Bulletin February 2010 Member Events Calendar

Transcription

1 web: The League of Women voters, a nonpartisan national organization, encourages the informed and active participation of citizens 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. Bulletin February 2010 Member Events Calendar February :30 p.m. Monthly Meeting: Member Stories (Town Hall--Civil Defense Room) (Dinner at Peking Palace at 6:00 p.m.) 23 7:30 p.m. Board Meeting (Board Room, Falmouth Hospital) March :30 p.m. Monthly Meeting: Local Program Planning (Town Hall--Civil Defense Room) (Dinner at Peking Palace at 6:00 p.m.) 23 7:30 p.m. Board Meeting (Board Room, Falmouth Hospital) Looking Ahead March 19, 2010 Cape Cod Legislative Breakfast April 28, Day on the Hill at the State House May 6, 2010 LWVF Candidates Night May 13, 2010 LWVF Annual Meeting May 18, 2010 Falmouth Town Election Steering Committee Betsy Fontes, Vice President Joanne Voorhis, Treasurer Sylvia Szulkin, Secretary Kathy Mortenson, Membership Joan Boyer, Ex-officio Bulletin Judy Fenwick If you wish to join the League, membership dues are $50.00 for an individual membership and $25.00 for an additional household member. Send your check made out to LWV of Falmouth to the address shown above. Please include your name, address and phone number. You do not have to be a resident of Falmouth to join.

2 MEMBERSHIP NEWS Kathy Mortenson Please welcome new members Art Voorhis and Maria Rallou Moore. Both Art and Maria have been Falmouth League members in the past. Our Leagueʹs membership now numbers 101. Please add Art and Maria to your Directory. SAVE THE DATES THE MYSTERY OF COUNTY GOVERNMENT A different kind of COUNTY FAIR FREE ADMISSION HIGHFIELD HALL Saturday, APRIL 24, P.M. LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS OF FALMOUTH ANNUAL MEETING HIGHFIELD HALL Thursday, MAY 13, :30 8:30 P.M. * Note the new location * - 2 -

3 STEERING COMMITTEE REPORT Kathy Mortenson As the League of Women Voters of the United States and the League of Women Voters of Massachusetts celebrate their 90th year, the League community should take great pride in its storied history and achievements! The League has a long, rich history that continues with each passing year. It was then, and is now, a nonpartisan organization. League members were encouraged in the beginning and now to be political themselves, by educating citizens about, and lobbying for, government and social reform legislation. The League also has a long history in Falmouth starting in 1954, always working on vital issues of concern to members and the residents of Falmouth and Cape Cod. We have published booklets on basic town government, structure, and procedures starting with our first Know Your Town booklet. Judy Stetson wrote to qualify as a local League, each new local chapter had to research, write and publish a booklet about its town. It had to be updated every few years. League members learned about local politics and town leaders learned about the League. The generic name of this booklet is ʺKnow Your Town.ʺ In Falmouth the title was ʺFalmouth Fore and Aft.ʺ For years now it has been called ʺFalmouth in Focus.ʺ The most recent edition of our booklet was printed in The League Board is planning an update and hopes to have it available on the League s website soon, with a link from the Town s website as well to broaden its accessibility. The League is proud to be nonpartisan and our members have helped create and implement the Townʹs Charter and its Local Comprehensive Plan. The League continues to benefit from the talents of extraordinary women and men who have often gone on to serve either as chair or members of town boards, committees, and organizations. Over the years an amazing amount of materials from all the projects that have been done in Falmouth have been saved and stored. Current League members, past members, and friends will want to browse our League s well organized scrapbooks which will be on display at our Thursday, February, 18 th monthly meeting starting at 7:30p.m. at Town Hall in the Civil Defense Room. We look forward to an exchange of our membersʹ reminiscences of their years in the League. We want to hear your personal League history, e. g., why you first joined the League, how your participation has influenced your life in ways great and small, and how you perceive that the Falmouth League has impacted our community. All anecdotes are welcome. We will celebrate with cake and sparkling cider

