The Future of the League

LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS® OF OREGON Volume 63, Issue 4 VOTER www.lwvor.org Summer 2009 The 2009 Convention provided an excellent opportunity for League members to discuss ways to use technology and streamlined processes to better fulfill our mission in the future. Workshops on Voter Service, Leadership Development, "A Vision for the Future", and "21st Century Outreach" gave us inspiration for meeting the challenges ahead. Read about two of these workshops on pages 1 and 2. The Future of the League Voter Service and beyond By Deanie Anderson Voter Service Chair In an effort to make our Voter Service procedures and activities more efficient, broad-based and relevant, a new League task force has been created called "Voter Service Futures". The state Voter Service team gathered input from local League surveys, the Cogan report, 2008 Council notes and Voter Service grant reports that formed the basis for discussion at a workshop in April to which all local Leagues were invited. As a result of that workshop four main goals were developed, and then a proposal for consideration was presented at the LWVOR Convention in Medford. Twenty three League members from 8-10 different Leagues pondered the following proposal: Goals Proposal: 1. Move to predominantly electronic communication of election information. 2. Evaluate and consider new content and format designs of the printed versions of Voters’ Guides. 3. Identify audience(s) that most need us and determine how to reach them effectively. 4. Further diversify funding for Voter Service activities Deanie Anderson, center, leads VS workshop while Shirley Nelson, left and Janet Calvert, right take notes. At Convention, members attending the workshop supported guidance to the new Board to “reduce (continued on Page 2) Page 2 VOTER Summer 2009 Visioning workshop seeks path to the future By Rebecca Smith LWVOR Executive Administrator What do we want the League to look like in 15 years? This question was the focus of a "visioning" workshop at Convention. Using our mission statement as a starting point, members participated in a series of exercises that got us all thinking about would change and what would stay the same in the next 15 years. We imagined how we would answer a LWVOR Board of Directors Marge Easley, President reporter in 2024 who asked what the League had accomplished and Robin Wisdom, 1st VP of what we would be most proud. Marnie Lonsdale, 2nd VP Joan Haffner, Secretary We then separated into groups to answer the following questions: Al Wilson, Treasurer Directors: Deanie Anderson, Pamela Workshop Questions: Ashland, Alice Bartelt, Diana Bodtker, 1: Who can we serve? Who should we serve? Sandra Smith Gangle, Jane Gigler, Rose Lewis, Anne Lindgren, Libby 2: How are we unique from other organizations? Medley LWVOR Staff Rebecca Smith Executive Administrator Kathy Greysmith Data/Membership Manager Paula K. Hird Legislative Administrator Send address changes to: LWVOR State Office 1330 12th St. SE, Suite 200 Salem, OR 97302 email: lwvor@lwvor.org VOTER is published four times a year by the League of Women Voters of Oregon. Members subscribe through their annual dues. Any person, 18 or older, may join. VOTER is also available on the LWVOR website at www.lwvor.org. The VOTER editor is Sue Boyd LWVOR Mission The League of Women Voters® of Oregon is a grassroots, nonpartisan political organization that encourages informed and active participation in government in order to build better communities statewide. The state League’s purposes are to influence public policy through education and advocacy and to provide support for League members and the League organization. 3: What should our members gain from being part of LWVOR? 4: What should the public gain from the League? Elected officials and other decision makers? 5: How will we be effective? 6: How will our organizational structure be different? At the upcoming Board retreat, the Board will look at the group conclusions as well as other input by members at Convention to help develop a vision statement for the League. If you’d like to share your vision for our future, please send an email to Rebecca at lwvor@lwvor.org. We’d like to hear from as many members as we can before the retreat, June 23-25. Thank you! Voter Service (continued from Page 1) the number of printed regular version Voters’ Guides. Coming soon will be an e-mail communication to those attending the April workshop, Convention workshop and those that have indicated an interest in participating in this task force. We will target some areas to have ready for state Board discussion at the retreat/ board meeting in late June. Contact: Deanie Anderson (deanieha@comcast.net) for more information. Summer 2009 VOTER Page 3 President’s Column / Marge Easley I’m writing this just a few days after returning from the state Convention in Medford, so the images of those three jam-packed days are fresh in my mind. I’m sure those of you who attended