Amherst League of Women Voters Bulletin November 2013 Vol. LXV No 3

Transcription

1 Amherst League of Women Voters Bulletin November 2013 Vol. LXV No 3 LWVA Co-Presidents Cynthia Brubaker Katherine Vorwerk Feldman nd Vice President Peggy Roberts Secretary Rachel Mustin Co-Treasurers Joan Rabin Janice Ratner Membership Richard Kofler Voter Service Mary Jane Laus Bulletin Editor Katherine Campbell NOVEMBER 2013 CALENDAR Thursday, November 14, 6:45 p.m. LWVA Board 21 Atwater Drive, Amherst. Contact Kathy Vorwerk Feldman, Monday, November 18, 3 p.m. Book Discussion Group, Washington Square by Henry Amherst Room, Jones Library. Contact Phyllis Lehrer No meeting in December. Thursday, November 21, 7:00 p.m. General Jones Library, Woodbury Room. League Series on "How a Small Town Makes Big Things Happen" continues with a panel discussion on The Challenge of Affordable Housing. From the Membership Chair A membership renewal mailing was sent to all members of the Amherst League at the end of September. To date almost half of the 205 members have returned the membership form along with their check for the payment of dues. It is hoped that a large fraction of the remaining members will renew their membership and continue to support the many activities of the Amherst League. If you did not receive the mailing, or have misplaced it, please call ( ) or (Kofler@physics.umass.edu) Dick Kofler and duplicate materials will be sent. League Web Sites LWVA: LWVMA: LWVUS:

2 Message from the Co-Presidents Recently my daughter-in-law said something that really surprised me. And then, two weeks later, I heard Representative Nancy Pelosi, House Democratic Leader, say something not equally surprising, but similar in theme. First let me tell you what my daughter-in-law said. We were having brunch and talking about the League. I had asked her how she felt we could attract younger people like herself to the League. She is a successful business woman, in her early 30 s, with an interest in political issues. She said we should talk about the League s history of accomplishment. She and her busy friends, she said, base decisions about what to do in their lives on proven track records of success i.e. what has been shown to work not on promises of success. Clearly the League has such a record, she argued, and we should be taking full advantage of it. People are willing to join and work hard for an organization that always has, and continues to, fulfill its mission. I was surprised. I have always thought that we should emphasize the present and the future when talking to younger people about joining the League and here she was telling me that we need to focus on our past.* Now to Nancy Pelosi. I was in Seneca Falls, NY, for the induction ceremony of women elected into the National Women s Hall of Fame. Representative Pelosi was one of the women being inducted. She was charming, charismatic, and inspirational. In her talk, she reflected on how she had arrived at her present position in life and gave credit to strong female role models and her knowledge of their accomplishments women whose lives had influenced her own. And it made me think of what my daughter-in-law had said. It was the same theme, the same message: we are influenced and inspired by people who set and achieve laudable goals. What I have learned from these two women is that when we talk to people about joining the League and not just younger people, but women and men of all ages we must talk about the League s rich history of accomplishment and the people responsible for these achievements, in addition to what we are doing now and plan to do in the future. Our history of success in fulfilling our mission time and time again sends a powerful message about the League s unique ability to accomplish its goals that can inspire others to follow the League s path. Kathy Vorwerk Feldman *A very brief listing of some elements of League history (Decades of the League s Impact and Achievements: A Brief History) is on pages 3-4. For more information, go to and read the updated Amherst League s History Booklet which will be available in March. p. 2

3 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s Decades of the League s Impact and Achievements: A Brief History Founded in 1920 by Carrie Chapman Catt, the League (LWV) was born out of the women s suffrage movement that secured the 19th amendment ensuring women the right to vote. Secured passage of the first maternal and infant health care program. LWV helped shape the Social Security Act and fought for Child Labor laws. Amherst League established in LWV built public support for the creation of the United Nations. Amherst League successfully protested against Town s ban on married women teachers and women on the School Committee. LWV sponsored the Freedom Agenda a nation-wide program of community education and discussion during the McCarthy era. Nationally, LWV board members received threats of physical violence. Amherst League began sponsoring Town warrant reviews. LWV called for normalization of relations with China. Amherst League petitioned the School Committee to establish public kindergarten and voted to support more low-income housing in the community. Amherst League s President from 1959 to 1961, Lucy Wilson Benson, was President of the National League from 1968 to LWV sponsored first televised Presidential debates. Amherst League began publishing They Represent You to promote the visibility of Town Meeting members. LWV played a lead role in the push for fairer tax policies; worked to increase the availability of quality child care. Amherst League joined in successful effort to win approval of fluoridation in Town water. p. 3

