards, VP Community Services
When I was first called and asked
to be a Presenter of “Pros and Cons” I
panicked and said “No, I couldn’t
possibly!” After I hung up the phone,
I thought about it. I may be retired
but I can’t retire from challenging
myself, or as I refer to it, “stretching” myself. I called back
and said I would be a presenter...
My first thought had been I don’t know enough about the
initiatives/propositions. I found out I needn’t have worried.
LWVCA provides “In-depths” which outline the pro’s and
con’s of each issue. I didn’t even have to do original research!
I did make my own outline, though, to make my talk “mine.”
My second fear had been I’ll be speaking to the public!
Yep, no way around that one but I literally (don’t laugh!)
resorted to rehearsing before the bathroom mirror until I could
smoothly give the necessary points from my notes. And, what
was even better, I was going to be a part of a panel, working
with LWV “Pros” Nancy and Willard Richards. I wouldn’t be
by myself in front of the audience.
After making the presentation, I felt I had benefited more than
the audience:
Directors:
George Ellman, Bay Area Representative
Laurie Hall, Public Relations
Olive Horrell, Membership
Amy Southwick & Rosalie Gillmore, Voters
Service
Gloria Norton, Voter Outreach
VOTER Team:
DeeDee Bridges, VOTER Editor
Carol Adams
Nancy Richards
BOOK GROUP CORNER
League members and the public are
invited to join the book group at 10:30
AM on Thursday, November 15, for a
discussion of Reinventing the Melting
Pot: the New Immigrants and What It
Means to Be American, edited by
Tamar Jacoby. The book group will
meet in the League office, Suite 209,
100 E Street, Santa Rosa.
I thoroughly learned the Initiatives I presented
I felt a sense of accomplishment
I had “grown.”
Please do attend the November 1 Voter
Service meeting for anyone interested
in being a Presenter and/or assisting
with Candidate Forums. We need you
and I guarantee you, you will feel good
about it. (See page 5 and 6)
Jacoby, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, has
assembled essays by twenty-one authors about the assimilation
of immigrants, and her book is another recommended by
LWVUS as background for our on-going immigration study.
Advantages of an anthology like this are that you can get
different perspectives in one place and that you can read
selected essays and feel comfortable discussing them. For
more information about Jacoby and the book, go to the
Manhattan Institute Web site, http://www.manhattaninstitute.org/meltingpot.
The Book Group normally meets at 10:30 AM in the office on
the third Thursday of the month. As books are selected they
are posted on the LWV Web site at
http://www.lwvsonoma.org on the Calendar page. The
December meeting will be devoted to selecting books for the
coming months.
Carol Adams, President
MISSION
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.
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VOL. 12, NO. 7, OCTOBER 2007
ADVOCACY/ACTION
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
DISCUSSION GROUP
November 2007
Local Campaign Spending Limits
Revisited
In November 2002 voters approved a revision of the
Charter of the City of Santa Rosa that required the City
Council to enact a more stringent ordinance regulating the
financing of City Council elections. Voluntary spending limits
were added to the ordinance August 24, 2004 and then
removed December 19, 2006. In September of this year,
Council member Susan Gorin asked the Council to consider
reinstating the voluntary spending limits. This issue is
currently scheduled to come before the Council November 6,
and the LWVSC will support reinstating the ordinance passed
August 24, 2004.
I encourage all LWVSC members to come to the City
Council meeting to support reinstatement of voluntary
spending limits and, if they wish, to speak in support
individually.
Our local league doesn’t have its own position on
campaign spending limits. We can use the vertical State
League position in supporting our action, which I am
reprinting here for your review.
The International Relations discussion group will meet on
Tuesday, November 13, 2006, at 12 noon in the Santa Rosa
League office. It is a brown-bag lunch session.
The topic for discussion will be “Helping the World's
Endangered Children.” Ensuring the safety and proper
development of children is the stated goal of the global
community, yet in some countries, children are exposed to
unsafe labor practices, human trafficking, and participation in
combat. What role do private donors, governments and
international organizations play in ensuring health care,
education and safety for the world's children?"
The group meets the second Tuesday of the month. The topics
are selected from the Great Decisions briefing book published
by the Foreign Policy Association in New York City. You are
welcome to join the group discussion with or without the
briefing book. We also refer to the most current news items
and articles pertaining to the discussion topic.
