| February 2025 Volume 52 No.7 | | Empowering Voters. Defending Democracy. | | | _________________________________________ | _________________________________________ | |
Co-Presidents’ Feb, 2025 Letter:
Women Defend Democracy is the new programmatic focus for the League in 2025, centering people power and moving our country towards a stronger, multi-racial democracy.
For 105 years, the League of Women Voters has worked to provide voters with election information, safeguard voter access, uphold election integrity, and defend against efforts to undermine democratic principles. | | |
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Today, the organization is stronger than ever, with a growing, vibrant membership of activists tackling the challenges to our democracy in every corner of our country. As the League continues to build a membership that reflects America, we recognize the continued challenges our democracy will face.
Through the “Women Defend Democracy” campaign, the League will work to:
- Provide Democracy Education & Election Administration Support
- Restore and Defend Voting Rights Protections
- Abolish the Electoral College
- Protect Democracy Organizations & Institutions
- Fight for Reproductive Freedoms
The League of Women Voters is well positioned to defend attacks on democracy in the coming months and years. Together, we believe in the power of women to create a more perfect democracy.
Strategic Planning Meeting (aka Program Planning) on Feb 15 at 2pm
We need your input on what our local league should focus on over this next year. Our Board has provided some preliminary ideas including:
- New citizen registration and education
- Leadership Sunnyvale Expansion collaboration
- How to expand this into other cities/school boards
- Funding required
- Exploration of interest in other cities and school boards
- Immigration
- Refresh our understanding of LWV positions on this
- Understanding implications of income Administration changes and policy
- How we can mitigate the possible disruption of new policy decisions
We are in process of moving our event to Sunnyvale Presbyterian on Feb 15 from 2 to 4pm. Please register here.
Meet the Electeds on March 29, 2025 from 2 to 3:30pm at BJ’s in Cupertino
This is one of our favorite events and a fabulous opportunity for you to meet and speak directly with our elected officials whether school board or city council for both Sunnyvale, Cupertino, and Foothill DeAnza. Please rsvp so we have enough appetizers for everyone! Please register here.
Thank you for your continued dedication to the League of Women Voters of Cupertino-Sunnyvale. Together, we make a meaningful difference in our community.
Elaine & Tracey, Your Co-Presidents
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LWV National
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On Feb. 14, the League will celebrate its 105th anniversary!
Join us for a virtual birthday rally to honor our accomplishments and uplift our commitment to
empowering voters and defending democracy. You'll hear from CEO Celina Stewart, Esq.,
President Dianna Wynn, and more leaders from the League and beyond.
This rally will be hosted on Facebook and later uploaded to YouTube.
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Dianna Wynn, President
LWV CA – Advocacy/Program Update - 2024 Advocacy Wrap-Up
If you haven’t already seen it, our 2024 Advocacy Wrap-Up is now available on our website. We encourage you to check it out to learn what this past year entailed from our advocacy operations and to begin looking ahead to the new legislative session in 2025. Through that same link, you can also access our legislative archive to view bills we’ve taken actions on and tracked in previous years. As always, if you have any questions related to our advocacy work, please email advocacy@lwvc.org.
Program Planning
The Program Planning Kit is available now on the Members Only site. We hope your League will take on this project as it provides an opportunity to refocus, engage new and old members alike, and to prepare for the future.
You can download the Program Planning Kit and read our highlights here. Program Planning responses are due on February 24, though earlier is better. Please note that a new process for considering “not recommended” items is outlined on pages 8-9 of the kit.
Heads Up—New Membership Dues System coming in February!
League of Women Voters US will be switching to ChapterSpot as our membership management system.
Watch out for an e-mail from noreply@notifications.chapterspot.com some time between February 2 and February 7. Sender’s name will be League of Women Voters. Do not delete! This e-mail includes an important link for you to access your account on the new system.
You will be renewing your membership with this account.
For more information about the change in the League's membership management system, check out the Frequently Asked Questions article at www.lwvcs.org/new-dues-faq
Nina Wong-Dobkin at Membership@lwvcs.org.
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- Check our website for Event Details, Registration and Recording Links - It's all There!
- LWVCS Monthly Board Meeting, February 3rd, 7pm, check website
- LWVCS Annual Program Planning Meeting, Feb. 15, 2-4pm, potentially at Sunnyvale Presbyterian, register here.
- LWVCS Coffee Hour - February 20th, 11-12, join here to share your voting experiences
- LWVCS Communications Committee Meeting - February 20th at 2pm, join here
- LWV Santa Clara County Civil Discourse Committee Meeting - February 17th,1pm, join here
- LWVCS Program Planning, February 15th, register via website.
| | Join Us for Program Planning Feb. 15! | Raise your voice to share your priorities for LWVCS 2025-2026 Programs!
Critical to the success of Program Planning is finding people who are interested in working on the projects that we select. So please come and help us select projects you would be interested in working on.
Tara Martin-Milius, Executive Director of Leadership Sunnyvale and her co-teacher Bruce Paton, will explain what they do to make Leadership Sunnyvale successful and how it benefits our community. We will also discuss what we might be able to do to expand this to other cities in our county.
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LWVCS Coffee Hour -
Informal Conversations related to League stuff.
Join us at our regular third Thursday, February 20h Coffee Hour at 11am here
This month - share YOUR voting and election-related experiences!
You can view recordings from all our Coffee Hours here.
| | | _______________________________________ | | Membership Changes Reminder |  |
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Heads Up—New Membership Dues System coming in February!
If you are a member of the League of Women Voters, a special email will arrive in your email in-box the week of February 3-7, 2025. Please keep an eye out – maybe even check your SPAM folder.
The email will come from the email address membership@lwv.org and greet you by your first name. It’s an invitation to log in to the new LWV national member portal app, to confirm your online access to your record in the National League’s Member data file.
Don’t worry, there’s no money involved at this time, and no great urgency to respond in the first week. Although the email talks about membership renewal, your renewal date has not changed, and there is nothing to pay right now.
This email is going out to all 70,000 members of LWV nationwide, all between Monday, 2/3 and Friday, 2/7, because the new national member portal system is taking over the function of processing dues for all new and renewing members of the over 700 local, state, and national Leagues, including our local League, LWVCS.
We’ll still have our local LWVCS website, www.lwvcs.org, and you can always start your renewal at lwvcs.org if you forget your link to the national LWV portal site.
In future VOTER articles, and on the LWVCS website, we will provide additional information about the new National LWV Member Portal, National LWV Member Database and the new LWV national dues-sharing and donation system.
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| _______________________________________ | | AROUND THE COUNTY and STATE |
LWV Santa Clara County News:
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Save The Date - State Of The County Address 2025 - March 14th
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Dear Friends & Neighbors -
Special Invitation - County of Santa Clara Board President Otto Lee will deliver the 2025 State Of The County Address on Friday, March 14, 2025 beginning at 5:30 PM at Board Chambers, County Government Center, 70 West Hedding Street, San José, CA 95110.
Please join us for this special event. Address will be livestreamed online. Follow link for more information. [LINK] Thank you!
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- Santa Clara County Office of Education
Youth Voter Toolkit link here
Leagues Making a Difference: Coast to Coast
LWV of Illinois has established a Mis/Disinformation task force that has created a webpage and educational resources for local leagues to use in their communities to bring awareness to mis/disinformation. Email misdisinfotaskforce@lwvil.org
LWVUS has established the Democracy Truth Project which provides resources and weekly rumor reports of mis and disinformation. You can find social media graphics and guidance here For further information contact Chelsey Cartwright at ccartwright@lwv.org
LWV Diablo Valley website is filled with resources regarding fact checking, media literacy, lessons, curriculum and programming about mis and disinformation.
LWV Larimer County has multiple resources. podcasts and webinars devoted to news literacy to bring awareness to the necessity of being wise information consumers
LWV Alameda is ingenious in that they have created a game called Verfiy it
“Verify It is the game that will clarify your rights as a citizen, answer your voting questions, and challenge the persistent misinformation and disinformation claims that we see every day. We are all susceptible to believing misinformation or disinformation, and we must all become informed citizens to exercise our vote and to protect our democracy.”
- The League of Women Voters of Sonoma County offers a virtual series on how our government works:
Three Sessions
Quickly and easily improve your "government IQ". If you know a lot about government, this series will be a good refresher. If you have been thinking you should learn more about government but never seem to find the time – you’ll love this series!
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Civil Discourse Committee
Help us with 2025 event planning!
Join our next planning meeting February 17th, 1pm here
Upcoming topics include immigration and mis/disinformation.
View the recordings of prior LWVSCC Civil Discourse events here.
