Category Archives: AAUW State Elections

AAUW CA Tidbits

AAUW CA Tidbits, Forwarded by Liz Jordan

AAUW CA Office New Mailing Address:

Due to the closure of our local UPS facility, we have moved our mailing address to:

AAUW California
PO Box 160067
Sacramento, California 95816-0067  

AAUW FUND                                                                                                                           

Karen Vanderwerken, Director, AAUW Fund Committee Chair, aauwfund@aauw-ca.org
END-OF-YEAR DEADLINES AND DONATIONS!
Zooming In: factoids from our record four Fund Events:

  • 38 of 41 California scholars/grantees presented.
  • 376 members registered with 141 unique viewers.
  • 57 average number branches attended each session.
  • 17 branch positions participated.

View the 2022 recipients, read their bios, watch any of the videos of the four Fund Events, and/or donate to AAUW by clicking HERE.

Are you looking for a branch or IBC program speaker?  Schedule one of our scholars/grantees to provide a more detailed presentation through April 2023. Click HERE to request a scholar/grantee speaker for your branch.

***

Dec. 31, 2022, is the deadline for donating this year to AAUW Fund. Use Branch/Individual Contribution Form when sending in branch and member donations.

Remember Legacy Circle Gifting!  What will be your AAUW legacy?
Contact Charmen Goehring at charminme@yahoo.com or Judy Horan at queenjah@pacbell.net

Consider using your IRA RMD (required minimum distribution) by giving directly to AAUW. Contact: cfo@aauw-ca.org.

Giving your time, your energy, and your dollars — all make AAUW California Fund great.

***

NOMINATIONS & ELECTIONS                                                                                   

Charmen Goehring, Nominations & Elections Chair, nominating@aauw-ca.org
LOVE AAUW? WANT TO GIVE BACK?
This year we are looking for a President-Elect to serve one year followed by two years as president. I know that Sandi will be leaving some big shoes to fill. Each of us has strengths and weaknesses to share. Come forward and let your light shine. We need someone who cares about Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Women’s Rights, Financial Security and so much more.Please think at least twice before you say you can’t do it.  AAUW matters, women matter, everyone deserves a chance.  If President-Elect is too big a bite, how about CFO or one of the director positions?

*****

National Member Perks

You may not know or, perhaps, have forgotten that AAUW members get all sorts of perks. You can get discounts on cruises, cars, and car insurance. Check out the bucketsful of deals on the national website HERE. And whenever you take advantage of these benefits, AAUW receives royalties to support its work.

*****

Public Policy

NOVEMBER 8th WAS A GOOD DAY FOR WOMEN!
The election is finally over and overall, AAUW members can be pretty happy with the results.  Here are a few highlights:

  • One woman was added to each house of Congress: the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate, bringing the numbers to 124 (H) and 25 (S).
  • Of the total of 149, 54 are women of color.
  • With Nancy Pelosi stepping down as Speaker of the House, we lost the most powerful woman’s voice in government, but still have a woman on the minority leadership team, Minority Whip Katherine Clark.
  • Governors of 12 states are now women.
  • 23 percent of all mayors across the nation are women, including our brand-new and first woman mayor of Los Angeles, Karen Bass.
  • 32 women won seats in the California Legislature (total confirmed 44, three pending)
  • All executive positions in California except Governor are filled by women, including Secretary of State, Lieutenant Governor, Treasurer, and Controller.
  • Proposition 1 prevailed and women’s right to control their own reproductive choices is now enshrined in our constitution.

The state Public Policy Committee thanks each and every AAUW California member who voted, who assisted in our Voter Education (VE) campaign by spreading our messages on social media, who took the pledge to vote for Prop. 1 (we had 437 sign up!), and who worked within their branches to do their own VE events.

Next challenge:  Let’s add California to that list of states with a woman governor!  Together we can – and will – change the world!

October Program – CA Ballot

November 2022 CA Ballot Proposition Forum

Presented by
AAUW Citrus Heights- American River and AAUW Sacramento

Wednesday, October 19, 2022 4:45pm
On Zoom https://us02web.zoom.us/j/4350679895?pwd=TjMvZFZtSE4xdXFCUjhDU0dKWnlCdz09
Meeting ID: 435 067 9895
Passcode: 184701

Join us as Professor Mary Beth Moylan and a panel of McGeorge School of Law students review the current propositions on the November ballot. Q&A to follow the discussion.

