February League Leader Update |
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| LWVMA Calendar | |
March 6: Presidential Primary Election
March 19: LWVMA Board Meeting, 11:30am-2:30pm, 133 Portland Street
April 11: Lotte E. Scharfman Trustee Meeting, 12pm-2pm, 133 Portland Street
April 14: League Leaders Lunch, 11am-3pm, Amherst
April 23: LWVMA Board Meeting, 11:30am-2:30pm, 133 Portland Street
April 25: LWVMA Day on the Hill, 10am-Noon, State House
April 30 - May 5: LWVMA High School Voter Registration Week
May 5: LWVMA Council
May 17: Public forum on money in politics, 7:30pm - 9:30pm at the Concord-Carlisle High School, 500 Walden St., Concord, event flier
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Mark it on Your Calendar--April 25 is Day on the Hill
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The League's annual lobbying day at the State House is set for Wednesday April 25, from 10 am to noon. Please encourage as many of your members to participate as possible. There's power in numbers!
This year's theme is "Democracy for Sale?" Look for the speakers on that timely topic in next month's Update. The program will also include presentations from the state League's legislative specialists on key pending legislation.
Local Leagues are encouraged to contact their state Senators and Representatives to set up a meeting to discuss League-supported legislation after the morning's program. Details on the bills, including specific talking points, will be distributed to local Leagues before Day on the Hill, so you will have the information you need to make the case with your legislators.
Lobbying the state legislature is one of the defining activities of the League of Women Voters, and everyone who shows up in person makes an enormous difference in the success of our legislative efforts. Get together with friends in your League and plan to participate in this year's Day on the Hill.
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Field Service-Serving the Needs of Local Leagues!
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The purpose of the League of Women Voters of Massachusetts Field Service program is to support local Leagues by fostering the exchange of ideas and communication among Leagues in a region and serving as a link for communication between the local and state Leagues. In addition, the program can support Leagues that may need help and new Leagues getting started in the region.
Massachusetts is divided into geographical Field Service regions, and each region has a Field Service Representative (or two), who coordinates the local Leagues in that region. On Saturday, February 25, a group of Field Service Representatives and members of the LWVMA Membership and Local League Services committee met to discuss goals and expectations of the program, the role of the Field Service Representatives, and re-define the regions. In addition to one or two Field Service Representatives, each region will be assigned a LWVMA board member liaison.
Click here to see the six regions as drafted. We are still finalizing Field Service Representative and board liaison assignments, and we will inform you as soon as that is complete. We need one or two more people willing to be a Field Service Representative or Co-Representative to help support our local Leagues. Being part of the Field Service program is a great way to pass on your knowledge of the LWV!
Please email Karen Price if you are interested in possibly being a Field Service Representative or if you have any questions. We are finalizing representatives and liaisons for each region and will inform local Leagues soon. We will also hold a meet and great session for Field Service Representatives and local League presidents at Council at 10 am (one half hour before the official start).
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| LWVMA Legislative Update | | |
HB 3815 - An Act Enhancing the Practice of Nurse Midwives was signed into law by the Governor on February 2. We extend our appreciation to Health Care Specialist Judy Deutsch and the LWVUS Health Care Committee for all their hard work.
HB 860/SB 1650 - An Act Updating the Bottle Bill has been sent for study, which generally means there will be no further progress on this legislation during the current session.
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| League Leaders' Lunch in Amherst April 14 11am - 3pm | | |
The Membership and Local League Services committee and some local League leaders are organizing this spring leadership event. The League Leaders' Lunch is open to local League board members. If you have any suggestions for agenda topics please email Karen Price.
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| LWVMA Website Getting a New Look | |
The LWVMA board is working with a web designer to give our website a new look and feel. We especially want to recognize and celebrate our local Leagues. The LWVMA communications committee is starting a collection of photos of local Leagues in action. We would love to receive photos from your events, especially showing LWV signs, banners, and members engaged with the community and each other. We are setting up ways that you can submit the photos to us and will send further instructions, but for now think about selecting 5-10 photos of your League, please email them to Natalie.
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LWVMA Holds High-School Voter Registration Week
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LWVMA urges all local Leagues to head into the high schools during the week of April 30 to May 4 and register students to vote as part of the national LWV Power the Vote effort.
