VOTER-October-2008

League of Women Voters^®
of Oakland

General Meeting - Voter Service. President's Message. Debate Party Hosting Kit!. No On Measure OO. Hot Topics. The Ballot. Vote With the League. Voter Service Activities. Public Ethics Commission Accepting Applications. AC Transit Grant. Alternatives to the Death Penalty. Hip Hop Bus.

GENERAL MEETING FOR OCTOBER: COME TO A VOTER SERVICE EVENT

In lieu of a general meeting this month we are encouraging all of our members to attend one or more of our many voter service events. If you aren't working at the candidate forums on Oct. 2 and 3, come and participate as an audience member. It always makes the event more interesting when there's an audience. If you want to hear a stimulating discussion of the more controversial ballot measures, come to the Baffled by the Ballot meeting that we're co-sponsoring with several other groups on Oct. 6 (see more info on page 3). If you'd prefer a more traditional League Pros and Cons presentation of all of the ballot measures, you are welcome to attend any of the following presentations:

DATE TIME PLACE
Mon., Oct. 6 7 PM Lake Park Retirement Residence, 1850 Alice Street
Tues., Oct. 7 7 PM Piedmont Gardens, 110 41st St., 11th Floor
Thurs., Oct. 9 7 PM Alpha Delta Kappa (Organization of Women Educators), Skyline Community Church, 12540 Skyline Boulevard
Sat., Oct. 11 1:30 PM St. Paul's Towers , 100 Bay Place, 2nd Floor Residents' Center
Wed., Oct. 15 7 PM Grand Lake Gardens, 401 Santa Clara Avenue, 6th floor Grand Assembly room
Wed., Oct. 15 7 PM Neighborhood Crime Prevention Council, St. Paschal's Church, 3700 Dorisa Ave
Thurs., Oct. 16 7: 15 PM Rockridge Community Planning Council, Rockridge Library, 5766 College Ave.
Tues., Oct. 21 7 PM Oakmore Homes Assoc., Wells & Bennett Realtors; 1451 Leimert at Oakmore (between Montclair & Glenview, off Park)
Wed., Oct. 22 12 NOON Laney College, portable EV3 (facing student parking lot)
Sun., Nov. 2 11:30 AM First Presbyterian Church of Oakland, 2619 Broadway

PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE -

By Helen Hutchison
Fall of a Presidential election year + to say that it's a busy season for the League of Women Voters is an understatement! This is an election that promises an especially high turnout, and lots of new voters and lots of opportunities for our voter education efforts. We'll use all our creative energies to get our materials out to as many different places as possible. Just this week, several of us were at the launch of AC Transit's new "hip hop bus," an effort to reach the youth voters. We'll provide them with information on SmartVoter.org and copies of the Easy Voter Guide. If you know of a place that could use some of our voting materials, call the office and we'll see if we can help.
And then there's our advocacy work. In this election we have positions on ten of the twelve state measures, both of the regional measures, and one of the three local measures. On most of these measures, we have simply taken a position: that is, we have recommended voting either for or against the measure. We don't sit on the committees and we don't work on the campaigns. But on Proposition 11, the redistricting reform measure, we have committed ourselves to working night and day between now and November 4 to see that the measure passes. The League is one of the important participants in this campaign. We must not get complacent and think that because we have certain endorsements it's going to pass. We need to keep working on the campaign. One of the things that each of us can do is to talk to our friends and neighbors. Send emails or write letters to everyone you know in California and make sure that they understand how important this issue is. If you need information, please contact me (helen@helenhutch.com, 510.654.2216).
Fortunately we have many dedicated volunteers, both people interested in working on voter service and advocacy workers, and with a lot of diligent work on everyone's part we will have both a well educated electorate AND we will pass redistricting reform on November 4.

Welcome to the Debate Party Hosting Kit!

