The League’s Candidate Forums for the November election begin this Wednesday and run through the middle of October. The League is sponsoring forums for Community College Board, City Supervisors and State Senate and Assembly candidates.
We would like for the public to submit questions ahead of the forums to the candidates. Check out the details on the Candidate Forum Page.
The Ballot Simplification Committee has finished its work of drafting text for the November 6, 2012 voter information pamphlet. The complete approved texts of each of these measures are available on the Committee’s website . Also there you will find the legal text of each of the measures and some of the documentation submitted as background. If you don’t have time to read all the documentation now, here’s a quick rundown of what San Franciscans will be voting on:
Measure A: City College Parcel Tax would impose a $79 annual tax for each each of the next eight years on each parcel of real estate in the city. The purpose is to replace funding cuts in federal and state support for community colleges. Like all measures to increase taxes, this one is likely to be a hard sell for many voters, although there is widespread agreement that San Francisco Community College is suffering from overcrowding and a limited budget that causes hardship for many students.
Measure B: Clean and Safe Neighborhood Parks Bond would authorize the City to issue general obligation bonds up to $195 million. (These are the ones repaid by property taxes.) The park department maintains more than 200 parks, playgrounds and other recreational facilities, many of which need repairs and improvements. The City generally issues bonds as other older bonds are retired, so the tax burden on individuals should not change much if these new bonds are authorized.
Measure C: Housing Trust Fund created by this measure would create and improve affordable housing for low-income and moderate-income families in the City. Mayor Lee sponsored this measure because reductions in federal and state funding have limited the ability of the City to continue some of its affordable housing programs.
Measure D: Consolidating Odd-Year Municipal Elections, like the Housing Trust Fund, is a Charter Amendment, but this one is simple in comparison to Measure C. The consolidation of the election of City officers into the same election cycle would mean that every four years the City would not have to hold an election. This would save the City money and might inspire higher voter turnout for these odd-year elections.
Measure E: Gross Receipts Tax, also sponsored by Mayor Lee, would change the basis on which the City collects taxes from businesses. At the present time business taxes are based on the amount of payroll expense for a business. Under this measure, businesses would be taxed according to the gross receipts for each year. The formula for calculating the tax is complicated because it depends in part on the industry in which a business operates, however, the tax is planned to be revenue-neutral so it does not raise taxes on businesses. Small businesses, those with gross receipts under one million dollars annually, would be exempt from the gross receipts tax. There would also be an increase on the business registration fee, but this is a small item on most business budgets.
Measure F: Water and Environment Plan is an initiative that is already causing many arguments. This measure, which was put on the ballot by initiative, would require the city to prepare a two-phase plan to identify new water supply and storage facilities as well as additional renewable energy sources so that San Francisco’s Hetch Hetchy Water System could be replaced. The measure would allocate $8 million to pay for the plan and to create a five-member task force to develop it. The final plan would be completed by 2015 and the measure would require the Board of Supervisors to consider placing on the ballot a Charter Amendment to approve the plan.
According to an article in the San Francisco Examiner on August 9, 2012, the proponents of Measure F are dissatisfied with the present wording of the ballot measure prepared by the Ballot Simplification Committee. They plan to go to court to protest the wording. Watch the League website www.sfvotes.org for further developments.
Proposition G: Policy Opposing Corporate Personhood is one of those measures that come up only in San Francisco. Although a Declaration of Policy has no legal effect on government policy, it expresses the feelings of citizens. This measure would make it City policy that corporations should not have the same constitutional rights that human beings have and should be subject to political spending limits.
August is usually a slow season in elections, but this one is generating heat early. Anyone who cares about the direction our various levels of government are taking had better register and vote on November 6. Encourage all your friends and neighbors to vote too. We are making decisions that will affect all of us for decades to come.
As League fights Florida voter suppression efforts, California set to enfranchise thousands
Voting rights are being challenged and suppressed across our country and the right for citizens to vote freely is under assault. From Pennsylvania to Texas, Florida to Indiana, eligible voters are being stricken from the voter rolls and barriers are being thrown up, keeping Americans out of the voting booth.
As a core mission, the League of Women Voters has and will continue to be vigilant in our support of voting rights for all eligible citizens. That’s why in Florida, LWV State Director Elizabeth Pines has been successfully fighting Florida Secretary of State Ken Detzner’s irresponsible and dangerous efforts to prevent thousands of eligible voters from participating in the democratic process.
As the country gets ready to vote this November and the effort to suppress the vote continues across the country, we must ask: Where does California stand and how do we enfranchise as many eligible voters as possible?
