The Voter. League of Women Voters of Central Orange County Area

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1 The Voter League of Women Voters of Central Orange County Area January 2013 President s Message Much to be Thankful for in COCA By Harriett Walther I have never had a very good memory. I caused my parents acute embarrassment when I was nine and completely forgot the music at my piano recital. If you know me well and wonder why I introduce myself anew each time we meet, it s my faulty memory for names and faces. One thing I do recall in Technicolor clarity is when I was in my kitchen and needed something from my bedroom. When I got to the bedroom, I had no idea why I was there. But I said to myself (and this is the part I remember vividly): Harriett, when you get really, really old and find yourself in this situation, don t worry that you re senile; after all, you ve been doing this since you were 30. (It was a white purse, and it was 1963, and that memory comforts me often.) And now that I m 80, I remember how valuable League of Women Voters has always been in teaching me to analyze issues, budgets, and program proposals and how to look at problems from all sides. Thinking non-partisanly was the best skill I brought to my role as a community college board member. I focused on the mission and respected the Brown Save the Date! Lunch with League Wednesday, February 20, 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. China Palace Restaurant, Newport Ave., Tustin Go Red for Women Marissa Fortuno from the American Heart Association will talk about heart disease in women and legislation before Congress regarding heart disease. Act because League taught me about governance and public service. Now, COCA and our sister Orange County Leagues are about to plunge back into public policy study and analysis. Let s hope Congress might remember to focus on mission and work to reach consensus. Happy New Year. Please note! There will not be a Lunch with League in January. Please join us for Program Planning on January 26 (see page 3) and lunch on February 20! Inside this issue: Message from LWV President, Ed Fund Donations Calendar, Program Planning 3 League observes re-count, Bylaws Review Committee LWVC sponsored bills $13 members, $15 non-members Please RSVP to Sue Guildford at (714) or sguilford@socal.rr.com Membership Application Back

2 Page 2 The VOTER LWV/COCA January 2013 League of Women Voters Central Orange County Area Serving Anaheim Fountain Valley Garden Grove Los Alamitos Midway City Orange Santa Ana Stanton Tustin Villa Park Westminster Mission Statement: The League of Women Voters is a nonpartisan political organization that encourages the informed and active participation in government and influences public policy through education and advocacy. President Harriett Walther Vice President, Voter Services Joan Hake Vice President, Membership Maggie Cvek Treasurer Sue Guilford Secretary Gisela Meier Directors Social Concerns: Alice McCullough Program Planning: Brenda Davis Asst. Program: Sheila Claus Clip and Come Chair Susy Mintzer and Eileen Keturakis Voter Editor Gisela Meier League Telephone (714) Web Sites A Message from LWV President Elizabeth MacNamara We are all deeply distressed by the shootings in Newtown, Connecticut and share in the country s grief. As leaders in your community, remember that the League of Women Voters is singularly well suited to gather disparate members of the community together to discuss difficult issues and work to find common ground to solve problems. At the same time, there will be opportunities to take action through legislation at the state and federal levels. Members of the U.S. House and Senate have already signaled their intent to introduce legislation to reinstate the ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines when the 113th Congress meets in January and President Obama has asked Vice-President Biden to oversee a task force that will develop new gun control and mental health policies. The Task Force report is expected in January. Since 1990, the League of Women Voters has had a position to protect the health and safety of citizens through limiting the accessibility and regulating the ownership of handguns and semi-automatic weapons, and we supported the original ban on assault weapons and highcapacity magazines when it was passed in The League s health care position also states that every U.S. resident should have access to a basic level of quality care that includes, among other things, mental health care. As the League has done throughout our history, we know that real solutions to serious problems are not easily achieved, but the combination of our thoughtful understanding of these issues combined with our respected reputation to facilitate challenging discussions among people in our communities and with policy makers, puts us in a place of offering the best of what we are to a nation yearning for solutions. We will be looking for opportunities to share the League s views as this very complex debate progresses. In the meantime, you can reach out to your representatives when they are home to express the League s view that there is no role for assault weapons or high-capacity magazines in civilized society. Thank You to Ed Fund Donors Thank you to: Tom and Margaret England Susy Mintzer for your donations to the LWV COCA Ed Fund. To make a tax-deductible donation to our Ed Fund, please write your check to LWV COCA Ed Fund and mail it to Sue Guilford, Treasurer, who will send it to LWVC with the correct form. If you make your donation directly to LWVC, please provide her with date, amount and check number so she can make sure it lands in the COCA account.

