LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS • NORTH COUNTY SAN DIEGOVOLUME IV, NO. 6V OTERThe VOICE of League for Members’ the FACE of League for our Communities
bers; the FACE of League for our Communities.

SEPT 2014 AT A GLANCE
Sun, Sept 7
2 – 4 pm

LWVNCSD Kick-off
Dove Library

Fri, Sept 1210 am – 12 pm

LWVNCSD Bd Mtg
LWD Offices

Mon, Sept 15
1 – 3 pm

Book Group Mtg
Home of Anne Patton

Thur, Sept 18
11:30 am – 2 pm

Lunch with LeagueTom Ham’s Lighthouse

Wed, Sept 24
1 – 3 pm

San Dieguito Unit Mtg
Belmont Village

Sat, Sept 27
10 – 11:30 am

Civil Discourse Mtg
San Marcos Library

OCT 2014 AT A GLANCEFri, Oct 1010 am – 12 pm

LWVNCSD Bd Mtg
LWD OfficesThur, Oct 16
10 am – 12 pm

Carlsbad Unit Mtg
LWD Offices

Wed Oct 22
1 – 3 pm

San Dieguito Unit Mtg
Belmont Village

Mon Oct 20
1 pm – 3 pm

Book Group Mtg
Home of Cathy Greene

Wed Oct 22
1 – 3 pm

San Dieguito Unit Mtg
Belmont Village

Visit us on the web: www.lwvncsd.org
Or contact us by phone or mail:760-736-1608
PO Box 131272, Carlsbad, CA 92013-1272

Like us on FacebookTom Reeser

Let’s Get Together at League’s Fall
Kick-Off Event!
It’s time to meet old friends, and make new friends
too, at the League’s September Kick-Off Event.
Come celebrate the League with the year’s first special
event, Sunday, September 7, from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00
p.m. at the Dove Library in Carlsbad.
Enjoy refreshments in the courtyard while exploring
the many opportunities to participate in our League
activities this year. Tables will feature information
about the Voter Service activities for September andDAY
2014
October, the Book EARTHClub, theCivil
Discourse study
group, our Observer Corps, and the Speakers Bureau.
The highlight of the afternoon will be our featured
speaker, Tom Reeser of KOCT, one of two non-profit
television channels in San Diego County. Tom Reeser
has been the Executive Director of KOCT for 24years. He is also an independent filmmaker, and wasrecently inducted into the National Academy ofTelevision Arts and Sciences Silver Circle
recognizing his over 25 years of contribution to thetelevision industry. KOCT has received an award for
its commitment to Human Rights and for the Best AllAround Public Educational and Community Media.
Tom, an inspiring speaker, is looking forward tomeeting all of you and answering your questions.
MEMBERS: Please bring a sweet or savory finger
food for our potluck table. And remember to invite afriend or neighbor who would like to learn more about
our League. For more information contact Carol
Grimes-Gartland, clgspeced@sbcglobal.net.

See you there!
VOTER • LWV North County San Diego • September, 2014

Page 1

Co-Presidents’ Message:

LWVNCSD Officers/Directors 2013-14

Officers
Cathy GreeneCo-President
Carol Grimes-Gartland Co-PresidentBarbara Lorenzen
Vice-President
Connie Ulrich
Secretary
Arlene Meadows
Treasurer
Directors
Suzanne Carneiro
Jane Dunmeyer
Joann Johnson
Margaret Liles
Margie Monroy
Jackie Stone

WebmasterHealth Care
Membership
Voter Editor
Member Communications
Observer Chair,
Speakers’ Bureau

Unit Chairs
Dorine Meade
Karen Pendergast
Rotating Chair
Anne Patton

Carlsbad Unit Co-Chair
Carlsbad Unit Co-Chair
Quad Cities Unit
San Dieguito Unit Chair

Off-Board Directors
Martha Cox
Liz Kruidenier
Nancy Telford
Mary Thompson

Civil Discourse
Social Policy
Special Projects
Civil Discourse

The League of Women Voters, a
non-partisan political organization,encourages informed and active
participation in government andinfluences public policy througheducation and advocacy.