4 SUCCESSFUL AND FUN NATIONAL PROGRAM PLANNING MEETING Joanne Voorhis The Falmouth League is recommending a new national study item: To study the feasibility of Instant Run off Voting as an alternative to the current system of electing federal officials. A well attended meeting on January 21 discussed the national program that will be chosen at the national league convention in Atlanta, GA this coming June. We had to decide whether to recommend a new national study item or the review of an existing league position. The group quickly decided it would not send in no recommendation. Topics suggested for study in addition to our recommendation were: 1. Elimination of the Electoral College; 2. The Fair Election Act filed by Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois; 3. Legislation to improve public education nationwide; 4. Study of various ethics laws that have failed in their implementation to determine why they failed and to further determine how loopholes in those laws could be closed; 5 What is the federal government s responsibility to create/find jobs for citizens who are jobless but capable and desirous of working? The League of Women Voters is organized on three levels: local, state and national. Local leagues such as ours meet to discuss and choose the national league program every two years when the national convention is held. On alternating years the state league program is discussed. We do local program planning every year. Program is basic to the League s mission at all three levels. It consists of three parts: 1) Planning which we did for national at this meeting; 2) Study over a period of one or two years and consensus; and 3) Advocacy for our position. The League is non partisan. We do not support political parties or candidates. But we do support and fight for political action in areas where we have studied and reached agreement. The national league s present positions are listed in the back of the member directory under four broad headings: 1) Representative Government; 2) International Relations; 3) Natural Resources; and 4) Social Policy. The positions are covered at length in a booklet called Impact on Issues : A Guide to Public Policy Positions. This publication can be read on line or ordered at To buy, go to Store / League publications / Impact on Issues. To read, go to Library / Browse by topic / About the League view all league related publications Impact on Issues (pdf download)

5 FEBRUARY 18 MONTHLY MEETING: MEMBER STORIES Marcia Easterling PROMOTING INFORMED CITIZENSHIP FOR 90 YEARS! On February 18, 2010 at 7:30 p.m. members of the Falmouth League will gather in the Civil Defense Room at Town Hall to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the LWVUS and to share stories about their experiences as League members. There will be cake, cider and lots of photos and memorabilia. Former League members and the public are invited to join the festivities. Ninety years ago, on February 14, 1920, the National League of Women Voters was born, six months before the final ratification on August 18 of the 19th Amendment, giving women the right to vote. It had been 72 years two generations since womenʹs suffrage had first been proposed by Elizabeth Cady Stanton at Seneca Falls, New York, in In 1919 at the 50th annual convention of the National American Womanʹs Suffrage Association in St. Louis, Carrie Chapman Catt, president of the NAWSA, had first proposed that the organization change its name to reflect its new mission once the 19th Amendment was ratified to assist newly enfranchised women to become informed, active, responsible citizens. The following year, on February 14, 1920, the National League of Women Voters was formally established in Chicago at the NAWSA annual convention before final ratification in August. By only 1 vote, the General Assembly of the state of Tennessee ratified the 19th Amendment, thereby providing the 36th state ratification needed to make it part of the U.S. Constitution. The last state to ratify the Amendment was Mississippi in On May 27, 1920, the League of Women Voters of Massachusetts was formally established and a Massachusetts woman, Maud Wood Park, became the first president of the National League of Women Voters. Her motto was ʺMake the world better.ʺ Women voted in federal and all state elections for the first time in November In 1946 the national changed its name to the League of Women Voters of the United States. In 1973 men were welcomed as League members and are now valued participants in the Leagueʹs mission to encourage all citizens to cast informed votes. Since 1920, new branches of the LWV have been established at the state and local levels. Today there are 1250 local and 50 state chapters. There are also leagues in the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. In 1954 the Falmouth LWV was formed. There are now 53 local chapters in Massachusetts. In 2006 there were about 150,000 members of the League of Women Voters nationwide. The Falmouth LWV now has 101 members and we continue to grow and diversify. If you have photos and memorabilia to add to the display, please notify Joanne Voorhis by phone or e mail. If you cannot attend, you are welcome to send Joanne a written account of how your League membership has affected your life in ways great and small. Humorous anecdotes will be greatly appreciated