Position in Brief: Support state campaign finance
practices for candidates and advocates of ballot measure
positions that will ensure full disclosure of campaign
contributions and expenditures and enable candidates to
compete more equitably for public office.
1. Public reporting of campaign contributions and
expenditures by all candidates and advocates of ballots
measure positions in statewide elections.
2. Effective monitoring and enforcement.
3. Measures that will broaden the base of campaign
financing, including tax credits/deductions for those who
contribute to political parties, candidates, and ballot
measure campaigns and some public financing to
candidates for state office through an “income tax check
off” system and direct government appropriations.
Public funding measures should include realistic limits
on contributions and expenditures.
4. Realistic limits on contributions by individuals and
groups to candidates and ballot measure campaigns.
5. Realistic limits on the amount each candidate and ballot
measure committee can spend.
6. A requirement that each candidate have one central
committee responsible for coordinating, controlling and
reporting all contributions and expenditures.
The eight topics for 2008 will be: Iraq End-game; The
European Union at 50; Talking to our Enemies; Russia;
U.S. Defense and Security Policy; Latin America: Shift to
the Left?; U.S.-China Trade Policy; Private Philanthropy.
There will not be meetings in December and January. The
next discussion group meeting will be on February 12, 2008,
at 12:00 noon in the Santa Rosa League office. If anyone has
a question about the group, please contact me at 769-8826.
Rosalie Gillmore
NEW MEMBERS GLOSSARY
ADDENDUM
7.
International Relations: Meets the second Tuesday of
the month to discuss world topics in the Great Decisions
briefing book published by the Foreign Policy
Association.
Government provision of services for the voter, such
as voter registration and distribution of information
on candidates and issues.
Continued on Page 4, Left Column
3
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8.
VOL. 12, NO. 7, OCTOBER 2007
and cohesion. The differing viewpoints may result from
larger numbers of immigrants living in communities that
have had relatively few. Change can be difficult to
manage, particularly
sudden change such as
many communities have
experienced with respect to
immigration and diversity.
Measures that will limit or shorten the length of
campaigns.
Of course in using these vertical positions we can
substitute the ‘state’ for ‘local’.
Our goal is to allow all, eligible candidates the ability
to compete equitably. And campaign-spending limits
seem the way to do this.
Chlele Gummer, Advocacy Chair
The Migration Policy
Institute identified the top
migration issue for 2006 as
the global shift from
multiculturalism to assimilation. A century ago
government, private organizations, and philanthropy
provided "Americanization" programs such as English
classes and civic education. Fluency in English
generally increases with each generation in this country
today. Fluency may remain incomplete for the second
generation (when their fluency is incomplete in both the
home and the community language, children are
sometimes said to be semi-lingual rather than bilingual).
By the third generation, the children are generally fluent.
Differences in inclusion among ethnic groups appear to
be more related to age of exposure and access to classes
and resources than desire to learn. Two of the factors in
degree of ethnic identification are economic or social
discrimination and socioeconomic status. Generally,
over time, change in immigration and diversity have
been embraced in this country's communities more
frequently than they have been rejected.
REPRESENTATIVE NEEDED
Are you interested in recycling, reducing landfill volume,
and working toward zero waste?
Our League is eligible to have a representative on
the Sonoma County Task Force on Waste
Management that was mandated by the legislature in
Assembly Bill 939. The meetings are held every other
month on the second Thursday from 1:30 to 3:00 P.M. in
the Main Conference Room of the County Administrative
Center in Santa Rosa.
Here's a chance to learn about plans for a cleaner
Sonoma County and to advocate for League's position on
the issue:
"...to reduce the generation of wastes, to encourage
resource recovery, and to increase the demand for
secondary materials."
RECYCLE
REDUCE
REUSE
This summary is based on an article by Deborah
Macmillan that can be found at www.lwv.org Please
take advantage of the information about the study and
the issues on the website and in the articles in the
National Voter in addition to our summaries so that we
can make informed decisions at our January 12
Consensus meeting. In addition, the Nov.1 Healdsburg
community sponsored meeting on the topic provides
another opportunity to become informed. Details on
page 6.
Please contact Ethel Schy, Nominating Comm. Chair at
[email protected] or 579-1488 for more details.
Immigration Study: Part III
The Immigration Study Committee's monthly Monday
discussion sessions are scheduled for Nov.12 & Dec.10
at the LWV office at 10:00 A.M. Please join us as we
prepare to help fashion a national League policy on
immigration.
Ethel Schy, Co-Chair Immigration Study
Diversity and Inclusion Diversity of country of birth is
integral to who we are, and what our country is, but not
everyone agrees about the value of diversity. The
government both caps the number of immigrants from a
given country and allows for a "diversity lottery" from all
countries. The 2000 census indicated that 12% of total
population were foreign born. Of these, 30% were
Mexican born, the Philippines accounted for about 4%,
and 72 other countries each accounted for one-tenth of
1 % to 3%. The percentages are different in different
parts of the country, so the amount and composition of
diverse populations varies. In urban centers such as
New York and Chicago no single country of origin
predominates.
ELIZABETH “BETTY” BOCK 1916-2007
Long time members of the League were saddened to learn of
the death of Elizabeth “Betty” Bock. Betty was a member of
our local League for a number of years and was a champion of
the Brown Act. She tirelessly attended meetings of the Board
of Supervisors and the Santa Rosa City Council urging them
to follow the laws governing open government. We are
grateful for her many years of active citizen participation in
government, a League mission.
Proponents of diversity cite the positive dynamic impacts
of pluralism, connections to their native countries, and
determination to succeed. Critics cite ethnic, cultural
and language differences as barriers to communication
Nancy Richards
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VOL. 12, NO. 7, OCTOBER 2007
which is very beneficial to the community and to the League’s
fundraising. We look forward to hearing from you.
VOTERS SERVICE REPORT
October 2007
Eve Roberson, Chair
Common Interest Development Elections Project
Workshop on Organizing and
Conducting Forums
The Voters Service meeting on
November 1, 2008, at 10:00 a.m. in
the Santa Rosa office will be the venue
for a panel of members with expertise
on how to organize and conduct candidates’ and issues’
forums. This is a perfect opportunity for members to learn the
secrets of conducting a forum and to take advantage of the
know-how of these experienced forum organizers. It is an
excellent way to see how much fun it can be to work with
League members to bring impartial, informed information to
the voting public. There are many jobs involved with putting
on a forum and most of them are easy and fun.
LWVBA PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
UPDATE FROM THE LWV OF THE BAY AREA –
OCTOBER 1, 2007
The next several months will be focused on Transportation in
the Bay Area as the Metropolitan Transportation Commission
begins the next round of their regional plan. We note that this
time plans are coordinated with the projections of the
Association of Bay Area Governments that focus a portion of
future growth into currently developed areas. This is
controversial in some communities, and is also the subject of
discussion at the regional meeting on October 26. Our Bay
Area League Day on February 22, 2008 will address
transportation issues from several aspects including how we
can curtail greenhouse gas emissions caused by transportation
sources in the Bay Area, how transit and highways are funded,
what’s happening with the infrastructure bonds, possible
solutions, and other topics.
There will be three elections in 2008: the February 5
Presidential primary with three state propositions that we hope
to present to the public; the June 3 State primary with local
candidates and issues on the ballot, and the November 4
general election.
Please join us at the Voters Service meeting on Thursday,
November 1, at 10:00 a.m. in the Santa Rosa League office.
Our Survey of Land Use Policy Near Transit Hubs has finally
been completed and is posted on our webpage
www.lwvbayarea.org. Electronic copies have also been
provided to local League presidents.
Rosalie Gillmore, Voters Service Co-chair
The Common Interest Development
Elections Project is now OPEN for
Business!
The latest issue of the Bay Area Monitor includes stories
about household pharmaceuticals in the waste stream, the
MTC regional rail plan, and the potential changes for the
Water Transit Agency... You can view the electronic version
at www.bayareamonitor.org
The Common Interest Development Elections Project
(CIDEP) has submitted its first proposal to conduct the 2008
election for one of the larger homeowners associations in
Santa Rosa. Although the Homeowner Association indicated
that it was very appreciative of and impressed with our
proposal, it declined to accept it at this time.
Future LWVBA Meeting Dates:
Friday, February 22, 2008 – Bay Area League Day
Saturday, May 31, 2008 – LWV Bay Area Convention
BOARD BRIEFS
A local corporation has also contacted us regarding its
upcoming election. However, we could still use more
prospects as we are relying on education, referrals and
networking to local Homeowners Associations, rather than
advertising. We encourage League members to contact us if
they know of a local Homeowner Association that could use
our election services. Since all Associations are now required
to have an independent third party, such as the League,
conduct their elections, they would probably be glad to know
about the Project’s services. A flyer and details of our
services are available on our League website.
October 2007
TREASURER'S REPORT
September income of $1,185 includes membership
dues ($1,065), member contributions ($70), and
nonmember contributions ($50).
ADVOCACY
Affordable housing - On October 9, the Santa Rosa
City Council will consider adding affordable and lowincome housing to the Santa Rosa Downtown Station
Area Specific Plan. LWVSC supports this position and
the Board urges members to show their support.
Voluntary Spending Limits for City Council Elections
- November 6, the Council will consider reinstating the
Our thanks to the Project’s 15 volunteers who are working
together to accomplish the election preparation tasks. More
volunteers are needed for this new League business project,
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VOL. 12, NO. 7, OCTOBER 2007
requirement that candidates for City Council agree to
voluntary spending limits in order to receive public
financing. LWVSC supports the reinstatement.
Advocacy Committee meeting date - The date has
been changed to the second Thursday of each month, 10
am, at the League’s office. The next meeting will be
November 8, 2007.
RAVEN DISCUSSION SERIES LAUNCHES
WITH FORUM ON UNDOCUMENTED
IMMIGRATION
The Raven Performing Arts Theater announced today the
first of its Beyond the Sound Bite public information
programs. This first forum, “Undocumented Neighbors: A
Shared Dilemma” will be held on Thursday, November 1,
at 7:30 pm. The program will feature a moderator and
five to six panelists who will discuss the issue of illegal
immigration from a variety of viewpoints. It will also
feature a Question & Answer session so that audience
members can participate. Confirmed panelists include:
Bill Hing, law professor at UC Davis and author of the
book Deporting Our Souls: Values, Morality, and
Immigration Policy. Don Villarejo, who has a PhD in
physics was formerly on the faculty at both UCLA and
UC Davis. In 1977, he founded the California Institute
for Rural Studies, which seeks to create a rural
California that is socially just, economically viable, and
environmentally stable; Maria Ontiveros, law professor
at USF who studies undocumented immigrants through
the lens of the 13th amendment, which prohibits
slavery; Dave Penry, co-owner of Pacific Landscapes
who has gone public about the failure of immigration law
and its effects on business.
COMMON INTEREST DEVELOPMENT ELECTIONS - At
their next meeting, the CIDE Committee will explore
ways to compile a list of organizations that would be
interested in our proposal to provide election services as
an independent “Inspector of Elections”, a position
required by California law.
VOTER SERVICE Guest speakers, Janice
Atkinson (Registrar of
Voters) on the right and
Gloria Colter (Asst.
Registrar of Voters) on
the left, answered
questions and discussed
ways that LWVSC might
increase their
participation in the
voting process.
A representative from the Immigration and Customs
Enforcement office (ICE) has also been invited to
VOTER -, There will be a separate VOTER for December
‘07 and January ‘08, Instead of the usual combined
issue.
participate in the panel, but has not yet been confirmed.
For more information: Tom Brand 707-433-6335
Elaine Book, Secretary
UNAFF Traveling Film Festival
SECRETARY OF STATE EXPLAINS HOW
TOUCH SCREEN VOTING SYSTEMS
WILL BE USED IN 2008 ELECTIONS
Co-sponsored by United Nations Ass. of SC, World
Affairs Council of SC and SRJC Social Science
Department
California’s recently elected Secretary of State Debra
Bowen explained how touch screen voting systems will
be used in the 2008 elections. She noted that the
purpose of the increased security requirements was to
make the voting systems more transparent and
auditable. To do that, a panel of experts from UC ran
extensive tests on each voting system in use in
California.
The legal method the Secretary of State used to deal
with these voting systems was to decertify each of them
and then recertify them with conditions. This gave the
opportunity to impose increased security requirements
and enhanced auditing requirements on all voting
systems that would be used.
Bowen noted that almost all counties are going back
to the systems they already have and have used before.
She said that it is important to note that every county in
California already has a system and equipment that
allows it to process paper ballots.
Bowen stressed that it is critical when dealing with
paper as it is with any other medium to deal with
physical security, chain of custody and transparency so
that voters will be able to trust their election results.
http://media.couragecampaign.org/bowencall/bowen_0
91707.mp3
Saturday November 3, 2007 1:00-5:30 PM
Newman Auditorium SRJC
Advance tickets recommended.