Carol GrimesGartland

Cathy Greene

Dear Members and Friends,
We hope that your summer, like ours, was filled withrelaxation, fun, friends and family.
Join new and old League friends at the Kick Off on
September 7th. At the September 18th, Lunch with League,
great speakers will discuss climate change and its impact
on San Diego County.
Our League is much in demand for the fall electionseason. Anne Omsted chairs the popular Pro/Con
presentations. Roni Seay, our Candidates’ Forums chairneeds volunteers to help with timing, distributing question
cards and information, sorting audience questions, andmoderating. These election events are fun ways to get
involved with League. Training and mentoring isprovided. Let Anne and Roni know that you are ready tohelp.
For a different type of entertainment, join the Observer
Corps. The Corps is composed of League members whoquietly and neutrally monitor the meetings of local city
councils, school boards, and regional agencies. You canlearn what goes on in your community while being the“eyes and ears” of the League and your fellow citizens.
For interesting conversation and challenging ideas, join
our Book Club or the Civil Discourse group.
Our League is a co-host for the LWVC Convention,
May 15 - 17, 2015, in San Diego. You won’t want to missthis opportunity to attend and volunteer.
None of this exciting year happens without you,
our League members. Soon, you will receive amembership renewal letter.
We need yoursupport, your input, and your encouragement.
Our communities need you too; they rely on us
for unbiased, non-partisan help and information.
When your membership renewal arrives, pleaserenew promptly.
We welcome your comments and suggestions at anytime; if you have ideas to make this League even better or
programs you would like to see, please send them to Carolor Cathy or any board member. Let’s make this a great
year for all of our members.
Cathy Greene,
Carol Grimes-Gartland

VOTER • LWV North County San Diego • September, 2014

Page 2

September Meetings
LWVNCSD Kick-Off Event
Sunday • September 7
2:00 – 4:00 pm
Meet old and new members at thisevent held at the Dove Library, 1775
Dove Lane, Carlsbad. See page one
for more details.

Book Group Meeting

Welcome newmembers!
Margaret Engel
Elizabeth McNeill
Kimber Quinney

All Members Welcome
Monday • September 15
1:00 – 3:00 pm
By Margie Monroy
The Book Group will meet on Monday, September
15 at 1 PM at the home of Ann Patton to discuss The
Unwinding: An Inner History of the New America byGeorge Packer. The author has put together acompelling story of how wealth has concentrated
itself in the United States in the second half of thetwentieth century, and the first decade of the 21st.
Call Margie Monroy, 729-7242 or email
monroymario@att.net

Carlsbad Unit
No Meeting in September
All members are encouraged to attend the Kick-Off
event. The Unit will meet on Thursday October 16, todiscuss the Pros and Cons of November Ballot
measures, and, time permitting, the Carlsbad GeneralPlan.

LWVSD/LWVNCSD Lunch with LeagueThursday • September 18 • 11:30 am – 2:00 pm
Call your friends, get a carpool going, and head toSan Diego on September 18 for a fascinating
discussion and the latest information on climatechange and its effects and challenges on San DiegoCounty.
LWVNCSD is proud to be a co-sponsor of Lunchwith LWVSD this September 18, 11:30 to 1:30 at
Tom Ham’s Lighthouse Restaurant, 2150 Harbor
Island Drive, San Diego. There will be speakers fromVOTER • LWV North County San Diego • September, 2014

Scripps Institution of Oceanography
and the San Diego Foundation.
Deadline for registering isSeptember 15th so don’t be late! Costfor League members is $30. See theflyer for more information.

San Dieguito Unit Meeting

All Members Welcome
Wednesday • Sept. 24
1:00 – 3:00 pm
By Anne Patton:We have changed the dates and timesof the Unit meetings to the fourth
Wednesday of each month at 1:00 pm.
The September meeting will be held at
1:00 pm on the 24th at Belmont Vilage, 3535
Manchester, Cardiff. We will have freshly baked
cookies. Please bring your own drinks. We will
discuss ballot pros and cons for the November
election.
Please bring note paper and yourquestions. You know how important this is, not only
as League members, but as someone who can help
others with their ballots.
Parking instructions: Park at the South end of theTemple Soliel lot, walk to Manchester, turn right at
the first driveway, walk to nearly the end turnleft. You will see the Dining Room. Enter and ask
for the Town Hall Room. Tell staff that you are withLeague. For more information call Anne Findlay
Patton 858-759-2715, cell: 858-227-4905

Civil Discourse Group Meeting
All Members Welcome
Saturday • Sept. 27 • 10:00 – 11:30 am

Join us at our next meeting on Saturday, Sept.
27th from 10:00 – 11:30 a.m. the San Marcos
County Library Branch, 2 Civic Center Dr., SanMarcoPage 3