Reproductive Choice Committee Update

Reproductive Choice Committee Update By Liz Jordan

Local – Sacramento Region
At the Sept. 17, AAUW Sacramento Branch meeting at the Carmichael Library, two representatives from Planned Parenthood Mar Monte, which serves all of Northern and Central California and much of Nevada told us:

  • about their planning for expansion of clinics and services since November of 2016.
  • not only do they provide reproductive health care to women,
    • 68 percent of patients live below federal poverty standards
    • 79 percent of patients are people of color; nearly half are Latinx
  • they also provide well-baby care (patients from 6 weeks – 91 years old)
  • primary care to many under-insured Americans
  • but, also, vasectomies, gender-affirming care, COVID-19 care.

AAUW Nevada County, on Oct. 15, 9:30-11:30 a.m., is putting on a theatrical dialog called “The Abortion Chronicles” in which speakers share true stories from women and girls from 1946 to 1973.  Meeting will be held at the Peace Lutheran Church in Grass Valley and everyone is invited to join them.  Joint meeting with Citizens for Choice; no sign-up is required.  All are welcome.

California

  • Proposition 1, Constitutional Right to Reproductive Freedom, is on California’s November ballot to amend the state Constitution. For more info, see article in this newsletter by Sue Miller of AAUW CA Public Policy Committee.  AAUW CA supports.
  • New state website Abortion.ca.gov to help find a provider, groups supporting a woman’s right to govern her own body, etc.

National

  • Guttmacher Institute at https://www.guttmacher.org is also offering a rich website of information about events in the 50 states, as well as an interactive map.
  • These both reveal the date in which they are updated.

The next meeting of the Reproductive Choice Committee is scheduled for Monday, Oct. 10, 1:00-2:00 p.m. We are engaged in research at this stage of existence as preparation for future action.   Contact Liz Jordan (lizjord@msn.com)  for a Zoom invitation to join the meeting.  We need you!

When Women Vote, They Change the Conversation!

When Women Vote, They Change the Conversation! By Sue Miller

AAUW CA Public Policy News

AAUW California supports the passage of Propositions 1 and 28 on the November ballot in California.
Proposition 1.  The decision by the Supreme Court of the United States to overturn Roe v. Wade dealt a serious blow to the rights of women to make their own decision about their bodies.  This spurred many state legislatures to act to ban abortion, some with no exceptions for rape, incest, or endangering the life of the mother. Abortion bans in other states have already taken effect. Yet polls in many states show a majority in support of protecting the rights of women to choose to have abortions. Currently, women are coming from other states to obtain abortions in California. An Abortion Access website is being formed in our state to enable and assist out-of-state women with travel arrangements, housing, medical appointments and other matters.

California legislators, recognizing the remote possibility that at some future time state legislation could ban abortions, took timely action in June to pass SCR 10. This put Proposition 1, the Constitutional Right to Reproductive Freedom, on the November ballot. Passage of Prop 1 will amend the California Constitution, stating “Section 1.1 is added to Article I thereof, to read: SEC. 1.1. The state shall not deny or interfere with an individual’s reproductive freedom in their most intimate decisions, which includes their fundamental right to choose to have an abortion and their fundamental right to choose or refuse contraceptives. This section is intended to further the constitutional right to privacy guaranteed by Section 1, and the constitutional right to not be denied equal protection guaranteed by Section 7. Nothing herein narrows or limits the right to privacy or equal protection.”

AAUW CA has begun a social media campaign to educate and encourage voters to support Proposition 1. Weekly messages contain important facts.  If you don’t use social media, we urge you to email the messages to others who do!

Proposition 28. In the context of AAUW CA’s Public Policy Priorities in support of Education, AAUW CA supports Proposition 28, The Arts and Music in Schools – Funding Guarantee and Accountability Act.  Studies on educational achievement prove that arts and music education improve student learning. Music education has been shown to improve cognitive development and spatial reasoning while the dramatic arts improve reading comprehension.  Arts and music education has also been shown to improve school attendance and individual self-confidence and motivation to learn, particularly among poor and other at-risk students. Yet these programs are usually the first cut when school budgets are reduced. Prop 28 would provide a minimum source of annual funding coming from the state General Fund to K-12 public schools to supplement arts education programs. School districts would be held accountable to use the funds for hiring certificated employees and purchasing supplies and materials. Read the full propositions on the Secretary of State website, www.sos.ca.gov/elections/ballot-measures

Become informed, and Vote on November 8, 2022!!

PLEASE NOTE:  There was an error in the AAUW California September Newsletter article.  The article provided a link to National’s Get Out the Vote Toolkit, however the link was to their old site.  The site has been updated and the new and correct link is: https://www.aauw.org/resources/policy/advocacy-toolkit/ .