6 WASTEWATER MANAGEMENT PART 2: A CLARIFICATION Wendi Buesseler I wish to clarify a statement made in my article in the January bulletin in which I reported on the November member meeting and remarks made by our guest speakers Andrew Gottlieb and Paul Niedzwiecki. Mr. Gottlieb made a statement about cluster septic systems. He said they did not remove as much nitrogen as individual alternative septic systems. He based his remarks on research performed by George Heufelder at the Massachusetts Alternative Septic System Test Center. Nitrogen from our septic systems, as you may recall, is having a devastating impact on our bays and estuaries. It is causing algal blooms that block sunlight to the plants below killing eel grass that is needed as nurseries for fish and shellfish. Title V septic systems are not designed to remove nitrogen and therefore remove very little. I wrote the following statement in last month s bulletin: Cluster systems are for multiple housing units and there would not be as much variability in the flow; but as has been discovered, these cluster systems actually perform worse than individual systems. The above statement is technically correct but doesn t tell the whole story. According to George Heufelder, when he presents his data he adds a caveat that often gets overlooked. The reason why cluster systems do not remove as much nitrogen as individual innovative alternative systems is because they are not required to do so by the regulatory agencies. They can remove more nitrogen when systems are large enough to trigger state permits that require lower nitrogen levels and can get as low as 5mg/L to 3 mg/l. This is much lower than the mg/l of nitrogen coming from Title V systems. Editorial Wendi Buesseler Falmouth is facing a huge complex task removing the excess nitrogen from our bays and salt ponds. These waterbodies are dying because of the nitrogen coming from all of our septic systems remember if you use a toilet in Falmouth you contribute to the problem. Developing a comprehensive wastewater plan for Falmouth is a daunting task and will require many political and financial considerations. Unfortunately, divisions are starting to appear in town. Some people are saying only a conventional centralized sewering system will work while others are solely in favor of decentralized options such as using the above mentioned cluster systems. Sniping and accusations are starting to fly. This is unfair and counterproductive. The proposed Citizens Advisory Committee to look at wastewater issues in Falmouth is an excellent idea and hopefully will find common ground between these two views. One task the CAC needs to do is have a robust and in depth investigation comparing centralized sewering and decentralized system options. Additional tasks include looking at the relative costs of each type of system, compare operating and maintenance costs, discuss what type of regulatory oversight is needed, and how the systems will be monitored. If Falmouth decides to use multiple cluster systems rather than one centralized sewer system additional questions must be answered such as: How will these multiple units be maintained and monitored? What kind of regulatory oversight will there be to insure they work properly? Where will these multiple systems be located? These are just a few of the considerations This is too important an issue for Falmouth and we need to work together for our Town s future

7 LEGISLATIVE REPORT Meg Borden The recent Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission could set campaign finance reform back one hundred years. Citizens United challenged the restrictions of the McCain Feingold campaign finance law in regards to a film that was made for a campaign against Hillary Clinton. This case evolved into a question of whether corporations should be afforded the same rights as individuals regarding freedom of speech. Our national league filed an amicus brief in this case. The brief carefully detailed the Constitutional, statutory and case history of campaign finance reform. The post Civil War concern that corporations were corrupting elections gave way to the Tillman Act of This law prohibited corporations from contributing funds to political campaigns. A few years later, the 17 th Amendment was ratified with the intention of preventing corporate influence in the selection of U.S. Senators. Since then, Senators have been elected by a vote of the people, instead of by selection of state legislatures. This was to allow for political equality. Much of the Constitutional history in the LWV amicus brief was derived from Americaʹs constitution: a biography (2005) by Akhil Reed Amar. If you are interested in further reading, this title is available at the library. The majority ruling in this case went against historical precedent. The Supreme Court decided 5 4 that corporations have the same First Amendment rights as individuals when it comes to political speech Mary G. Wilson, national league president responded, Congress and the President enacted campaign finance laws over a series of decades for a reason to protect our democracy from the perverse influence of big money in our elections. In making this decision, the Court has ignored the best interests of the American public and our representative form of government. Action Alert LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS OF MASSACHUSETTS INITIATIVE PETITION TO REPEAL 40B Opponents of our stateʹs affordable housing zoning law (Chapter 40B) have gathered sufficient signatures to place its repeal on the November 2010 ballot. During this process many local Leagues have been contacted by this group to support their initiative. Briefly, 40B (the Comprehensive Permit Law) was designed to address local zoning and land use restrictions which limited the availability of affording housing. The League of Women Voters of Massachusetts (LWVMA) supported the passage of this in 1969 and has continued to support its implementation. The LWVMA has been asked to support efforts to defeat the repeal initiative, and the State Board, which is responsible for taking positions on state issues, is currently evaluating this request. Our decision will be based on, among other considerations, our position on Affordable Housing, which is based on the LWVUS position on Basic Human Needs. In addition, from , the Affordable Housing Study Committee did a comprehensive review of the subject, including a review of 40B, which led to a modification of the state position. Until the Board has completed its evaluation and determined a plan of action on this initiative, we ask that you refer to the state web site any contacts from groups or individuals seeking support of your League to repeal 40B

8 IN MEMORIAM The League of Women Voters of Falmouth extends heart felt condolences to Deborah Siegal and Dick Payne on the death of Deborah s father, Eugene Siegal, on January 26, LWVF FRIENDS FOR Dorothy and Duncan Aspinwall Frank Egloff Sally Fritz Avery Funkhouser Priscilla Grace Christina Jacobi Susan Kingwill Winnie and Bill Mackey Polly Montgomery Dorothy Ryder Robert Schneider Deborah G. Senft Andrew Szent Gyorgi John and Freddy Valois Helen Wilson - 8 -

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10 League of Women Voters P.O. Box 450 Falmouth MA February 2010 Bulletin JOIN THE LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS Democracy in Action web: