And after all of that work, do something for yourself.If you like to read and you enjoy interesting discussions with well informed people, consider attending the LWV Book Group on the third Thursday of each month, (except December). Because this is on Zoom, it is easy to attend from anywhere, and you don't have to commit to reading all of the books to participate. See the Calendar for Zoom information, or you can contact Judie Coleman (membership@lwvsonoma.org)

January 19. 2023: Moderated by Jan Randall

The Dreamt Land: Chasing Water and Dust Across CaliforniabyMark Arax,2019 560 pp.

“You cannot understand California without understanding water.” California water issues continue to become more serious and intense as droughts occur more frequently, last longer and are drier. In the classic 1986 book, Cadillac Desert, Marc Reisner rang the alarm about the environmental and personal costs of western water projects. Arax updates the issues in this deeply researched and personal book (Arax grew up in the Central Valley and is a resident of Fresno today.). The book is a tour de force of California history and details how California went from the small farmer to today’s Big Ag’s manipulation and hogging of water resources. Arax even names the principle actors when he describes the exploits of “the nut king, grape king, and citrus queen.” For me, this book has it all: history, politics, personal stories of farmers and farm workers, and wonderful descriptions of beautiful California and how to preserve the soil and water we love.

February 16, 2023: Moderated by Mary Fricker

I Never Thought of It That Way: How to Have Fearlessly Curious Conversations in Dangerously Divided Times, by Mónica Guzmán, 287 pages, 2022.
Monica Guzman is the liberal daughter of Mexican immigrants who voted, twice, for Donald Trump. She is a former Seattle Times columnist who is director of digital and storytelling for Braver Angels, a group that works to heal the wounds between right and left by teaching people how to understand another’s point of view, not change their point of view. A central event in the book is a bus trip for 16 people from Seattle to travel to Sherman County. Oregon, to meet with 16 “opposite” people, not to argue, but to learn. They pair up and ask each other questions, and, most importantly, listen. Viewpoints are not changed, but people learn to look at each other differently. If you’re looking for a book to help you win arguments, this is probably not a book for you. If you’re looking for ways to find understanding and empathy with others, this is the book for you.

Voter’s Edge proved to be a valuable resource for voters seeking information about their choices for candidates in state-wide races as well as those throughout the County of Sonoma.

In Sonoma County, several cities transitioned from at-large elections (where council members are elected to serve the population of the city as a whole) to district elections (where a council member is elected to serve a specific section of the city). This resulted in more city council races, and hence, more candidates.

We were fortunate to have a large majority of candidates who chose to participate in Voter’s Edge. In fact, of the 57 open mayoral and council seats on the ballot, a whopping 54 candidates participated. Their professions, priorities, political philosophies, and endorsements were showcased to anyone seeking to learn more about his or her choices. Not surprisingly, the number of hits to the Voter’s Edge website was comparatively higher than in previous elections.

School District candidates also represented a higher than usual number of participating candidates. With 35 candidates running for various school boards, 25 participated in Voter’s Edge. Special Districts (fire protection and water districts) had 16 open board positions, with 9 candidates participating. Effort to reach school and special district candidates was increased over what we have been able to do in previous years and we expect that participation will continue to grow in future elections.

Thank you to the candidates who participated. Thank you to those who helped spread the word about Voter’s Edge. And thank you for voting.

From mid-September to mid-October the Voter Service team hosted a total of eightforums in Petaluma, Sebastopol, Rohnert Park, Santa Rosa and Windsor. In a number of these communities we had two forums due to the number of candidates as well as district configurations. The candidate forums were live streamed on ZOOM, YouTube, and Facebook. Each forum also had Spanish interpretation. Even though ZOOM creates some complexity, it also enables us to reach a VERY BROAD audience. We have had a total of 8 forums and have had a total of5483viewers. 463of these were in Spanish. The most views we have had are for the Sebastopol forum with a total of 941 views!

Many in our team worked on multiple forums and a huge thank you to all who helped– Leona Judson, Debbie McKay, Therese Scherrer, Linda Robinett, Linda Lamb, Judie Coleman, Paula Hawkes, Chris Reizenman, Barbara Coen, Jim Masters, Ann Whitman, Connie Williams, Pamela Stevens, Donna Roper, Lorraine Kelman, Lynn Dooley and Karen Weeks.

Again, thanks and gratitude to those who have stepped up to make this all happen!