will agree that there was an invigorating schedule of business sessions, workshops, speeches, presentations, and lots of interesting conversations. It was wonderful to greet old friends and meet new ones. But as you all know, events like this require much planning and hard work. Special thanks are in order to Trish Bowcock and the Rogue Valley League for being hosts extraordinaire, to events chair Carol Hildebrand for her attention to detail, to parliamentarian Kathy Conner for allowing me a little leeway on Roberts’ Rules, to my extraordinary Board and Action Team for their talents and support, to Paula Krane and the other members of the Nominating Committee for recruiting a terrific group of new Board members, and to Executive Administrator Rebecca Smith for her incredible organizational skills. Last but not least I offer thanks to someone who has done an outstanding job as Education Fund Chair - Janet Calvert. I couldn’t have asked for a better co-leader and colleague. Even though she is moving off the board, we hope to have the continuing benefit of her wisdom and common sense. The Convention theme of “Shooting the Rapids” was an apt one, inspired by the scenic Rogue River and our ongoing water study. But it was also chosen because we wanted to focus on how we can best navigate the rough waters ahead, whether it be the economic crisis, global climate change, or ensuring that the League can meet the challenges of the future. It is this last point that I’ve been thinking a lot about lately, particularly given the fact that several of our local Leagues are struggling with membership and leadership issues. That’s why I decided to lead a Convention workshop on “Attracting and Keeping League Leaders” and make this topic one of my goals during the next two years. Here are some of the difficult questions I hope we can answer together: • How can we do a better job of recruiting new leaders? • Are we asking specific questions to find out what new members want to get out of their League experience? Are we providing enough mentorship and leadership training opportunities? • Are we carefully matching skill sets and personality types with the leadership roles we are asking people to do? • Can we find creative ways to structure our Leagues to share the leadership burden and prevent burnout? • Are we including enough time in our meetings for social interaction and fun? So in answer to the last question above, here’s my advice: do good work, but have fun in the process. Have a great summer! Marge P.S. I have one more person to thank. Sue Boyd has been our terrific Voter editor the past two years, and we’ve truly grateful
for her expertise and patience. Page 4 VOTER Summer 2009 Convention Highlights 2009-2011 Program Goals Adopted By Jane Gigler Program Chair Establishing a Program for 2009-2011 for the state League at our Convention this May involved many speakers and many viewpoints. League delegate members asked for terms of proposed study updates to be clarified, for the timing of proposed updates to be examined anew, and for language in study proposals to be used more carefully. After our discussions, our Program for the next biennium includes an adoption of all current position statements, including the new Election Methods position and updated language for Adult Mental Health. It authorizes the continuation of the Water Resources Study and an update for language clarification of the Mental Health Services for Children and Youth Position. After some discussion of coastal issues, the delegates voted to adopt a study update of Offshore and Coastal Management that would review the current position and research and educate members on marine reserves and energy projects.. The study committee will have the authority to expand the scope of this study to include other offshore or coastal issue possibilities, if needed. Also, this update will not occur until 2010, so as not to conflict with the League’s financial resources for the current study or any needed volunteers. If anyone is interested in working on the water study, the language update for Mental Health Services for Children and Youth, or the proposed new update of Offshore and Coastal Management Study, please e-mail the office at: League of Women Voters at lwvor@lwvor.org Marion-Polk League Member Wins Raffle! By Lorie James and Robin Wisdom Raffle Team 2009 We are excited to announce the Raffle 2009 Winner — Kathy Patterson of Marion-Polk Counties League! The winning ticket, sold by Deanie Anderson, was drawn on May 16 just before the Saturday evening speaker at the state Convention in Medford. We hope to be in touch with Kathy soon, who was out of town at the time of the drawing, to ask her to make her choice of prizes. Maui for two or $2500 cash? The top ticket seller is Kate Mathews who sold 91 tickets for the Corvallis League and is the winner of a beautiful handcrocheted Pendleton wool flannel rug. Many thanks to all ticket sellers — You’ve done a superb job in earning both your local and