TRI- L E A G U E K I C K O F F S E P T E M B E R 2 6,

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1 Volume 45, No 2 League of Women Voters of the Beach Cities Serving El Segundo, Hawthorne, Hermosa Beach, Inglewood, Manhattan Beach & Redondo Beach TRI- L E A G U E K I C K O F F S E P T E M B E R 2 6, Robert M. Stern, President of the Center for Governmental Studies spoke to a breakfast meeting of more than fifty people at the Tri- League Kickoff held at Marie Callenders s Restaurant on Saturday, September 26, The Center for Governmental Studies (CGS) is a non-profit, non-partisan organization founded in The CGS creates innovative solutions to help individuals participate more effectively in their communities and governments. CGS is unique in its ability to combine several areas of expertise to: convene relevant stakeholders; conduct research and policy analysis; achieve consensus among diverse groups; and effectively use technology to gather, present and disseminate the information to a wide audience. Peter Schrag in the Sacramento Bee called Robert Stern, the godfather of modern political reform in California. Mr. Stern has a long impressive list of credentials within California politics. He also has the distinction of having a long history with the League. His mother served as president of the Diamond Bar LWV and he s continued her involvement with the Santa Monica League as well as with other Leagues. (continued on page 5) Membership Meeting Tuesday Oct 27th, 7 PM Manhattan Beach Library The topic for our October membership meeting is Climate Change And How It Is Affecting Our Oceans. Promptly at 7 pm we will see a 25-minute film about acidification made by the Natural Resources Defense Council. Acidification is a recently discovered consequence of excess carbon dioxide that is changing the basic chemistry of the sea. As the oceans get more acidic, the first organisms to be hurt will be shelled animals and coral reefs. The resulting disruption in the food web will have severe consequences for humans. Following the movie we will have a speaker to answer questions about acidification and other climate change effects on the oceans. One of our members will report on the LWV Climate Change positions and recent governmental actions. Another member who is LEED certified will explain to us about LEED buildings and what it means to be green. We will also have time for discussion of climate change issues and what actions we can take to reduce our carbon footprint. Because we live close to the ocean it is important that we try to learn all we can about how climate change will impact the sea. Hope to see you there. Bring a friend. Submitted by Michelle Murphy

2 Page 2 The Beach Voter INSIDE THIS ISSUE PAGE Calendar 6 Kickoff 1 5 Climate Change Meeting 1 Inside This Issue Climate 3 LWVC Regional Workshop 3 The League affirms our belief in our commitment to diversity and pluralism. There shall be no barriers to participation in any activity of the League on the basis of gender, race, creed, age, sexual orientation, national origin or disability. The League recognizes that diverse perspectives are important and necessary for responsible and representative decision making. Why I Joined the League 4 It Takes A Village 4 Membership Form 2 New Members Welcome 6 The Beach Voter Co-Presidents: Barbara Arlow Susan Grebe Editor: Susan Grebe Copy Editor: Barbara Arlow The League of Women Voters, a non-partisan 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. Any person of voting age, male or female, may become a League member. Production: Mignon Thiem-Murphy Peggy Bartlett Sunhee Park Circulation: Ann Martin For membership. Send check in the amount of $55.00(payable to the League of Women Voters Beach Cities) to Peggy Bartlett at th Street, Manhattan Beach, CA 90266) Name Phone Address