4 Decades of the League s Impact and Achievements: A Brief History (continued) 1990s 2000s 2010s LWV led the successful campaign for passage and implementation of the Motor Voter Law. Amherst League reaffirmed its support for selectmen-manager form of government. LWV offered the first candidate debates online. Amherst League supported regional collaboration on issues involving business and economic development. LWVMA led effort to get updated Bottle Bill on State ballot. Amherst League's Health Care Reform and Follow the $$ Committees continued their work, meeting with community groups and successfully! lobbying local, state and national legislators Panel Discussion on Affordable Housing The series in honor of the 75th anniversary of the founding of the Amherst League of Women Voters continues on Thursday, November 21 from 7-9 pm in the Woodbury Room of the Jones Library. The second program about Amherst: How a Small Town Makes Big Things Happen will be a panel discussion on The Challenge of Affordable Housing. This is an issue of immediate importance to Amherst, since affordable housing in town appears about to plummet from the current 10.8% to 8.5%. The panelists, a group with considerable and varied experience, are Jan Dizard, President of Interfaith Housing, Inc.; Connie Kruger, Planning Board Member and Chair of the Amherst Housing Authority Board of Commissioners; Denise LeDuc, Amherst Housing Authority Executive Director and Member of the Housing and Sheltering Committee; and Greg Stutsman, Co-chair of the Housing and Sheltering Committee, Planning Board Member and Member of the Town/Gown Study Group. The moderator, Nancy Eddy, past president of the Amherst League of Women Voters, will provide ample opportunity for questions from the audience. The League of Women Voters of Amherst welcomes new member Lori Mahmud, 33 Pokeberry Ridge, (784) p. 4

5 LWVMA League Leaders Lunch and Workshop On Saturday, October 19, League leaders from throughout Massachusetts met in Florence, MA to discuss issues that affect Massachusetts Leagues. Kathy Vorwerk Feldman, Cynthia Brubaker, Becky Shannon and Jackie Wolf represented the LWV of Amherst. Becky Shannon also serves on the State Board of the LWVMA. Kathy and Cynthia facilitated a short discussion on the benefits of maintaining high (and positive) visibility of the LWV, and then solicited examples of what other Leagues do to keep visibility high in their communities. In addition, there were spotlights on various Leagues throughout the state and a discussion of their projects. The LWV of Worcester has an active Observer Corps which helps keep polling places running smoothly during elections to ensure elections are fair and well-run. The LWV of Waltham undertook a project called Waltham Visions which resulted in excellent feedback from the residents of Waltham about what they liked and disliked in their town and how they could improve it. Northampton Area LWV undertook a project called Where Do Your Taxes Go and distributed this information to the residents of the city so they could easily see what their taxes are spent on in Northampton. This cross-fertilization of ideas and projects is most helpful to Leagues who might want to undertake a similar project in their own town or city. The workshop attendees got an update on the Bottle Bill petition campaign. Things are going well, and the LWVMA and local Leagues are exceeding their agreed-upon number of signatures. The LWV comes through again! There is a broad coalition of organizations gathering signatures, and so far the LWV has exceeded all expectations. It appears that the 70,000 signatures needed to place this issue on the statewide ballot will be gathered and we will be certain to vote on this next November. The workshop also focused on internal League issues such as the Campaign Finance study, the fiscal health of local Leagues, and task forces reported on Support of Local Leagues and Expansion of Membership in Local Leagues. All in all, it was a great day. Most impressive was the work, dedication and expertise each League brought to the table. It made us all proud and excited to be members of the LWV. To the Editor: Cynthia Brubaker What s in Her Name? Published in the New York Times on September 9, 2013 Re When Women Keep Their Names (letters, Sept. 2): The question really is which man s name does a woman want, her father s or her husband s. She could take her mother s last name. Then she would have her mother s father s name. RACHEL HARE-MUSTIN Amherst, Mass., Sept. 3, 2013 p. 5