3 January 2013 Welcome to Program Planning Welcome to the program planning process for ! What do you want to see on the agenda for the League in California for the upcoming biennium? As a valued member of this grassroots organization, you have the opportunity and the responsibility to indicate the issues on which you believe the state League and all local Leagues in California should focus their time, talent, money, and reputation. We hope you use the program planning process as an opportunity to think strategically about the work of the League on the state level. Consider where there is the most need, where we will be most effective, and what activities best serve our mission. And consider the indirect impact of these choices, particularly on membership recruitment and retention, fundraising, and our reputation all of which are crucial to the future of your local League as well as that of the LWVC. There is only so much we all can do with our limited human and financial resources. The state League is spread wide and far by the numerous policy positions we have and the many voter service and community education projects we undertake. We also deeply respect grassroots member interest in any issue. We believe in the will of the Convention to set priorities from both a policy and a budgetary standpoint. We look forward to receiving your response by Friday, February 22. In the interim, please do not hesitate to contact the state League with questions, comments and suggestions. We are eager to work with you in this process. Sincerely, Jennifer A. Waggoner President, League of Women Voters of California Please join the COCA Board of Directors for a Program Planning session on Saturday, January 26, starting at 10 a.m. We will meet at the home of Brenda Davis, COCA Program Planning Director: Red Hill Avenue, Santa Ana, (three houses north of S.E. Skyline). If you have any questions, please call Harriett Walther at (714) or Joan Hake at (714) The VOTER LWV/COCA LWV COCA Calendar Page 3 4 Clip and Come, 9:30 a.m. Marie Callender Restaurant, on Grand Avenue in Santa Ana. For information call Susy Mintzer, (714) COCA Board Meeting, 6 p.m., Walther home, call (714) for directions. All COCA members are welcome. 12 Clip and Come, 9 a.m., Marie Callender Restaurant on Brookhurst in Garden Grove. Breakfast, articles and discussions. For information call Eileen Keturakis (714) Visitors welcome. 26 Program Planning January February 1 Clip and Come, 9:30 a.m. Marie Callender Restaurant, on Grand Avenue in Santa Ana. For information call Susy Mintzer, (714) Clip and Come, 9 a.m., Marie Callender Restaurant on Brookhurst in Garden Grove. Breakfast, articles and discussions. For information call Eileen Keturakis (714) Visitors welcome. 12 COCA Board Meeting, 6 p.m., Walther home, call (714) for directions. All COCA members are welcome. 20 Lunch with League, 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., China Palace Restaurant, Newport Ave., Tustin. Please note that LWVCOCA has a new mailing address: P.O. Box Santa Ana, CA 92711

4 Page 4 The VOTER LWV/COCA January 2013 LWVCOCA Members Observe Re-Count of Prop. 37 Ballots By Joan Hake What are these people doing, and why are they doing it? They are recounting ballots from the November 2012 election. Specifically, they are recounting "yes" or "no" votes on Proposition 37, the genetic engineering labeling initiative that lost in the election. A proponent of the initiative from northern California, Eileen Burke-Trent, contacted our Orange County League requesting that we serve as neutral observers of the recount. This recount was paid for by those proponents because statisticians who study post-election results discovered there were "anomalies" in the votes in several California counties, including Orange County. Since my phone number is listed on the ILO website, I received a telephone call on Monday, December I7, and after many calls from me to ILO board members and many communications, Petti Van Rekom of the CAPO Unit, Sue Guilford from COCA and I signed on for a couple of shifts of observation. Time was short, to say the least, as the count began the next day at 8:30 a.m. at the Registrar of Voters' office in Santa Ana. I arrived at 1 p.m. for the afternoon shift. The four people you see in the photo were paid volunteers who counted and will continue counting Prop. 37 votes until the recount sponsors say they are satisfied and go on to Riverside County for a similar recount there. Recounting votes must be one of the most tedious activities imaginable, only exceeded in boredom by observing the recount. For four hours these plucky folks divided mail-in ballots into stacks of 25, and while the lady on the foreground right called out "yes" or "no", the others verified and recorded the answers. Registrar Neal Kelley would compare their results with his original ones and they would move on to another precinct. In the photo, the counters have switched to the roll of recorded answers removed from the "paper trail" machines and have placed the rolls in the device you see, a kind of relative of the old camera film loaders. All this was done by hand. In addition to my role as a neutral observer, there were four activists in attendance who supported the recount. They were an earnest group, coming together as a grassroots coalition from across the state. You can see a couple of them in the background. Another observer was a woman from Los Angeles, a retired university professor, whose passion is making sure the voting process remains democratic and open to all eligible citizens. She deplores voting machines, and believes all elections should go back to paper ballots that are counted in the way this recount was being done, with plenty of access for citizens to watch the process. None of the "suits" representing the various chemical companies who bank-rolled the "NO on 37" proposition were in attendance. I was told they could be there, too, and could be intimidating. This recount is ongoing as I write this, and if any of you want to be involved, you can log on to this website: orange. There will be no counting on Christmas Eve or Day or New Year's Eve or Day. Perhaps the recount will be called off before then. This is democracy in action, of course, and thanks to our outstanding Registrar, all is done with professional exactitude. Incidentally, although observers are all volunteers, the counters earn $75 per day. I wouldn't do it for ten times that amount. Bylaws Review Committee As reported in a previous VOTER, LWV COCA is changing its tax status in conjunction with the California League from 501(c)(4) to 501(c)(3). With this change, all dues and donations will be tax deductible, whereas previously only donations to the Education Fund were deductible. Recordkeeping will also be easier. Because of this and other changes, COCA s bylaws need to be reviewed and revised. A committee of members is needed to complete this task, which will likely be completed in one meeting. If you would like to participate in the Bylaws Review Committee, please contact President Harriett Walther at (714) or wowalther@ca.rr.com