state Leagues vital funds. Ten local Leagues earned raffle dividends of $1857, which was 12.5 percent of gross ticket sales. The LWV of Corvallis received the highest dividend of $369 signifying the highest sales of all Leagues. A total of 1477 tickets was sold surpassing the number sold in 2007 by 11. We’d like to thank all Leagues and local raffle chairs for their efforts and cooperative participation that has made this raffle a success. Summer 2009 VOTER Page 5 Life with the Action Team This has been a very busy legislative session for the LWVOR Action committee. Since the position of Action chair was not filled on the Board this year, the role fell to LWVOR President Marge Easley for most of the session. Now, however, Alice Bartelt of the LWV of Washington County has agreed to serve for the 2009-10 term. Also in this issue Paula Hird introduces us to the LWVOR Bill Matrix, Paula Krane promises to stay busy during the interim, Karen Nibler discusses Social Policy issues and Kappy Eaton describes a typical day in her life as an Action Team member. Alice Bartelt takes over as Action chair I am a new member of the League of Women Voters, but I have worked on legislative issues for many years on behalf of the American Association of University Women of Oregon. I have been serving on the Action Committee of the League since February. My activities for AAUW and other organizations have prepared me to serve as your Action chair. I served as the AAUW state president from 1998-2000. In addition, I have served as the public policy committee chair on several occasions. I served on the national public policy committee from 2001 until 2003, as well as the resolutions committee. I am currently a member of the national bylaws committee. I am a Professional Registered Parliamentarian and am serving as the Oregon Association President of National Association of Parliamentarians. I am the current President of the Affiliate Board of NARAL Pro-Choice Oregon. In March 2007, I retired from SAIF Corporation, where I worked as a staff attorney. I practiced workers’ compensation law for 25 years. -- Alice Bartelt Open the door to the LWVOR Bill Matrix By Paula Hird, LWVOR Legislative Coordinator The LWVOR Bill Matrix is a portal to the League’s view of legislation being debated during the current session. Action area coordinators, portfolio chairs and helpers not only track the issues but also testify on bills. Access the matrix through any of the weekly Legislative Reports. If you do not receive the report you can still view the matrix by accessing a Legislative Report through the LWVOR website. Just look for the red and yellow door and click to enter. There you will find descriptions of over 200 bills, the names of the action area coordinators, portfolio chairs and helpers who follow the issues, League positions, recent actions taken on the bills and links to over 75 letters of League testimony." The matrix can take you other places, too. It can link you to specific pages on our Legislature’s website such as contact information for senators and representatives and the measure search page which provides a history of the dates for public hearings, work sessions, vote counts and floor passages. Follow the issues, make your voice heard and be a part of the democratic process. The matrix may be your portal to involvement! (continued on Page 5) Page 6 VOTER Summer 2009 Action Team (continued from Page 4) Action Team stays busy during interim By Paula Krane Public Access Coordinator The running of our state doesn’t stop when the Legislature isn’t meeting, and neither does the state Action Team. In order to be effective during the session we know that it’s important to observe the interim process, from the Emergency Board to legislative committees to local commissions. As this session is winding down we’ll be looking at all the special task forces and commissions established by the Oregon Legislature. We’ll be deciding which ones we’ll try to have members on (if not established in legislation) and which ones we’ll need to monitor. For example, Peggy Lynch, Natural Resources Coordinator, will be monitoring the Oregon Parks and Recreation Commission, the Water Resources Commission, the Environmental Quality Commission, and the Land Conservation and Development Commission. Your help is always needed to follow mandated local commissions as well as the laws and programs as they are designed and instituted in your community. New volunteers needed to track issues ByKaren Nibler Social Policy Coordinator In the 2007 biennium, health care reform reared to the forefront and demanded our attention. After SB 329 passed, the Legislature formed the Oregon Health Fund Board and gave it the task of forming committees and making recommendations for health care reform to the 2009 legislature. Of course, the League needed to follow the progress of the committees and read the recommendations. Fortunately Jane Baumgarten was on one of the committees and continued to monitor health care reform and senior and disabled services in the present session. However, the addition of health care reform has nearly put me over the top, and new volunteers are sorely needed to track health care or social policy issues. The legislative process is fascinating and the Action committee would be happy to share this task with more members. My background is in juvenile justice and prevention. After I retired as a Juvenile Court counselor at the end of 2001, I was elected president of the LWV Corvallis which kept me busy for 5 years. I started tracking Juvenile Justice issues in the 2003 biennium along with Human Services and other Public Safety committees. Rambling in the Action world By Kappy Eaton Governance Coordinator You need to be somewhat of a public policy wonk to ramble in the world of elections, ethics, initiative reform, campaign finance, budgets and revenue. with some mental health and women’s issues tossed in. I’ve been doing this for more than 40 years now, though with more intensity the last 20 when I retired from the University of Oregon faculty. We’ve had plenty on our platter the last two sessions and a great deal has been accomplished in improving public ethics, our elections system, ending discrimination, and the initiative process. During the interim between sessions, I attend (1)task force meetings such as the one on Revenue Restructuring; (2) two Mental Health Advisory committees to which I have been appointed; (3) policy committees discussing proposals for the next session; (4) meetings of coalitions such as Women’s Health and Wellness Alliance, and ballot measure advocate groups. During this session I’m involved with the Oregon Revenue Coalition, the Initiative Reform Coalition, Working Families Coalition, and a bi-weekly meeting with the director of Elections as well as the weekly Action committee meetings. Check the weekly Legislative Report for updates on the governance bills that the League supports or opposes and the successes so far. Summer 2009 VOTER Page 7 LWV archives hit the road to Eugene Ah, summer - marked by the end of the League’s Board year and the biennial moving of the files. Some of those files are bound for the University of Oregon Libraries, which house the League of Women Voters of Oregon Collection. It includes national and state League reports, minutes and correspondence as well as projects and study files and material from local Leagues. A finding aid at http://nwda-db.wsulibs.wsu.edu/findaid/ark:/80444/x v81061 gives an idea of the range of materials. The listing includes state Board minutes dating back to 1924 and scrapbooks and clippings of similar vintage. Of particular interest are the study topics, with consumer issues prominent in the World War II period and environmental topics becoming more popular in the 1960’s and 70’s. Taxation, governance and education have been staples. Also included are the records of Leagues which have merged or disappeared, such as Springfield, Eugene, Tillamook County, Pendleton, McMinnville and The Dalles. Linda Long, manuscripts librarian in Special Collections and University Archives at UO, notes the library has received a considerable amount of League material not listed in the finding aid developed in 1979 by her predecessors.This paper finding aid was subsequently prepared for online use in 2005 (along with 150 other finding aids) through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities. However, the library would provide access to that material to anyone wanting to use it. Back in the LWVOR office, executive administrator Rebecca Smith reports that there is much preparation before the state League files head to Eugene. “We sort through the files from the term that started 6 years prior (in this case, it will be 2003-05), eliminating anything that would not be relevant for archives. Then we box everything up, carefully labeling each box to make sure the included files can be readily identified. After we have boxed everything, I call Linda to make arrangements to have her pick up the materials. “ Any material from local Leagues which has been brought to the state League office for archiving also would be picked up at this time. Next, Rebecca says,”We start the process of creating the files for the new term (in this case, 2009-11), which involves reviewing the files from previous term and eliminating any that we don’t think we’ll need this time. Ultimately, we usually end up with over 300 files, so you can see why it’s such a big job to stay on top of the filing in the office.” She adds “A big thanks go to the volunteers who have helped with this, most recently, Sally Hollemon of LWV of Marion/Polk Counties.” WOMAN SUFFRAGE CENTENNIAL Recently, Linda Long and other archivists and historians gave a presentation at the Northwest History and Heritage Conference in Portland on the upcoming 2012 centennial of woman suffrage in Oregon. Women in western states led the way in successful campaigns for the vote well before the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment to the US Constitution in August 1920. She described the League records and other materials relating to women's history in the library at UO. She is hoping the suffrage celebration will help promote use of the collection. For more information on the centennial, go to www.oregonsuffrage.org/ Page 8 VOTER Summer 2009 Local Leagues go on holiday schedule By Rose Lewis Local League Liaison This is annual meeting time for Leagues around the state, when program ideas for the coming year will be considered, officers elected and budgets passed. It is a good time to take stock of all the amazing work accomplished during the past year, and we need to congratulate each other. Most Leagues go to a reduced schedule in the summer, with newsletters, Board meetings; etc., taking a holiday. Several are planning informal get-togethers, to include family and friends, on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon in July or August, for getting acquainted and socializing, such as the Clackamas patio party and Deschutes summer social, Ashland Advocate: The local League board is recommending that the joint study with Rogue Valley League on Jackson County budgeting be extended for another year. In another action, they decided to award a scholarship for student membership. Included in the newsletter is a one-page survey that asks about use of their newsletter: - how often it is read; whether on the computer or printed out; what issues are most important to readers; how often individuals look at the website, etc. Other Leagues might find this survey useful. Coos County Voter: Members are invited to contribute $30 and be listed as a sponsor of their biennial guide, Who’s Who in Coos County: Elected and Appointed Officials, planned for publication this summer. Curry County Coastlines: Tickets are on sale for the Secret Garden Tour at three locations on June 28, in the Brookings area. This popular fundraiser always sells out. The 2009 version of Curry County and Its Government has been distributed to government offices, schools, senior centers, social service agencies, newspapers, radio stations, etc., in Brookings, Gold Beach and Port Orford. Deschutes County Cascade: Local League members are beginning to make plans for hosting the State League Council meetings at The Riverhouse in Bend May 14-16, 2010. Lane County Argus: “Initiatives: The Good, The Bad, and The Truly Ugly” was the topic addressed by retiring U of O President Dave Frohnmayer at the recent Third Thursday meeting. Following the 1902 approval of instituting the initiative and referendum provision, he described the “early use of the initiative to enact progressive legislation that addressed accumulated social evils that the legislature had refused to address. It was a means to make government more efficient, honest, and responsive to human needs.” But he feels that more recent use of the initiative process has not promoted a similarly progressive agenda, such as Measures 5, 47 and 50, which interfered with the legislature’s ability to balance the state’s general fund budget. He goes on to describe another constitutional amendment as “the ugliest of all. That is the kicker law, adopted in 1979.” In thanking volunteers at the recent annual meeting, President Pat Hocken gave special recognition to eighteen unit leaders who give leadership to nine active groups. It is interesting to note the largest Leagues in Oregon have very active units. Portland Voter: The League prepared a Special Election Voters Guide, with information about six candidates for the School Board and two for Multnomah County Auditor....A silent auction of Service, Talents and Sharing is planned for the local convention, to include either a service a member will provide, an item they would like to share, or something related to their creativity, skills, talents or knowledge. So far items offered include: three bundt cakes, airport shuttle service, a pool party, ten hours of babysitting, two nights at a Mt. Hood cabin, dinner for six, four fruit pies, and a hand-made cork tray/trivet. Does this inspire ideas for other Leagues to try? Summer 2009 VOTER Page 9 Mock Election threepeat winner By
Janet
Calvert Education
Fund
Chair In
May
the
National
Association
of
State
Boards
of
 Education
announced
the
selection
 of
the
 League
 of
Women
Voters
of
Oregon
Education
Fund
as
the
 winner
of
an
award
for
an
outstanding
Mock
Elec‐ tion
 project.This is the third award the LWV of Oregon Education Fund has received for the mock election. In 2007 we received an award for increasing parent and community participation in the election process using the Mock election program, and in 2005 we received an award for Outstanding Leadership in Voter Education. Mock
 election
 activities
 and
 education
 were
 conducted
 in
 324
 schools
 reaching
 76,912
 stu‐ dents
 from
 diverse
 areas
 including
 Crane
 High
 School
in
Harney
 County,
 Astoria,
Ashland,
 Enter‐ prise,
 Nyssa
 and
many
schools
in
the
Willamette‐ Valley.