VOTER • LWV North County San Diego • September, 2014

Page 4LWVUS 2014
CONVENTION

action protecting victims of such crimes. In otheraction, a resolution was passed to restore voting
rights in federal elections to citizens with felony
By Jackie Stone
convictions who have been released from prison
It was my great pleasure andor who have been paroled or placed on probation.
privilege to be the LWVNCSD local
The yearly amount that local leagues will pay
league delegate to the national
to the national League for each member
League’s 51st biennial convention inbeginning in 2014-2015 was raised to $31 in
Dallas, Texas from June 7 through June 10.
2012, but the motion to raise
Thank you! What anthat rate to $32 beginning inexperience it was! The
The League lost two long-time
2015-2016 was defeated.
excitement was palpable
Carlsbad Unit members this summer,
Elsewhere in our VOTER
Gerry Williams
from the beginning to end
you will read about ourandand I found myself wishing
LWVC state convention inDolores Kronenberg.
that each of you could have
San Diego, which promises
Gerry was active in the unit, serving at
been there to share it! Each
us an opportunity for a
its chair for two years and as Observer
day of the lively four day
close-to-home experience
Chair. Dolores belonged to the bookgathering began in the earlywith League Conventions.
group and was invaluable in Voter
hours and kept a blistering
Be there and be active!
Service activities that required apace until late evening.
You’ll love it!
Spanish speaker.
A somewhat unusual
highlight was the floor
nominationof Florida’s League president,
Deidre Macnab, challenging the re-election ofnationalLeague
president,
Elisabeth
By Margie Monroy
MacNamara, who was on the nominating
At the suggestion of Leaguecommittee’s slate. After both candidates led theirmember, Diane Nygaard, and withsupporters in robust campaigning which could
the approval of the board and theteach our politicians a thing or two about civility
Carlsbad Unit, Co-President Cathyand graciousness, Elisabeth MacNamara was reGreene addressed the Carlsbad City Council inelected for her third term.
June regarding park issues in that city. We
Throughout the gathering, delegates rallied
commented on the proposed sale foraround the League’s Power the Vote Initiative fordevelopment of the city-owned Buena Vista
their elections work this year, and set theReservoir site. This property is in a section of theLWVUS program agenda for the next two years,city, which counts school grounds to meet thevowing to continue our fight for voting rights andpark requirements of its Growth Management
campaign finance reform. In addition, delegates
Plan. As a consequence, the only park for thisreinforced the League’s efforts to combat climate
neighborhood is a school ground which can onlychange and adopted a three-part program
be used during school hours and is locked at all
focusing on key structures of American
other times except for organized sports events.
democracy, including campaign finance reform,
League requested that the City Council
the constitutional amendment process, andreview all excess city-owned properties toredistricting reform for the U.S. Congress.
determine their potential for use as city parks and“League delegates are deeply concerned about
specifically delay the sale of Buena Vista
the big money that is polluting our elections,”
Reservoir until the adoption of the new Generalsaid President MacNamara. The League alsoPlan. The council agreed to do so.
adopted a position on human trafficking enablingstate and local Leagues across the country to take

Action Report

VOTER • LWV North County San Diego • September, 2014

Page 5

County League Day
By Cathy GreeneThis annual event was held Friday August 22nd
at the New County Operations Center in Kearny
Mesa. County League Day celebrates our San
Diego County League (our Inter-LeagueOrganization) and brings together our NorthCounty League and the San Diego League for ahalf day of meeting old and new League friends,
hearing the President of the LWV California,Helen Hutchison, speak on Advocacy: theLeague Way, and included lunch and a tour of thenew building housing the County Registrar ofVoters.
We hope you did not miss the fun!

Election Year Activities andEvents
By Cathy Greene
Being elected Co-President of our League did
not let me off the hook as far as Voter Service
goes! Since I have no replacement as Voter
Service Chair (so far), I am doing double duty.
However, two talented and experienced League
members have jumped in to save the day. Anne
Omsted and Roni Seay will oversee the requests
that we anticipate this election season for
Pro/Con presentations (Anne) and Candidate
Forums (Roni).
In fact, Anne and Roni are already working
hard on these events. At this time, we have five
Pro/Con presentations and four Candidate
Forums scheduled with many more requests tocome. It will be a busy two months this fall.
The success of these events depends, not juston the chairperson, but on all of us. And what
great opportunities there are for you to help offer
non-partisan, unbiased, accurate information
about the ballot measures and the candidates toour communities.
A bonus is that it is great fun to help with Voter
Service events. There are small jobs and bigjobs—something for everyone. And while you
are helping, you are learning about the issues andcandidates that we must make decisions about
this election season.
VOTER • LWV North County San Diego • September, 2014

There has been one training session for
Pro/Con presenters but Anne is willing to haveanother training session for those who might beinterested. Roni will soon be recruiting helpers
for the candidate forums—she will need timers,
questions sorters, runners, and moderators. Don’tknow what these jobs are? Don’t worry—theyare easy to learn and you will get training andmentoring. When Roni or Anne ask for help –please say yes! Voter Service is the heart of theLeague and our programs make a difference!
Contact Roni Seay, Anne Omsted, or Cathy
Greene with questions or to volunteer.