3 Page 3 The Beach Voter JOIN THE LEAGUE AND ORGANIZATIONS FROM MORE THAN 100 NATIONS ON OCTOBER 24, 2009 TO SHOUT OUT ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE A reminder from Michelle Murphy Please read the flyer included in this issue of The Beach Voter and mark your calendar for Saturday October 24. The event will begin with a rally at the Manhattan Beach Pier at 3 pm and culminate by creating a tide line of people stretching along the beach at 3:50 pm, demonstrating possible results of climate change on our coast. 350 is the number of parts per million of carbon dioxide that scientists say our atmosphere can safely contain. We are currently at 390 ppm and rising each year. The South Bay 350 Climate Action Group (see is part of a world wide coalition of people from more than 100 countries hoping that this day's events will help call attention to climate change before the new UN climate talks which are scheduled for Copenhagen in December The day should be fun and inspiring. The League of Women Voters of the Beach Cities is hoping to go as a group and is tentatively planning to meet at 2:45 pm at the outdoor eating area of Bristol Farms in Manhattan Beach (1570 Rosecrans Ave.) to form carpools so we can drop leaguers off near the pier. If you are interested in riding in a car pool please call Michelle Murphy at If you come by yourself and want to join us, look for our League of Women Voters sign. LWVC REGIONAL WORKSHOP The East San Gabriel Valley League Invites you to learn what the League does and how it does it! Date & Time: Location: Price: Saturday, October 10th Registration 9:30 AM Workshop ends at 2:30 PM Covina Woman s Club 128 S. San Jose Avenue Covina, CA $25.00 per person: $30.00 after Oct. 2nd ($15.00 if no lunch) There will be workshops on: 1) Constitutional Reform, What is happening and what you can do to make it happen 2) Political, YES; Partisan, NO! Walking the fine line 3) Tools you can use from the League s Members only web page, 4) The Welcoming League: Engaging and Retaining Your Members. For more information please contact Rosie Fabian rfabian2000@msn.com or cdellamas@cs.com

4 Page 4 Why I Joined the League By Barbara Arlow From the time I was a young child my immigrant father emphasized how fortunate I was to live in a country where people had the right to vote. After informing themselves of the relevant issues he and my mother always voted, and in spite of the outcome he believed that all citizens had had the opportunity. That s not to say that he was always happy with the outcome. For me the League of Women Voters represented our freedom and responsibility to vote and I was a dues paying member for many years. Now thanks to the League of Women Voters of the Beach Cities I m fortunate to be able to provide community groups with prosand-cons information upon which to base their voting decisions as well as to provide candidate information through moderating candidate forums. It Takes A Village Or the Making of the Voter Susan Grebe As a newcomer to being a Voter editor, I must confess I start off knowing practically nothing about being an editor. I am only semi-literate, spelling and punctuation not being my strong suit. I have never used the Publisher program before and I am no computer whiz. However, what I do have in my favor is the incredibly generous support of my fellow Leaguers. To start with Fatima Malik found an online seller from whom we could purchase a non-profit version of the Publisher program. This package can be passed along to future Voter editors which makes our Treasurer, Peggy Bartlett very happy. Next, one of our previous Voter editors, Henrietta Mosley, took the time to give me a tutorial in this new program, she also gets credit for the picture from the Kickoff that appears in this issue. Wendy Phillips, another Voter editor alumnus,, has also been very generous with her time, between the two of them I know I am not alone in this endeavor. Joan Arias is our star reporter, always ready and willing, who does a great job. And then there is Barbara Arlow, who as copy editor is doing a fantastic job of editing for spelling and grammatical errors. She has a great eye, checks for errors in the data and makes salient suggestions for better copy in general. When it come to printing the Voter we get terrific support from the Copy Shop. They are not only helpful but cheerful and kind to work with. Then comes the assembly crew; Mignon and her Norfolk Terriers open their home for the assembly line; Peggy, Sunhee, Mignon and I put the Voter together attaching stamps as well as the labels faithfully supplied for each issue by Ann Martin. So it is with heartfelt thanks that I say that I truly could not do this without you!