General Public $8:00 Student $5.00
For more information UNA 537-1577 or WAC 5736014
or go to http://www.unaff.org/2007/index.html
Beth Martinez
Members, Old and New, are Needed for
Pros/Cons Speaking Engagements.
Join us in educating the voters on the ballot issues for
the February Primary Election. We will train you and
support you in your assignments. Pros and Cons
training is scheduled for Thursday, December 6, 10 AM
in the League Office.
We will need many speakers during next year’s three
elections. If you are a new member feel free to join the
training and see what it is all about.
Chlele Gummer, Pros and Cons Trainer
Eve Roberson, Voters Service
6
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VOL. 12, NO. 7, OCTOBER 2007
NEW LOCAL MEMBERS AND
ROSTER CHANGES
In the 2007-2008 Roster there are errors on page 3
under Regularly Scheduled Meetings. Advocacy/Action
is the second Thursday at 10:00 am. Book Groups is
the third Thursday at 10:30 am. Juvenile Justice
Interest Group meetings vary. Please refer to the VOTER
Calendar for exact time and place.
New National Members:
Marnie Schwartz
Check the League’s website: www.lwvsonoma.org “ for
correct dates and times for meetings.
Please note: There have been numerous failed
email notifications of VOTER being available online. Please take a moment and send in your
current email with your name to
[email protected]. Thank you!
League of Women Voters® of Sonoma County Membership Application
Name_______________________________________
I am interested in the following areas:
Address_____________________________________
Program__________ Membership___________
City_________________________________________
Speakers Bureau_____Social Policy______
Zip___________Telephone____________________
Natural Resources____ Voters Service_____
Fax_____________Email______________________
Newsletter__________Fundraising__________
Yes, I want to join the League of Women
Voters. Enclosed is my check for dues.
($60.00 for individual annual membership,
$90.00 for household, and $40.00 for limited
income. The membership year is July 1 to
June 30.) Please mail check to LWV Sonoma
County, 100 E Street, Suite 209, Santa Rosa,
CA 95404. Thank you.
Cable TV___________Smart Voter___________
Community Outreach_______Website_______
7
The League of Women Voters
of Sonoma County
100 E Street, Suite 209
Santa Rosa, CA 95404
NON-PROFIT
ORGANIZATION
U.S. POSTAGE
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PERMIT NO. 65
Return Service Requested
Time Dated Material
The VOTER, a publication of The League of
Women Voters® of Sonoma County, is
published monthly except for the holiday
season and during the summer, i.e. nine
regular issues per year. The deadline is
generally the 10th of the month preceding
the issue month. If required, a
supplemental issue will be published in
January to announce January activities.
NOVEMBER 2007 CALENDAR
Unless otherwise noted, meetings are open to the public.
Date
Thursday
November 1, 2007
Time
10:00 am
Place
League Office
100 E Street, Suite 209
Santa Rosa
Description
Voter Service “Putting on a Forum” workshop
Tuesday
November 6, 2007
10:00 AM – 12
Thursday
November 8, 2007
10:00 AM
Board Meeting—First Tuesday
League members are welcome. Board meetings are not
open to the public.
Advocacy/Action Meeting –Second Thursday
Monday
November 12,
2007
10:00 AM – 12
League Office
100 E Street, Suite 209
Santa Rosa
League Office
100 E Street, Suite 209
Santa Rosa
League Office
100 E Street, Suite 209
Santa Rosa
Tuesday
November 13,
2007
12 NOON
Wednesday
November 14,
2007
Thursday
November 15,
2007
Sunday
December 2, 2007
Monday
December 10,
2007
10:00 am
NOON
NOON
10:30 AM
2:00 – 5:00
10:00-12:00
Immigration Study
League Office
100 E Street, Suite 209
Santa Rosa
International Relations Study Group
League Office
100 E Street, Suite 209
Santa Rosa
League Office
100 E Street, Suite 209
Santa Rosa
753 Hurlbut Avenue
Sebastopol
League Office
100 E Street, Suite 209
Santa Rosa
Common Interest Development Elections Project
Helping the World's Endangered Children
Book Club—Thirrd Thursday
Reinventing the Melting Pot: The New Immigrants and
What It Means To Be American
Winter Social and Silent Auction
Immigration Study