October Program – CA Ballot Proposition Forum

Election 2020 CA Ballot Proposition Forum By Gloria Yost

Wednesday, October 14, 2020
6:30pm on Zoom

AAUW Sacramento and AAUW Citrus-Heights American River are jointly hosting a forum on the pros and cons of the ballot propositions in the November 3 election. Join us as Professor Mary Beth Moylan and a panel of McGeorge School of Law students review the current propositions on the November ballot. Professor Moylan is the Associate Dean for Experiential Learning and a Professor in the Global Lawyering Skills (“GLS”) program at McGeorge School of Law.

Professor Moylan will be joined by her students who will present key points about each of the 12 propositions on the upcoming ballot in November. We will take as much time as possible for questions. Questions may be submitted before the meeting and for any unanswered questions, we will get answers out to participants shortly after the event.

Please register for this virtual meeting on the Eventbrite link below. You will be sent a Zoom link two days before the forum.
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/election-2020-ca-ballot-proposition-forum-tickets-121988022459

To see a list of the 12 propositions, follow this link.

AAUW Sacramento Branch Public Policy Update

AAUW Sacramento Branch Public Policy Update By Arlene Cullum

It has been an exciting opportunity for me to reconvene the Sacramento AAUW Branch Public Policy Committee these past few months.  Although very new to AAUW, I originally joined to help impact outcomes for women and girls in California.  During my tenure in a hospital director role for thirty years in Women’s and Children’s services, I have had the opportunity to advocate on the national and state levels to improve health outcomes for pregnant women and newborns, and children with special healthcare needs.  I look forward to the chance to focus on issues affecting economic security for all women, the promotion of high-quality public education and assuring equality and social justice for this population.

I am so incredibly awed by the depth of public policy background and the diverse public policy and advocacy experience of the members of our branch committee.  We have representation of attorneys, prior Congressional aides/assistants, former mayoral representative, lobbyists, university advocates, and individuals who have worked extensively with coalitions that support and promote needs of women and girls.

Sue Miller, the State AAUW Public Policy Co-Chair, provided us a comprehensive overview of the national and state priorities for public policy for AAUW, the role of the state committee, and the relationship of our branch committee to the state committee.  The focus of the State committee is on leadership training this year.  In the State newsletter and on the State website, you can find information on the webinars that include topics such as Get Out the Vote, How to Talk with your Legislator, among others.  The two coalitions to which the California AAUW is participating includes Stronger California and the California Coalition for Reproductive Freedom.

The typical calendar of activities for the State Committee includes monitoring the State budget release mid-January followed by a meeting the end of February to select bills for that legislative session that meets the criteria for the AAUW Public Policy priorities.  The State Committee in conjunction with the AAUW lobbyist, determines either a support, oppose, or watch status on each bill.  In 2021, there will be a State Lobby Day, most likely April 15 and 16, 2021.  The committee will review the May Revise of the State of California budget and weigh in on issues in that forum as well.  As the bills make their way through their legislative committees, the lobbyist and State committee monitors the progress.  Our committee has prioritized the following activities for the coming year:

  • October 14: Co-host Ballot Initiative Review (McGeorge Law Students) with CHAR
  • Early Fall: Provide input to State Committee on public policy priorities for 2021-22 sessions.
  • Late Fall: District office visits to Representative Kevin McCarthy, Senator Richard Pan and Congresswoman Doris Matsui.
  • Late Fall: Host a Lobbying 101 virtual webinar in conjunction with the National Women’s Political Caucus.
  • Spring: Participate in State Lobby Day

AAUW State and National Elections are Coming Up

AAUW members will vote for new state and national leaders beginning this month. In addition, there are proposed changes to the national public policy and bylaws. We will be given an extended period of time to vote this year.

Public Policy Director Robin Howlett will keep us informed about these proposed changes. The bylaw change would remove ALL educational requirements for joining AAUW. With “one member, one vote,” it is important that you say what you think by voting on this change.

The national AAUW election period begins April 15. Those members who prefer to vote with a paper ballot may request a ballot between April 3 and May 8. The deadline for submitting paper ballots is May 26. Those who prefer to vote online will have until June 19 to complete their voting. Members will find their Member ID number and their voter PIN, both of which are needed to vote, on the back cover of the Spring issue of Outlook magazine. Complete national election information can be found in the new issue of Outlook or online here: https://www.aauw.org/resource/national-election/. Our own member Alicia Hetman is the slate’s nominee for Vice President.

California AAUW’s voting period is April 18 through May 8. We will be electing a President-Elect, Chief Finance Officer, Secretary, and several board members. You can view the slate online at www.aauw-ca.org, and then click on elections. A new member of our branch who transferred her membership from the east this year, Charmen Goehring, is a candidate for the board. The candidates will be introduced at the AAUW CA Annual Meeting, scheduled for April 18 in Manhattan Beach.

Watch your incoming emails and postal mail for more details about these important elections.