5 Kick-off Continued from Page 1 Page 5 He called 2010 the year of reform and talked about two reform measures that are coming up in the June 2010 election: 1.California Fair Elections Act AB sets up a pilot project for public financing of elections ("The Fair Elections Fund") for the 2014 and 2018 elections for the office of Secretary of State. It is designed to limit the financial influence of lobbyists and special interests in campaigns by allowing candidates to receive public funding for those two elections if they meet certain conditions. Since it amends Proposition 9, the Political Reform Act creating the Fair Political Practices Commission, it has to go before voters next June in order to take effect. Mr. Stern noted that there are 450 cities in California that cannot receive public financing and the bill would remedy that situation. 2.Also on the June ballot, the Top Two initiative sponsored by Senator Abel Maldonado. Senator Maldonado is the leading proponent of the open-primary measure which, if passed, the top two vote-getters in state primaries - even members of the same party - would face each other in the general election. He also talked about the Redistricting Measure strongly supported by the League and passed in the last election. Later, when asked how that had managed to pass, Mr. Stern admitted that he was a poor predictor and had no idea how this measure had managed to pass! He emphasized the importance of redistricting for California's future. But the main thrust of his talk was on the proposed California Constitutional Convention which he supports and about which he has written an article that appeared in the California Lawyer: eid=903320&evid=1 He noted that the last Constitutional Convention took place in 1879 when 865,000 people lived in California. That Convention drew 152 delegates (no women of course!) and focused on taxation, immigration (particularly Chinese immigration and suffrage) and lasted 127 days. It was ratified by a 54 to 42% vote. The California Constitution has been amended 500 times since then and despite continual requests and votes for a convention, there has been no Convention since 1879! The Bay Area Council is beginning their work to sponsor initiatives on the November 2010 ballot to enable people to call for the Convention and to actually vote on the Convention. The Council is a business-sponsored, public-policy advocacy organization for the nine-county Bay Area in Northern California. The Council proactively advocates for a strong economy, a vital business environment, and a better quality of life for everyone who lives there. Key questions include: Who would be delegates and how would California select them? Mr. Stern feels that some sort of appointment process would be put in place. What would the Convention consider? Mr. Stern talked about excluding social issues such as abortion and gay marriage and focusing on the governmental processes such as the initiative process. We have far too many initiatives on our ballots and far too little clear information about them and Mr. Stern feels that this keeps people from voting. Other areas that the Convention should explore are term limits which the Convention should lengthen for both houses and the 2/3 vote required for budgetary changes which the Convention should lower to a majority (but not for taxes!). A more radical change he would like to see take place is a change to a Unicameral Legislative structure, following the model of Nebraska, the only state that has such a structure. He would like to see a Legislature of 119 Senators representing smaller districts. He feels that a Unicameral Legislative body would simplify elections and make government more effective and efficient, removing the duplicative structures we now have with Senators and Representatives representing basically the same areas with large staffs and complicated processes. Mr. Stern concluded on a mixed note stating his optimism about a Convention but his concern that its conclusions might not be approved by the voters who have tended to say no lately! In a lively Q&A session, he reviewed the Redistricting Commission selection process and reemphasized the need to extend but not eliminate term limits feeling that the voters would never eliminate term limits because they don't trust legislators! He also would like to see a Revision Commission to remove all the silly things that have made their way into the California Constitution. These would morph into statutes rather than becoming part of our Constitution. He also talked about salaries for legislators and expressed his opposition to a part-time Legislature. What he would like to see is Legislators who receive a living wage and who are prohibited from receiving income from other sources. And he answered a number of questions about his desire for a Unicameral Legislature. Mr. Stern gave us a great deal to think about and encouraged us to continue to monitor the reform measures that appear on our upcoming ballots. For additional information about the Center for Governmental Studies, go to their web page at Also, for the Bay Area Council: Reported by Joan Arias

6 Page 6 CALENDAR Oct 3 & 4 Saturday & Sunday Oct 10th Saturday Oct 13th Tuesday 10 AM to 5 PM 9:00 AM to 2:30 PM Hometown Fair Booth Cookies, Cupcakes & More Friendliest Booth at the Fair LWVC Regional Workshop (see page 3 for details) Live Oak Park 1900 Valley Drive Manhattan Beach Covina Woman s Club 128 S. San Jose Avenue Covina, CA 7:00 PM Board Meeting Home of Harriet Chase 2151 Valley Drive Manhattan Beach October 24th Saturday Oct 27th Tuesday 3:00 PM 350 Climate Demonstration (see Page 3 for details) 7:00 PM Membership Meeting Climate Change Manhattan Beach Pier Manhattan Beach Library 1400 Highland Ave Welcome to new member Joy Jurena of Manhattan Beach League of Women Voters of the Beach Cities th Street Manhattan Beach, CA The Beach Voter is printed by The Copy Shop, 309 S. Sepulveda Blvd., Manhattan Beach, CA 90266,