Features Writer

This fall will mark the 40th anniversary of the Santa Maria Valley chapter of the League of Women Voters, a grassroots national organization dedicated to using education and advocacy to influence public policy.

The local organization hopes the celebration of that milestone, along with an upcoming campaign geared toward making healthcare more accessible to the community, will make the local chapter more visible.

Nationally, the League of Women Voters is focused on two goals: education and advocacy. State and local chapters - including the Santa Maria Valley chapter - offer grassroots support on both.

According to Jennifer Barber, president of the Santa Maria Valley chapter, the local organization is more focused on education, including conducting studies, educating voters, hosting forums and speaking to groups.

Barber emphasized that the group is nonpartisan, meaning its members come from all political parties. To that end, the group avoids looking at issues in partisan ways and does not endorse candidates for elected positions. Instead they focus on the issues.

Barber, in fact, encourages anyone with a special interest to consider bringing it to the league, as it may be something they are interested in supporting or pursuing as part of a study, which are held on a regular basis at all levels.

Advertisement

For the next year, for example, the Santa Maria Valley chapter will be studying health care in the community. And to that end, the league recently received a $2,000 grant from the Fund for Santa Barbara.

After investigating, the league's health committee found that there are adequate family and women's healthcare services available in the Santa Maria area, but most citizens are unaware of those services and how to get them.

So the group approached the Fund for Santa Barbara for a grant that would allow them to do something to connect the people in the community with the services available to them.

With the grant money, the league plans to create bilingual brochures, launch a media campaign and conduct workshops with representatives from the healthcare services. The league is now finalizing the brochures, and hopes to begin distributing them this fall.

While the Santa Maria Valley chapter begins its in-depth study on healthcare in this community, the national organization will begin a three-year study on immigration.

“The league does not move quickly,” said Barber. “We study an issue very carefully.”

The studies help the league develop positions on certain issues, and local and state organizations can adopt national positions following those larger studies. Positions are also decided through voting, which happens at the local, state and national levels, depending upon the issue's reach.

Barber just returned from this summer's national convention in Minneapolis, where she was one of 1,000 delegates representing local chapters. There, the national league's positions on several issues were decided.

She said the convention offered a great model of democracy, where groups presented issues they wanted addressed, then the entire body of delegates voted on whether to address the issue. When an issue was brought to the floor, its pros and cons were considered, time was given for comments, and then the league voted on their stance on the issue.

The issues eventually voted on - related to topics such as the environment, the Internet, a citizen's right to vote and the death penalty - were all very pertinent, said Barber.

She added that the strict democratic process allowed the group to take personalities out of the equation and look at each issue on its own.

“If this was how we could function ... at looking seriously at the issues in front of us now,” Barber said. “That would be really phenomenal.”

Barber feels some misconceptions exist regarding the local league. To set it straight, she emphasized: It is open to men as well as women and it is open to nearly all ages - not just seniors.

Probably the greatest misconception is the idea that the league is a women's-only group. While the organization's name is a bit of a misnomer, its long history has probably prompted it to stick.

The league was founded in 1920 by Carrie Chapman Catt during the convention of the National American Woman Suffrage Association, held six months before the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified to give women the right to vote. The goal of the league was to help women carry out their responsibilities as voters.

Today, the league remains a grassroots organization that works at the national, state and local levels. There are leagues in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and Hong Kong, in addition to the hundreds of local leagues nationwide.

Age also brings misconceptions, with many thinking the group caters to senior citizens. In fact, the league is open to anyone over 18 years of age. Those under 18 can also participate, but only as non-voting associate members. Barber said the Santa Maria Valley chapter is always recruiting new members and would love to include more younger members - which she said currently can be defined as under 45 years old.

The local league holds three general membership meetings each year. Additionally, the league's board, which currently counts eight members and has room for up to 12, meets once a month.

Annual membership dues are $55 per person or $80 for a family membership. Of that amount, the local league receives about $5, said Barber, and the rest goes to the national and state levels to pay for education and advocacy initiatives started there.

The next general membership meeting is scheduled to take place in September, and Barber hopes a speaker from the healthcare industry will join the group.

The organization is also preparing to host candidate and issues forums in the fall, in advance of the November election.

Finally, the group has begun organizing a fund-raiser to help commemorate its 40th anniversary, and is planning a celebration, to be open to the public, for Nov. 18.

For information on dates, times and topics of upcoming meetings and events, call the league at 739-1909, e-mail lwvsmc79@juno.com or visit www.geocities.com/valleyvoter /valleyvoter.html.

MISSION STATEMENT:

The League of Women Voters, a nonpartisan political organization, encourages informed and active participation in government and influences public policy through education and advocacy.

THE FUND:

The Fund for Santa Barbara gives grants to organizations in Santa Barbara who are working for social change.

The Fund doles out $150,000 to $170,000 per year in grants. Their motto, according to the foundation's Diana Nunez, is “change, not charity,” and they seek to support organizations who go beyond providing services by asking the hard questions and challenging the system.

For more information, visit www.fundforsantabarbara.org.

Emily Welly can be reached at 739-2220 or ewelly@santamaria times.com.