Sonoma Developmental Center (SDC) Update- Our league has weighed in on this long running issue. The SDC, which is currently owned by the state, is up for sale. The County has been working on a draft proposal called the Specific Plan, which will be presented to the Bd. Of Supervisors on Dec. 16^th. For highlights of their proposal go to:Link to Development CenterAnother proposal is offered by a group called Eldridge for All, a coalition of several local parties. Their proposal is called Historical Preservation Alternative. It differs significantly from the County one in that the SDC would become a public trust byforming a special district. The housing footprint would be greatly reduced and the wildlife corridor that runs through it would be expanded. Our board wrote a letter of support for this proposal to the state Department of General Services as well as Permit Sonoma and the board of supervisors. The DGS will make a decision after the first of the year. We think the Alternative proposal is a better fit for the rural community and the historical nature of the 100-year-old developmental center.

Learn with the League-Advocacy wants to expand our public forums in the coming year. We plan to offer several one-hour virtual forums for our membership and the public. They will focus on climate change, Making Democracy Work and more. We are asking our membership to respond to a survey of suggested topics with room for you to submit your ideas. Your response will help inform our planning.Link to Survey

Climate Change Subcommittee- There is much going on in Sonoma County around climate change these days. To better focus on the many issues from gas stations to tree ordinance, it was decided that climate change needed its own committee. Jan Randall, a retired environmental science professor agreed to head this up. The committee meets monthly on the third Wednesday of the month at 2PM. So, if trees, water, drought, fire safety, wildlife preservation and more is your thing, please join the conversation.

Check theOnline Calendarfor the latest schedule

and for location or links to virtual meetings.

• LWVCA Open Meeting Laws Forum--Tuesday, January 31, 2023, 12:00 - 1:00 PM, See calendar for registration Information.

Standing Meetings

• Board of Directors,1st Saturday of the month from 10:30 AM to Noon.
  
• Advocacy Committee-1st Wednesday of the month from 10:00 AM to Noon
• Voter Service Committee- 1stThursday of the month from 2:00 to 3:00 PM
• Book Group: 3rd Thursday of the month from 10:30 AM to Noon
  

Financial report:Donna explained that expenses were higher because they include the GOTV ads in local papers.Also, the cost of the new printed T-shirts is included in the expenses.

President’s Report: Donna Roper reviewed the events the League has participated in this past year includingmany tabling events, HS Youth Outreach, the numerous candidate and pros & cons forums, presentations to several groups, radio interviews, ads in KCRB, Apple Blossom Parade, Adopt-a- Room project, Vote Forward letter writing, etc.

Membership: Ten new members joined in October.

Advocacy Committee:

Sonoma Development Center Property:The Board of Directors decided to send a letter to the State General Services Department requesting due consideration of the Sonoma Mountain Community Service District’s proposal, and authorize Donna Roper as President to approve the letter.

Voter Services: Therese Scherrer shared that the YouTube videos of the candidate forums are getting lots of views.

Candidate Forums: Karen Weeks reported that we completed eight candidate forums. Due to an insufficient number of volunteers, we were not able to provide forums for all the cities with contested races. Also, there are far more races and candidates due to the change to district elections, which makes it much harder for the League to cover all the races. If we can train more volunteers, we may be able to do more in the future.

Pros & Cons Forums:Lynn Dooley reported that she has received very positive feedback of the format & content of the Pros & Cons presentations.

Youth Outreach:

Several League volunteers visited seven library branches in October to register and pre-register students.

We have two more trained volunteers going into high school classes. We have been to Windsor, Analy, Laguna, and Roseland Prep. We will add more high schools as we train more volunteers, and we hope to expand this program beginning in January.If you are interested in participating in the training and possibly becoming a presenter, please send an email toyouth@lwvsonoma.org.

Outreach / Programs: The Board is discussing how we want to organize ourselves and our activities over a two year period now that Board member terms are two years. Also, the election cycle is a two year period with an election year and then an off election year.

Strategic Plan update:

Calendar: The Board will be developing a longer range calendar with events planned out for the rest of the year. Known events are Program Planning meeting in February, Annual Member meeting in June, Kickoff Meeting in September, Legislative Interviews in February, Convention in June, June 2024 primary and November 2024 general elections.

One meeting a month concept:The Board discussed the idea of dedicating one day a month for a League sponsored activity that would be the date we do any League activities such as Learn with the League, Making Democracy Work, etc.

Legislative Interviews: These take place in February. Donna Roper will be organizing our participation and we may partner with other Leagues again.If you would like to participate in the Legislator interviews, please send an email toPresident@lwvsonoma.org

February Program Planning:Program planning takes place each year in February. The purpose is two-fold--to give input to the National or State Convention and to do local planning on areas of emphasis. Alternate years conventions are National and then the following year CA State. The Board will pick a date for the Program Planning meeting at their December Board meeting.

Next Meeting:The December Meeting will be Dec 3^rdat 10:30 am.

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