This election season bring your friends, colleagues, and family together for a Debate Watching Party! This is a fun and productive opportunity to start a dialogue in your community about the issues that affect your lives, learn about candidates, and get people excited and prepared to vote.
LWVUS has provided us with a great Debate Watching Kit to get us started on hosting our own debate watching parties. The kit include a whole variety of resources, including planning tips, an introduction to debates, a guide to judging candidates (including media distortion tactics), and a scorecard for use during the debate.
Even if you don't want to host a party, you may want to check out the website. The resources are terrific. One caveat: when they say http://www.Vote411.org, you'll need to substitute http://www.smartvoter.org.
To find more information about the debate watching kits, go to the LWVUS website, http://www.lwv.org, click on "Projects", then "Voter Information". You'll see the link for Debate Party Hosting Kit.

No On Measure OO - Kids First!

The Oakland League has taken a stand against Measure OO, The Oakland Fund for Children and Youth Act, on the November ballot. As with any ballot measure stand this occurred only after much debate on the part of the Board as well as in depth discussions with advocates of both sides of the issue.
On the surface it might seem that we would be in support of the Kids First measure. The League has multiple positions that support the programs that Kids First funds, the programs have been shown to be successful, there have been appropriate audit procedures in place, and the League historically supports programs for youth and children.
What, then, is the problem? Measure OO has two fatal flaws:
▪ It proposes to put in place a permanent earmark without even a review clause. The League positions on state and local finance are quite clear and unequivocal on this. Earmarked funds must contain a sunset date or, at a minimum, provisions for a mandatory review and reauthorization.
▪ In addition, Measure OO proposes to double the funding for the Kids First programs over the next 3 years at the expense of other City programs that we also support: libraries, parks and recreation programs, city services for seniors and families, and the Oakland Museum.
▪ The combination of these two major problems led the Board to vote to oppose this measure and, in addition, to sign the ballot arguments in opposition to it.
The City Council already has extended the original Kids First funding for an additional 12 years so that funding for Kids First is secure. Measure OO proposes to increase the funding beyond the current level, and to do so forever. Measure OO increases the share of the city's budget going to Kids First without adding any new income. This new money for Kids First is going to have to come from existing programs.
What other program is getting its budget doubled in this time of big budget cuts? None of us likes to cut the budgets for children and youth, but we need to remember that the city budget needs to stretch to cover all the programs.
If you'd like more information on this measure, please contact Helen Hutchison (helen@helenhutch.com, 510 654 2216) or Mary Bergan (MaryBergan@aol.com).

Hot Topics for October

The Hot Topics meeting for October is cancelled. It would normally be held on October 20, which is also the last date to register to vote for the November election. At the September Hot Topics meeting, the consensus was that we should all be out either registering voters or otherwise working on the election causes we believe in.
Hot Topics will resume November 17, when we talk about League action on City Hall reforms.

Baffled by the Ballot?

Monday, October 6, 2008 ▪ 6 - 8:30 PM

Buttercup Grill
229 Broadway (at 2nd St)
Oakland, CA
Overwhelmed by the volume of election literature? Come for a discussion of the ballot propositions in the company of other smart, conscious people, who are also striving to figure out what is best for us and the broader community!
The National Women's Political Caucus - Alameda North has organized this event. It is co-sponsored by: American Association of University Women, Black Women Organizing for Political Action, League of Women Voters of Oakland, Wellstone Democratic Renewal Club, and the Alameda County Democratic Lawyers Club.
The League of Women Voters will do a traditional pros and cons presentation for seven of the measures in a separate part of the program. The NWPC has arranged for speakers from both sides on five of the more controversial measures.
If you would like to eat dinner, please arrive as close to 6 PM as possible to order before the program begins.