6 Update on LWVMA Campaign Finance Study Committee Sixteen League members from nine Leagues across the state are working actively on the Campaign Finance Study that was adopted at the state convention last May. The study is to examine whether existing LWV positions are adequate to deal with the implications for Massachusetts electoral processes of the U.S. Supreme Court s 2010 decision in the case of Citizens United v. the Federal Election Commission. Further language in the proposal (not officially adopted) suggested a couple of possible outcomes a new state position to address new state issues, and/or positioning LWVMA to participate in the discussion at the 2014 national convention. Of course, these are not mutually exclusive. But with time constraints looming, the Campaign Finance Study Committee (CFSC) decided in October to emphasize the second of these goals for the next few months, while extending the consensus process for local League participation into next fall. LWV Amherst member Rebecca Shannon chairs the Committee. Her presentation to the LWVMA Leadership Workshop in Florence on October 19 put the problem succinctly: Increasingly candidates for office depend on money from wealthy individuals, corporations and well funded special interest lobbies to launch their campaigns, remain in office and determine legislative priorities. Over the past 40 years, the judicial system has dismantled limits on campaign contributions and expenditures... Disproportionate amounts of campaign money from a small number of donors is distorting debate, increasing negative advertising, and overwhelming the voices of the people... The LWVUS board and advocacy efforts continue to focus on traditional legislative solutions within the framework still allowed in the wake of a series of Supreme Court decisions. These began with Buckley v. Valeo (1976), which famously established the principle that the expenditure of money is a form of speech and therefore, under the First Amendment, cannot be limited for anyone protected by the First Amendment, and continued through Citizens United v. FEC (2010), which explicitly declared that associations of citizens, including corporations and similar legally created entities, are entitled to those protections. Some limits on direct contributions to candidates for office remain in place, but possibly not for long. They are being challenged in the current Supreme Court term in the case of McCutcheon v. FEC (2013) which was argued before the Court in October. The CFSC is considering a number of options for influencing the discussion at the national convention next June. One centers around two narrowly written, similar Constitutional Amendments that have been introduced in the 113th Congress. The first of these, H.J. Res. 20, was introduced into the House by Rep. James McGovern (D-MA) in January and has 22 cosponsors. A slightly modified version, S.J. Res. 19, was introduced by Rep. Tom Udall (D- NM) in June and now has 25 cosponsors. These proposed amendments state simply that the federal and state governments have the authority to regulate contributions and expenditures in the elections under their respective jurisdictions. p. 6

7 CFSC Update (continued) In 2012, in response to a resolution adopted almost unanimously by the national convention in that year, LWVUS reviewed the amendment proposals before the 112th Congress then in session and concluded that it could not support any of them under the League's current position. The CFSC is asking for additional review of H.J. Res 20 and S.J. Res. 19, which do not raise issues such as corporate personhood on which the League has no position. Another option being actively considered is a proposal to update the national Campaign Finance position, last revised in In view of the Supreme Court's arguments, it may be necessary to be more specific about the definitions of terms currently used in the position such as citizen, corruption, undue influence and equitable competition. Perhaps we also need to add definitions of money and speech (does the League really agree with the Court that these are equivalent?), natural persons, membership organizations, corporations, and equal protection. While League positions do not specify implementation strategies, recently adopted positions have much longer and more detailed statements, possibly providing more guidance for the League's advocacy work. Campaign finance has been a League focus for so long that many have grown tired of it, or discouraged by lack of progress. But these are interesting times for the topic, both within the League and more generally. The reasoning of the Supreme Court seems so far off base to so many that there is potential for change in the near future. So stay tuned! Update on Election Law Reform in Massachusetts On September 16, a month ahead of the originally announced date, which was moved with short notice, the Massachusetts Legislature's Joint Committee on Election Laws heard testimony related to H.3647, an Act that is intended to combine several election-related bills. One of these was S.327, the Omnibus Reform Bill supported by LWVMA and other members of the Election Modernization Coalition. Unfortunately, the bill that emerged from the Joint Committee is considerably weaker. It allows early voting only in Presidential elections and primaries, and only at a limited number of locations operating during regular business hours. It includes no provision for post-election random audits, and continues current restrictions on maintaining active voter status, which requires annual reporting of residence. Other states have much more progressive election laws than Massachusetts. In particular, most states have some form of early voting, and in many of those states early voters cast upwards of 30% of the ballots. The combination of weekday Election Days, long commutes, and restrictive leave policies for many workers especially in low-paying jobs or with multiple part-time jobs means that the demand for more flexibility is increasing. The bill is now before the Joint Committee on Rules, co-chaired by Senator Stan Rosenberg. Please contact Senator Rosenberg and your House representative and urge them to restore the important reforms that were included in S.327. p. 7

8 MARK YOUR CALENDARS! General Meeting November 21, 7:00 p.m. The Challenge of Affordable Housing (panel) Woodbury Room, Jones Library and SAVE THE DATE! Holiday Party December 12, 5-7 p.m.