The Voter Service Committee will be holding a telephone conference call with information and suggestions for conducting such a voter registration drive on Monday, March 5, at 7:30 p.m. Voter service chairs are urged to call in, and anyone else from a local League is welcome to participate, especially if your League does not currently have a voter service chair or that person cannot make the call. Just dial 218-862-6420 then enter the ID number 2938497 followed by #.
We are asking local Leagues to contact their town's high school(s) and arrange a day and time for a team of League members to come in that week, maybe before or after school or during the lunch hours outside the cafeteria. If your League would also like to register kids in high schools in adjacent towns which don't have a League, that would be great.
And be sure to let the voter service committee know how many kids you registered and at how many schools, so we can publicize our efforts.
If no one can participate on the conference call, email Nancy Brumback and the voter service committee will send you all the information on registering the kids to vote.
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| Save the date - May 17 Public Forum | | |
LWV Concord-Carlisle and LWVMA are co-sponsoring a public forum on May 17, 7:30pm - 9:30pm at the Concord-Carlisle High School Auditorium, 500 Walden St., Concord.
The forum, moderated by Tom Ashbrook (host of WBUR's On Point) will focus on the new landscape for the 2012 elections with panel members discussing their ideas and perspectives and whether we, the voters, need to take action. Click here for a flier for more information.
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League of Women Voters National Convention
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The LWVUS Convention will be held June 8-12 in Washington DC. Any League member can attend can attend and we hope you will. For a preliminary schedule and registration/hotel information click here.
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LWVUS Clarifies Current Stand on Campaign Finance Reform Activities
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The national LWV Board met in late January and, among other issues, considered what the League's response should be to the issue of campaign finance reform and Super PAC spending in the wake of the 2010 Citizens United Supreme Court decision.
In her Feb. 2 newsletter, US president Elisabeth MacNamara reported: "As we heard from Leagues, campaign finance reform emerged as a top legislative priority. The Board discussed possible approaches to the issue and approved the creation of a Campaign Finance Reform Task Force, as well as making the issue a legislative priority. The Task Force will be charged with exploring interim and long term solutions for the purpose of educating our members and the public as well as informing our advocacy at all levels of League."
In the meantime, LWVUS is supporting the new version of the DISCLOSE Act focused on requiring disclosure of the identities of their donors from big money outside groups like Super PACs.
As for a possible Constitutional amendment to address the issues raised by the Citizens United decision, MacNamara said: "The Board determined that the League is not in a position, at this time, to support a Constitutional amendment in this area or the efforts currently underway to encourage state legislatures to adopt resolutions in support of a Constitutional amendment. The Board concluded that too many questions about this approach remained unanswered. The Supreme Court in Citizens United used several well-established legal concepts to create an elections funding formula that leaves a legal tangle among 'independent' expenditures, so-called corporate free speech, freedom of the press and the meaning of 'person' under the Constitution. Constitutional solutions will have implications beyond campaign finance, and we need to build on our solid reputation among lawmakers for proposing well-considered solutions to difficult policy problems."
While the LWVMA Board voted late last year to support a resolution asking the Massachusetts legislature to direct Congress to develop such a Constitutional amendment, in light of the LWVUS Board action, the state board will suspend its activities supporting that resolution, SB772. We expect resolutions will be introduced at the LWVUS Convention in June to further address the League's positions on this and other aspects of campaign finance reform.
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LWV of the Acton Area Event
| | | LWV of the Acton Area presents a Human Trafficking/Modern Day Slavery Lecture and Film, on 3/1/12 at 7:30 pm, Acton Town Hall, Room 204. The event is part of the Jen Haan Speaker Series, and is free and open to the public. The film, "Not My Life," is the first documentary film to depict the horrifying and dangerous practices of human trafficking and modern slavery. It was produced and directed by Oscar nominee Robert Bilheimer and narrated by Glenn Close. Following the showing of the film there will be an opportunity to address questions to Dr. Ellerman. Any questions about the event should be directed to nsheffer@newview.org. Click here for more information. |
Sign Up For LWVMA Emails
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We are tailoring the way you get emails from us so you only receive notices and topics that interest you. Please click here to sign up for the types of LWVMA correspondence you would like to get and forward along the link to your League members.
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