Successful Annual Meeting

LWV LAMV held its annual meeting on June 8 at Michaels at Shoreline. With a quorum of 36 members present, those in attendance approved three areas of emphasis for the coming year: Making Democracy Work, housing and homelessness, and climate change. The membership also approved the national League’s area of emphasis: Making Democracy Work.

The highlight of the annual meeting was the talk by Congresswoman Anna Eshoo who is not seeking re-election after over 30 years of service. She spoke about the issues she cares about, some of which still need work: Election Day as a national holiday, women’s reproductive rights, the child Tax Credit, state redistricting commissions, and 37 words in Title IX.

For more about the event, click here.

From LWV Bay Area Councils...

 Challenges for 2024: Election Protection & Integrity

 California Secretary of State Shirley N. Weber, Ph.D. in conversation with LaDoris Cordell, Retired Judge of the California Superior Court

• Thursday, June 20, 2024, 5-6 p.m. PT on Zoom
• Register here.
• Questions: info@nationalvotercorps.org
  

Presented by National Voter Corps

• Co-sponsored by LWV San Jose/Santa Clara
• LWV Palo Alto, LWV Cupertino-Sunnyvale, LWV Southwest Santa Clara Valley
• LWV South San Mateo County
• American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California
• Pursue Justice Committee of Congregation Beth Am
• Fenwick LLP

From LWVC…

The VOICE Act: Voting in County Jails

 LWVC advocates for and sponsors bills that impact our key issue areas and make a better California for all. Chynell Freeman, LWVC Trudy Schafer Public Policy Fellow, joined advocates with the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, Pillars of the Community, and Initiate Justice, to meet with state Senators about AB 544 (Bryan), a bill the League is co-sponsoring to provide grants for a pilot program to improve voter participation in jails.

There are people held in jail who are eligible to vote but are unaware that they can vote or lack access to ballots. AB 544 passed in the Assembly and will be heard in the Senate Committee on Elections and Constitutional Amendments and afterward in the Senate Public Safety Committee. The work done by Chynell and the team demonstrates the power of personal experience in changing policy. The LWVC is proud to co-sponsor AB 544.

Observer Reports from LWV LAMV...

 Read our latest Observer Report from Los Altos School District where the Board on May 6

• decided to move away from CHAC provided services
• discussed a potential bond measure on the November 2024 ballot
• discussed more about the 10^th school site.

• affirmed that three City Council seats will be up for election on November 5, 2024. Sally Meadows and Jonathan Weinberg can run again. Lynette Lee Eng is termed out.
  
• in response to communication from a law firm, Shenkman and Hughes, will initiate a transition from an At-Large Election System to a District-Based Election System with the transition to take place at the November 2026 and 2028 elections. Not making the transition could expose the City to expensive litigation.
• has renewed its agreement with Santa Clara County Hazardous Waste Program for 2025-2026.