Ready for a New Challenge?
LWVC is looking for new Board
Members!
If you, or someone you know, is ready toexpand League participation beyond our local
level, the League of Women Voters California islooking for a few good women (and men)!
Nominations are being taken for the LWVC
Board of Directors and for the LWVCNominating Committee for the 2015-2017 Slate.
To read a FAQ’s sheet and to see thenominating form, contact Cathy Greene. Youmay contact the Nominating Committee Chairdirectly; she is Caroline de Llamas atnominating@lwvc.org.
DEADLINE : September 1st.

Like us on Facebook
Please don’t hesitate to check out our Facebook
Page:
https://www.facebook.com/LeagueOfWomenVoters
NorthCountySanDiego.
This is a great marketing tool for LWVNCSD.
Sharing with your friends, will help us reach out toprospective members. Our page has 135 “likes” from
community leaders, league leaders and members fromall over the county and beyond.
Our events are posted in the Events section. If you
are “on” Facebook please go to ourKick-Off Event and invite yourfriends. Thanks from yourWebmaster and Social Media
Maven - Suzanne Carneiro.
Page 6

Civil Discourse Work Expands withthe Creation of the San Diego
Deliberation Network

By Martha Cox and Mary Thompson
Now that summer iscoming to a close, with thefall Kick-Off right aroundthe corner, your thoughts
are possibly turning toways in which you might
engage with your family ofLeaguers and serve ourcommunities in the process. Volunteering forvoter service activities is at the top of the list for
many, after all that’s the reason most of us joined
League.
Civic engagement takes many forms, however,and in March, we shared the ways in which civil
discourse members are engaged year-round.
Please visit our table at the fall Kick-Off to learn
more about our League’s participation in the San
Diego Deliberation Network - a regional
collaborative including the Institute of Civil
Civic Engagement, the San Diego Foundation’s
Burnham Center for Civic Engagement, andevery major academic institution in San Diego:
CSUSM, SDSU, UCSD, USD, Point Loma
Nazarene and San Diego City College. Inaddition, within League, we are engaging withVOTER • LWV North County San Diego • September, 2014

Leagues from San Diego, Capistrano Bay, Santa
Monica and San Luis Obispo – each has
expressed interest in learning about our work.
While the toxic talk of campaigns may be with
us for a while, collectively, our goal is to impact
the tone of the public discourse in the San Diego
region by bringing members of the community
together to gather understanding about an issue,to talk and to listen to each other in shared,respectful conversation. You are invited to join
us at our next meeting on Saturday, Sept. 27th
from 10:00 – 11:30 a.m. the San Marcos County
Library Branch, 2 Civic Center Dr., San Marcos.

Save the Date:“Let The Sunshine In”
May 15-17, 2015 in San Diego
Be sure to mark your calendar!
This opportunity only comesaround once every two years.
Held in May in odd-numbered years, ourConvention is the chance for all League members
in our state to network, share their skills, andmake a difference. Non-members are also
warmly invited to attend top-notch workshops,
experience fascinating guest speakers, and toobserve how such a legendary grassroots
organization sets priorities and discusses vitalissues.

Page 7

LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERSNorth County San Diego
Post Office Box 131272
Carlsbad, CA 92013-1272

March, 2014
Volume IV, No. 3
Inside this issue:
Calendar at a glance
Page 1Kick-Off Event
Page 1
Officers and Directors
Page 2
Co-President’s Message
Page 2September Meetings.
Page 3Lunch with League
Page 4
LWVUS Conv.
Page 5
Action Report
Page 5County LWV Day
Page 6
Elect. Yr. Act. & Events
Page 6Civil Discourse
Page 7LVWC Conv.
Page 7
The League of Women Voters does
not support or oppose any politicalparty or candidate. We do, however,take action on selected government
issues in the public interest.

Have you checked North County League’s
website this week?
Stay current, stay active, stay informed!
www.lwvncsd.org
LWV California
www.lwvc.org
LWV United States
www.lwv.org