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Anne Borg, Marlene O'Brien and I attended the US Council meeting in June outside of Washington, and I would like to tell you briefly what happened, particularly in regard to the Clean Air ads featuring Sen. Scott Brown's vote that LWVUS ran in Massachusetts in late April and early May.
At the first Council meeting, I presented the resolutions the Massachusetts League adopted at its convention in May, and Anne reiterated the substance of those resolutions at the closing session for guidance to the national board. Delegates from several other states, including California, New York, Maryland and Delaware, also presented resolutions designed to strengthen the League's nonpartisan policy and insure that proper procedures involving state and local Leagues are followed in future advocacy campaigns. The majority of the delegates at the Council meeting disapproved of the ads, the lack of transparency in disclosing funding, and the failure of US officers to consult with the state Leagues involved. Marlene O'Brien, Massachusetts member of the US board, is working to make sure the issues covered in those resolutions will be submitted as proposed policy to next year's national convention.
US President Elisabeth MacNamara apologized for the failure to follow proper LWV procedures, and agreed to make that apology in writing so that it can be extended to all the local Leagues in Massachusetts. I will include that in the League Leader Update when it is received.
Two speakers addressed the Council:
Celinda Lake, president, Lake Research Partners, on the national political context. Lake Research Partners is a tactician and senior adviser to the Democratic National Party Committees.
Tammy Gordon, director of social communications and strategy, AARP, on navigating social media.
Council attendees also worked on proposed state campaigns for the coming year, and we are developing a plan for forums in the state devoted to specific environmental issues to reinforce the positive and nonpartisan aspects of the League's work on environmental issues. Look for more information on that program in coming months.
During a discussion of the budget, I questioned of why LWVUS has only five months of financial reserves when industry standards are six to twelve months and suggested those reserves should be in very conservative investments such as certificates of deposit. The US accountant said the reserve is currently in conservative stocks such as utilities, which raised questions related to the Clean Air ad campaign.
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