California jumps into 21st century
Fortunately, California has finally gotten behind the successful trend of online voter registration that leverages technology in a cost-saving and secure manner. In 2011, State Senator Leland Yee authored SB 397, which allowed California to move forward with implementing online voter registration, saying “In the 21st century, especially here in California, it is long overdue to have online voter registration. SB 397 will not only help protect the integrity of the vote, but will allow many more individuals the opportunity to register and participate in our democracy.” SB 397 was subsequently passed by the legislature and signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown.
With eleven states already implementing online voter registration, statistics show that allowing eligible citizens to register using secure online voting registration increases the participation of traditionally marginalized and disenfranchised communities in the democratic process – including eligible lower-income individuals, youth and communities of color.
Online registration has also been shown to increase the security of the vote, adding safeguards to the democratic process not previously available. For example, voter registration forms are often handwritten and must be keyed in by county workers, leaving room for clerical human errors and increasing administrative costs. With online voter registration in place, eligible voters will input their own information and systems will be in place to electronically cross-reference the information, including signatures, again reducing costs and increasing security.
Online voter registration is a cost-saving measure that California needs more than ever. When Arizona implemented online voter registration, Mariposa County, the largest in Arizona, saved over $1 million due to reduced staff costs. That’s in part why counties around the state support the move to allow secure online voting registration. As San Mateo County Chief Elections Officer Mark Church points out, online voter registration will “increase the accuracy of the registration information and reduce election costs….everyone wins.”
The League of Women Voters of California agrees. While other states invent tales of voter fraud in order to justify forcing people off voter rolls and make voting more cumbersome, California has come up with a real means of verifying votes while increasing participation and saving taxpayer dollars. Unlike the regressive voter suppression measures in Florida that look like something from a bygone and damaging era, states like California can and should be doing everything they can to increase representation by removing barriers to the vote, not creating them. This innovative approach assures that we will have a 21st Century democracy rather than a 19th Century one.
What next?
With the law now in place, the California Secretary of State is responsible for implementing online voter registration by working with the state’s 58 counties to synchronize systems that will allow counties to communicate efficiently and securely with the DMV to verify signatures and register eligible voters.
While timing is still unclear, supporters of online voter registration hope it will be ready for the upcoming November 2012 elections but recognize the imperative to roll online voting registration out effectively and responsibly.
In the meantime, it is imperative that all of us work to promote voter representation through education and advocacy. And soon, it will be as easy as an email, facebook post or tweet to bring the power of the vote directly to your friends, family, colleagues and neighbors.
The League will continue to monitor online voter registration and other policies that will enfranchise eligible voters, further secure the vote, decrease public costs and increase representation and democratic participation, ensuring that our government shall continue to be of, by, and for the people.
There were seven ballot measures for the Ballot Simplification Committee to prepare for the November 6 ballot. Some were fairly non-controversial and the drafts for the Voter’s Guide went rather quickly. One of these is the measure to consolidate odd-year municipal elections. Currently the busy elections—the ones every registered voter notices—are the ones in which federal and state officials are elected. These occur during even-numbered years, 2012, 2014, and so forth. Municipal officials including the Mayor, Sheriff, District Attorney, City Attorney and Treasurer are elected during odd-numbered years, 2013, 2015 etc. The next election for City Attorney and Treasurer will be held in 2013 and the next one for Mayor, Sheriff and District Attorney will be in 2015. Each of these officials is elected for the four-year term.
A Charter Amendment which will be brought to voters in the City this fall proposes that in the election of 2013, the City Attorney and Treasurer each be elected for two-year terms. Then in 2015, all of the City officials—Mayor, Sheriff, District Attorney, City Attorney, and Treasurer will be elected. There would be no election scheduled for 2017 and every fourth year after that. The Committee tweaked some language in the ballot measure to bring it down to an eighth-grade reading level, the standard goal for ballot measures. There were no appeals from proponents or opponents of the measure, so the draft turned into the final approved digest.
A second Charter Amendment deals with providing affordable housing for low-income and moderate-income households. Currently the city supports a number of affordable housing programs. It also requires private residential developers to pay a fee to support low-income housing or to make some of their housing units affordable. Recent federal cutbacks and reductions in State funding have decreased the funding available for the City’s affordable housing programs. This proposal would amend the Charter to establish a Housing Trust Fund to pay for these programs. The City would contribute $20 million to the Fund in 2013 and in the following ten years, this amount would increase by $2.8 million each year.
This Fund would be used to build, purchase, and improve affordable housing; institute a down payment loan program for moderate-income homebuyers; and initiate a program to help eligible households to avoid foreclosure or eviction. The proposition would also change the affordable housing requirements for private residential developments. The proposition would also authorize the development of up to 30,000 low-income rental units, although this provision would not take effect until the development was approved by voters in a separate ballot measure.