5 January 2013 The VOTER LWV/COCA Page 5 California LWV is Sponsoring Two Bills and Tracking Others California League is currently tracking 23 bills before the state legislature. Two bills are being sponsored by the League: SCR 2(DeSaulnier D) Constitutional convention. Proposes a statewide vote to call a state constitutional convention. SB 2 (Lieu D) Political Reform Act of 1974: campaign disclosures. Summary: Would declare the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that would strengthen the Political Reform Act of 1974 and the campaign disclosure requirements within that act to increase penalties for failing to properly disclose campaign contributions, tighten the disclosure requirements on mass mailings, and campaign messages presented through television, and other forms of media, and close the loophole associated with campaign contributions from multipurpose groups and nonprofit organizations. SB 3 (Yee D) Political Reform Act of 1974: campaign disclosures. Summary: Would declare the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that would strengthen the Political Reform Act of 1974 and the campaign disclosure requirements within that act to increase disclosure penalties and to strengthen and modify specified current disclosure requirements and campaign contribution provisions as they relate to particular groups and organizations. League is also following these bills: AB 45 (Dickinson D) Political Reform Act of Increases the monetary threshold of contributions or independent expenditures that qualify a person or combination of persons as a committee to $2,000. SB 26 (Correa D) Political Reform Act of 1974: slate mailers. Modifies the font, type, size, color and placement specifications on political to slate mailers. SB 27 (Correa D) Political Reform Act of Revises the definition of a "contribution" to include payments made by a donor who, at the time of making the payment, knows or has reason to know that the payment, or funds with which the payment will be commingled, will be used to make contributions or expenditures. SCA 3(Leno D) Educational entities: parcel tax. Conditions the imposition, extension, or increase of a parcel tax by a school district, community college district, or county office of education upon the approval of 55 percent of its voters. AB 7 (Wieckowski D) and SB 4 (Pavley D) Both of these bills would establish various regulations for hydraulic fracturing ( fracking ). SCA 6 (DeSaulnier D) Initiative measures: funding source. Requires an initiative measure that would result in increased costs to show how revenues would be raised. SCA 7(Wolk D) Local government financing: public libraries: voter approval. Allows increases of local property tax to fund public libraries with approval of 55 percent of voters. AB 3(Bocanegra D) Income taxes: credits: film. States the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation to expand or continue the California Film and Television Tax Credit Program. SCA 4 (Liu D) Local government transportation projects: special taxes: voter approval. Provides that the imposition, extension, or increase of a special tax by a local government for local transportation projects requires the approval of 55percent of its voters. AB 19 (Ting D) Elections: online voting. Declares the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that would require the Secretary of State to implement a pilot program whereby a county may enable voters to vote via the Internet. SB 44(Yee D) State Internet Web sites: online voter registration. Requires each Internet Web site maintained by the state to include a hyperlink to the online voter registration page of the Internet Web site of the Secretary of State. SB 36(Rubio D) Safe, Clean, and Reliable Drinking Water Supply Act of Declares the intent of the Legislature to amend the Safe, Clean, and Reliable Drinking Water Supply Act of 2012 for the purpose of reducing the amount of the $11,140,000,000 bond. For additional information on these bills, go to Click on Act Now, then Bill Status Report then December 2012.

6 THE VOTER League of Women Voters Central Orange County Area P.O. Box Santa Ana, CA Return Service Requested League of Women Voters Central Orange County Area Membership Application New Renewal Month/Year first joined League I am unable to join, but would like to support League activities with a donation in the following amount: Please Print First Name Last Name Street Address: City: State: Zip: Phone Number: Annual Dues: $60 Additional Member (living at the same address): $30 Student member: $22.50 Please make checks payable to LWV COCA. Dues and contributions to the league are not tax deductible. Contributions to the Education Fund are deductible to the extent allowed by law. Checks for donation to the Education Fund must be payable to LWVC Education Fund. Membership in the League of Women voters is open to all women and men of voting age who are U.S. citizens. Noncitizens and persons under 18 are welcome to join the League as associate members. Send check and completed form to: LWVCOCA P.O. Box Santa Ana, CA 92711