The
thirty
percent
increase
in
participa‐ tion
was
attributed
to
the
greater
use
of
technol ogy,
 including
 a
 student
 blog,
 interactive
 Power‐ Point
presentations
and
updated
curriculum.
 
But
 also
 important
were
the
energy
and
leadership
of
 Krista
 Horning
 ,
 the
 project
 coordinator
 hired
 with
a
grant
 from
 the
 Help
America
 Vote
 Act,
 as
 well
 as
 the
 general
 excitement
 surrounding
 the
 November
 election.
 
 Rebecca
 Smith,
 LWVOR
 ex‐ ecutive
 administrator,
 provided
 invaluable
 guid‐ ance
and
insight
based
on
her
 experiences
 in
 co‐ ordinating
the
past
two
Mock
Election
programs. 
 
 
Partners
 in
the
Mock
Election
project
 included
 Oregon
Department
of
Education,
the
Oregon
Sec‐ retary
of
State,
Oregon
School
Boards
Association,
 Oregon
 PTA,
 Oregon
 Association
of
 Broadcasters
 and
the
City
 of
Beaverton.
 
Congratulations
 to
 all
 who
participated! Summer Calendar June 1 - 09-10 LWVOR Board terms begin June 13 - LWVUS Virtual Council, 10 AM to 1 PM June 19 - Labor Day - Summer office hours begin: Mon.-Thurs., 9 AM to 1 PM (closed Fridays) June 24-25 - Office closed for Board retreat June 23-25 - LWVOR Board retreat, Waldport July 6 - Office closed for Independence Day holiday August 31-Sept. 4 - Office closed for summer break Sept. 7 - Office closed for Labor Day Page 10 VOTER Summer 2009 LWVOR Convention 2009 Shooting the Rapids in Medford The 2009-20010 LWVOR Board includes, from left to right, back row: Joan Haffner, Marnie Lonsdale, Al Wilson, Marge Easley, Rose Lewis, Robin Wisdom, Jane Gigler; front row: Deanie Anderson, Anne Lindgren, Sandra Smith Gangle, Libby Medley, Diana Bodtker, Pamela Ashland LWVUS Board member and former LWVOR First Vice President Norman Turrill presented Marge Easley with a certificate of appreciation recognizing her leadership as state president. It was signed by LWVUS President Mary Wilson. Summer 2009 VOTER Page 11 At right, Annette Mills (left) and Pat McDaniels talk with Saturday luncheon speaker Lorraine Kerwood of NextStep Recycling. Below, Roger Hamilton of the Cascade Leadership Initiative discusses climate change in the Rogue and Willamette Valleys at the evening banquet. Janet Calvert, right, served as the pioneer Education Fund chair. Previously, the LWVOR president also served as Ed Fund chair. Traditional favorites, the Awesome Aunties performed at Saturday’s banquet. From left, Rose Lewis, Geraldine Hammond, Kathy Conner, and Marge Easley. League of Women Voters® of Oregon 1330 12th St. SE, Suite 200 Salem, OR 97302 503-581-5722; FAX 503-581-9403 lwvor@lwvor.org; www.lwvor.org Non-profit Organization US Postage Paid Salem, OR Permit 312 IN THIS ISSUE Envisioning the future, Page 1...Presidentʼs message, Page 3... Program and raffle winner, Page 4...Action, Page 5....Archives, Page 7... Local League news, Page 8...Award, Page 9...Convention album, Page 10