These two measures were the only two Charter Amendments brought to the Committee. The other ballot measures to be considered were ordinances dealing with taxes and the water system.
On July 30, 2012 a small committee met at City Hall to start preparing the Voter Information Pamphlet for the City elections scheduled for November 6. The Ballot Simplification Committee is charged with preparing a fair and impartial summary of each local ballot measure that will appear on the ballot in this election. These summaries must be completed no later than 85 days before the election. The BSC works in public meeting rooms at City Hall and members of the public are invited to attend these meetings and to ask questions during the question period.
The first measure considered by the Committee today was the “Clean and Safe Neighborhood Parks” Bond issue. (None of the titles used by the BSC are official. The Director of the Department of Elections assigns a letter and title to each measure after the summaries are complete.) This Bond Measure proposes that the City be authorized to borrow up to $195 million by issuing general obligation bonds to fund repairs and improvements to City parks and public open spaces.
Committee discussion of this measure centered around clarifying which specific parks would receive these funds and how the bonds would be paid for—through an increase in property taxes allowing 50 percent of the increase to be passed on to tenants. Representatives of the Parks and Recreation Department and the Port Authority were present to explain details of the plan to the Committee and to suggest some changes in wording.
After a discussion lasting about an hour and a half, the Committee approved a digest of the measure. Requests for reconsideration of the way the digest is worded can be sent to the Committee and will be considered at Thursday’s meeting.
The second ballot measure considered today was a Declaration of Policy with the working title of “Policy Opposing Corporate Personhood”. This proposal, submitted by three members of the Board of Supervisors, would make it City policy that corporations should not have the same constitutional rights as human beings and should be subject to political spending limits. This measure, if passed and implemented, would urge the Representatives and Senators in Congress to propose a constitutional amendment to reverse the Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission decision.
There were no speakers either pro or con who spoke to this measure. Any requests for reconsideration of the wording of the digest must be sent to the Committee within 24 hours.
Committee meetings will continue for the rest of this week and for at least the beginning of next week. Agendas for the meetings are posted at www.sfelections.org/bsc . All meetings start at 9:00 AM. Materials relating to the meetings are also available at that website.
Saturday, August 4, 2012, 3:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
LWVSF Summer Membership Tea
Location: Please call the office at 415-989-8683
Join the San Francisco League for networking and socialization.
As the primary season hopscotches across the country causing
a flutter of excitement in first one state and then another, Californians may
feel completely left out. Our primary election doesn’t come until June 5, so it
is quite likely that the presidential candidates for both major parties will be
determined by that time. Still, there are other races coming up on our ballot
and also two local ballot measures and two state measures.
Candidates for office
Just to keep things complicated, there will be two formats
for the primary ballot for candidates. Following the requirements of Proposition
14, passed in 2010, voters from all parties will receive a ballot listing all
candidates from all parties for most positions EXCEPT the candidates for
president and for the political party central committees. In other words,
voters who registered as Republicans will receive a ballot with all the
Republican candidates for president listed and all candidates for the
Republican Central Committee. Their ballots will also list all of the
candidates from all parties for the offices of U.S. Senator, U.S.
Representative in Congress, and for the State Senate and Assembly as well as
the Superior Court judges. Democrats and members of other parties will receive
comparable ballots with their candidates listed. Is that confusing enough?
Ballot measures—San Francisco
The Ballot Simplification Committee worked this week to
prepare the ballot measures for the June voters’ pamphlet. The final titles are
not set yet, but the wording of both measures has been approved.
One proposition is an initiative that deals with Garbage Collection and Disposal. At the
present time, one company holds contracts to collect trash, recyclables, and
compostables from residential and commercial sites in the City. Under the
proposed initiative, the City would competitively award five separate
agreements: one for residential collection, one for commercial collection, one
for the recovery and processing of recyclables and compostables, one for
transportation to disposal sites, and one for the actual disposal. Each
agreement would be for a ten-year term and would be citywide. No single company
could provide both recycling recovery services and garbage disposal services. The
Board of Supervisors would be required to approve the maximum rates that
residential and commercial customers would pay. The Supervisors would also be
empowered to make amendments to the ordinance without further voter approval to
advance the purposes of the measure.
The second ballot measure is a Declaration of Policy concerning
Coit Tower.Coit Tower was built in 1933. It is located
in Pioneer Park at the top of Telegraph Hill. The murals inside the tower were
painted as part of a WPA depression-era project and offer a vivid picture of
the City during the Great Depression. (If you haven’t visited
Coit Tower and seen the murals, you should set a date to do that. They are one
of the glories of San Francisco.) Coit Tower and Pioneer Park are managed by
the City’s Recreation and Parks Department. The City’s Arts Commission is
responsible for maintaining the murals. A private company runs concession
operations at Coit Tower including a food and beverage stand, gifts store, and
the right to operate the elevator and special events. The City allocates the
money from this concession to the Parks and Recreation Department. Recently the
Department has allocated $250,000 to the Arts Commission as well as setting
aside one percent of gross revenues from the tower for mural preservation and
restoration.