VOTE WITH THE LEAGUE

Click here to The November 4th State Ballot recommendations

October Voter Service Activities

This is more than a Presidential election. As League members you realize that there is a lot more on our ballot. The speakers bureau is busy sending out trained speakers to over 50 locations to explain 17 ballot measures. For more information contact Judy Merrill at judy@apstate.us or 654.9600
Candidate Forums will be held in Hearing Room 1 at Oakland City Hall. Please plan to attend, ask questions, and find out about the people running for the local offices.
Thursday Oct. 2
5:30 PM AC Transit District, Ward 2
6: 00 PM AC Transit District + At-large
6:30 PM BART, Ward 7
7:00 PM EBMUD, Ward 5
7:30 PM EBMUD, Ward 6
Friday Oct. 3rd
5:30 PM EBRPD, Ward 1
6:00 PM Peralta CCD, Trustee Area 2
6: 30 PM Superior Court Judge Seat 9
7:00 PM Oakland City Council, At-Large
Distribute Easy Voter Guides Tuesday, October 7. To assist, please contact Miriam Laska at 658.2737 or mirlaska@yahoo.com.
Register Voters now through Oct. 20. To assist, please contact Allene Warren at msvlkid@sbcglobal.net or 562.3945. On Oct 20th at Midnight Madness, the League will have additional support from the Hip-hop AC Transit bus decked out with "Your Voice, Your Power, Your Choice, Your Vote". The bus will be joining us at the Rockridge Safeway.
Don't forget to check out http://www.smartvoter.org for election information and encourage your friends and neighbors to do the same.

Public Ethics Commission Accepting Applications

The City of Oakland Public Ethics Commission is accepting applications from qualified individuals for the position of Commissioner. The Public Ethics Commission consists of seven members -- three nominated for appointment by the Mayor and confirmed by the City Council, and four selected by the Commission as a whole. Commissioners may serve no more than one consecutive three-year term.
The Commission is currently seeking applications to fill a Commission-selected seat. The term begins on January 22, 2009, and will expire on January 21, 2012.
Each member of the Commission must be a resident of Oakland and registered to vote in Oakland.
The Commission has a variety of duties, including overseeing compliance with the Oakland Campaign Reform Act, Oakland Sunshine Ordinance, Limited Public Financing Act, and the Code of Conduct for City Officials.
To apply, download an application from the Commission's webpage (oaklandnet.com/government/public_ethics/webpage.html#3), or call the Commission office 510.238.3593.
For more information about the Commission or serving on the Commission, contact League member and past Commission member, Barbara Newcombe, 510.763.4406 or barbaranewcombe@sbcglobal.net.

AC Transit Grant

AC Transit has generously donated $5,000 to LWV Oakland to be used to help produce the Oakland Easy Voter Guide for the November General Election. LWV Oakland thanks AC Transit for this donation that allows us to help more Oaklanders to have access to nonpartisan information about the local ballot issues.

Alternatives to the Death Penalty in Alameda County

As you may know, the LWV Alameda County Council, representing the seven Leagues of Women Voters in the county, is a member of the newly-formed Alameda County Coalition for Alternatives to the Death Penalty. The goal of this effort is to bring together a broad spectrum of community leaders and organizations in Alameda County to begin working on a strategy to end the use of the death penalty in this county, and to shift resources to more effective public safety measures, such as violence prevention and re-entry programs.
Why Alameda County? Alameda County is one of the most aggressive counties in Northern California with regards to the use of the death penalty, but it has one of the most progressive voting records on criminal justice issues, including the death penalty. At the same time, it has fewer violence prevention and re-entry programs than neighboring San Francisco County, which has abandoned the death penalty as a failed public policy. Alameda County's policies are not in tune with the needs and desires of the voters.
The Alameda County Coalition for Alternatives to the Death Penalty has launched a campaign to gather resolutions from unions, religious groups, political organizations, and professional associations whose members live in Alameda County (and surrounding areas). The League has signed the resolution. Are you part of a group that would consider passing a resolution? If so, let me know; my phone number and email are below.
Check the coalition's new website for information, coming events, and opportunities to volunteer: http://alamedadeathpenalty.org/
--Marion Taylor, LWV Liaison to the Alameda County Coalition for Alternatives to the Death Penalty. 510-532-5797, mariontaylor@mac.com

Hip Hop Bus

On Wednesday, September 10, AC Transit launched its "hip hop bus". AC Transit and Alameda County are setting out to register as many voters as possible. The hip hop bus will be sent to special events between now and the November General Election. LWV Oakland hopes to have it at our Midnight Madness voter registration event at Rockridge Safeway.
In addition to the hip hop bus, every AC Transit bus now has a box of voter registration forms on board.

Comments, suggestions, questions? Contact our webmaster. Last revised: December 30, 2008 10:54 PST.