We need your help to make our events a success!
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- Interested in participating in the LWVBA Study on Regional Government Equity?
- Contact us here.
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City Meeting Agenda
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City Council Meeting, February 4 meeting agenda here
Contact: cityclerk@cupertino.gov Contact Phone: 408.777.3223
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Cupertino City Updates
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Updated City Council status here
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Cupertino News & Events here.
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2025 Cupertino State of the City Address, Wednesday, Feb. 26, 6:30pm at Quinlan Community Center. Join us for the 2025 State of the City, featuring a special address by Mayor Liang Chao. The event will occur on Wednesday, February 26, at the Quinlan Community Center. The reception will begin at 6:30 p.m., followed by the Mayor's address at 7 p.m. This event is free and open to the public.
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Safety Info: In light of recent wildfires in Southern California, the Santa Clara County Fire Department (County Fire) is offering valuable resources to help residents prepare for wildfire season. Please review the Wildfire Safety Information from County Fire in its entirety.
| ________________________________________ | Sunnyvale City Events Calendar - and More... here
Sunnyvale City Governance
- City Council Welcomes In-person Public Participation
- To FIND INFORMATION ABOUT COUNCIL & COMMISSION UPCOMING MEETINGS:
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Sunnyvale City Council Meeting Agenda
The agenda for the Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025 Council meeting is available for:
- Special Meeting: Closed Session - 5 p.m.
- Special Meeting: Study Session - 6 p.m.
- Regular Meeting - 7 p.m.
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To join in person and comment:
- Council Chambers, City Hall, 456 W. Olive Ave., Sunnyvale, CA 94086
To join online and comment:
City Council Meeting Agenda
The agenda for the Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025 Council meeting is available for:
- Special Meeting: Study Issues/Budget Proposals Workshop - 8:30 a.m.
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To join in person and comment:
- • Council Chambers, City Hall, 456 W. Olive Ave., Sunnyvale, CA 94086
To join online and comment:
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- Go to https://sunnyvaleca.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx, find the date of the meeting, then click on Meeting Details.
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- City of Sunnyvale Top 30 Project Summaries Project Summary List Has Valuable Updates On Priority Projects For Sunnyvale.
Sunnyvale Chamber of Commerce events
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LWV Cupertino-Sunnyvale
Board of Directors
Co-Presidents: Elaine Manley & Tracey Edwards
Secretary: acting: Debbie Timmers
Treasurer: Beth Claywell
Voter Service Director: Pam Anderson
Membership Director: Nina Wong-Dobkin
Online Access Team Director: Marilyn Sherry
Technical Services Director: Bruce Kendall
Online Events Coordinator: Debbie Timmers
Director at Large: Polly Bove
Director at Large: Bill Wilson
Nominations Chair: Marieann Shovlin
| | | ________________________________________ | LWV Cupertino-Sunnyvale Board Meeting Notes - November
- Next Board meeting February 4th, 7pm, join via website link.
- Save the Date for LWVCS Program Planning meeting February 15 - and plan on coming!
- LWVCS Nominating Committee is looking for YOUR support!
- LWVCS Student memberships extended through 2025
February, 2025 Quote:
In 1798, amid debate over the Alien and Sedition Acts, Thomas Jefferson wrote John Taylor:
"A little patience, and we shall see the reign of witches pass over, their spells dissolve, and the people, recovering their true sight, restore their government to its true principles."
| ____________________________________________ | Elected Officials Representing Cupertino & Sunnyvale
For contact information and more detail visit:
| ____________________________________________ | Join the League of Women Voters
Voting membership in the League of Women Voters is open to men and women 16 years of age and beyond.
Annual Membership:
$100 Individual member
$50 for each additional member in the same household:
Free for full-time students at this time
| | | ____________________________________________ | | The Cupertino-Sunnyvale VOTER
Published 10 times a year by the
League of Women Voters of Cupertino-Sunnyvale.
This newsletter is posted on our website:
| | The LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS, a nonpartisan political organization, encourages the informed and active participation of citizens in government, works to increase understanding of major public policy issues, and influences public policy through education and advocacy.
Permission is granted to reprint any part of this newsletter with credit to the League of Women Voters of Cupertino-Sunnyvale | | | ____________________________________________ |
League of Women Voters of Cupertino-Sunnyvale
PO Box 2923
Sunnyvale, CA 94087
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