MEETING THE CHALLENGE -- President's Message
The editors of the Voter decided to title my monthly message "Meeting the Challenge," and I am constantly finding new challenges as my term as your president progresses. One of the latest was helping to organize the recent Program Planning Meeting for our League, along with Jean Esary, Phil Smith, and Jeanne Melaugh.
Program planning is the opportunity for members to give guidance at the state and local levels regarding what issues the League will emphasize in the next biennium (2003-2005) as well as deciding whether to retain, update, or drop existing positions. We also have the option to recommend new studies, with the understanding that they require funding as well as staff and volunteer time. We received four requests for support from coalitions of Leagues throughout the state as well as individual Leagues. These suggestions received considerable attention at our meeting and resulted in our supporting three of the four proposals.
The recommendations from each local League are sent to the LWVC Board where the information will be compiled. Following the LWVC Bylaws, the Board of Directors will consider the ideas with the highest interest from local leagues, formulate a proposed program, and include it, along with all the recommen-dations received, in the convention kit. This convention kit list will be the basis on which delegates will vote at the May 2003 State Convention to retain or drop current positions and to choose the Issue(s) for Emphasis.
Only our top three choices are listed in the Program Planning Response Form, and a recommended update counts as a choice under Issues for Emphasis. The results of our meeting were as follows:
- A limited update of the education position focusing on charter schools, preschools, testing and financing;
- Health care crisis in California as an issue for emphasis (based on the national position);
- Campaign finance reform as an Issue for Emphasis.
We did not recommend dropping any positions at the state level. Locally, we recommended dropping outdated positions on health care and the jail system. An update of our water position is currently underway, and no new studies or other updates were recommended. These recommendations and all of our local positions will be reviewed again by all members who attend the Annual Meeting where final action on local program and positions is taken.
As one of your delegates to the State Convention, I will vote according to your recommendations and will keep you informed on the outcome of the program planning process.
--Beverly G. Bean, LWVMP President