The proposition would make it City policy to strictly limit
commercial activities and private events at Coit Tower and to use funds the
City gets from the Coit Tower concession for preserving the Tower murals,
protecting and maintaining the building and beautifying Pioneer Park around the
Tower.
Further information about the city ballot measures will appear on the local League of Women Voters website sfvotes.org as it becomes available.
Ballot Measures—California
There are two state ballot measures that will appear on the June 5 ballot. You can find a brief description of the state measures on
the Secretary of State’s website . Further information about the ballot measures will soon be available at the California League of Women Voters site at cavotes. org
For the second year in a row, renowned writer and activist Maya Angelou celebrated Black History Month by hosting a special aired on public radio stations across the nation. The San Francisco Bay Area’s KQED aired the program, which embraced African American achievements from civil rights to popular culture, the evening of February 29, 2012 – a fitting end to Black History Month, which was blessed with an extra day in 2012.
Highlights of the program included interviews with prominent figures that have impacted history and continue to fight for justice for all people. Guests included: Poet Nikky Finney, recipient of the 2011 National Book Award for poetry, who shared excerpts from her evocative poem about Rosa Parks, “Red Velvet;” artist Mary J. Blige, who spoke of the years she has spent preparing to portray legendary jazz singer Nina Simone on film; Ambassador Andrew Jackson Young, who spoke of how throughout his life and career he has linked the black struggle for equal rights to “the movement of all human beings to be free all over the world;” and Dr. Julianne Malveaux, an economist and educator, who recalled protesting over the absence of Black Studies in San Francisco public schools.
Dr. Angelou’s final guest, Congressman John Lewis of Georgia, discussed his time as a leader in the civil rights movement and as chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. His tale of participating in voting rights protests was particularly moving: on March 7, 1965, Lewis led some 6oo protestors that marched from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama in protest of the laws which denied suffrage to black citizens. The protestors were met with State Troopers, who, when the protestors asked to stop and pray before being turned back, beat them with nightsticks and fired upon them with tear gas. What Lewis points out is that the media coverage of what promptly became known as “Bloody Sunday” resulted in protests at every college in the nation, and created the momentum necessary to pressure President Johnson to pass the Voting Rights Act of 1965, restoring the right to vote to millions of previously disenfranchised African Americans. As Dr. Angelou rightly pointed out, this is a story that is so important that it must be told over and over again.
This February, the League of Women Voters of San Francisco salutes the achievements of African Americans, and echoes Dr. Angelou’s final sentiments of the program: that in honor of those who have come before, that all of us, regardless of race, continue the journey for equality for everyone, beyond voting rights to include fair pay, job opportunities, and kindness, and that a life dedicated to this purpose is the noblest of paths.
League members, new and old, gathered with friends and supporters at our annual Gala on Thursday evening, February 9, 2012, to celebrate five distinguished “Women Who Could Be President.” The Mistress of Ceremonies (and former Women Who Could Be President Honoree) news anchor Cheryl Jennings kicked off the evening by introducing Karen Clopton, immediate past President of the League, and the woman responsible for bringing us the Gala for the past six years. “This award champions women working in all aspects of civic life who have the will, drive, and vision to create better communities,” Ms. Clopton stated. Hala Hijazi, the Event Chair and a 2011 recipient of the Rising Star Award, took the podium to declare, “Our honorees this year are stellar communicators and leaders.” Current League President, Tricia McGovern, also stated words of welcome and congratulations, before Ms. Jennings commenced handing out the awards.
This year’s five recipients of the Women Who Could Be President honor were united in their accomplishments and their graciousness. First to be honored was Rachelle Chong, the Regional Vice President of Government Affairs for California for Comcast, and formerly a Commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission and Commissioner of the California Public Utilities Commission. Ms. Chong applauded her daughters, both present, to demonstrate that due to the accomplishments of today’s women, the next generation will face a world where they perceive no limits to their potential. Mary Huss, an editor with over 25 years of experience and currently publisher of the San Francisco Business Times, accepted the second award with great humility. The third honoree of the evening, María Antonieta Mejía, is the Managing editor of El Mensajero newspaper, the largest Spanish-language weekly in the San Francisco Bay Area. Ms. Mejia got a laugh when she shared that “Women Who Could Be President” is an award that is tricky to explain to your friends, and drew the audience’s attention to the fact that woman indeed already serve as the top leaders in other countries, particularly in South America. Pam Moore, an Emmy-award winning journalist and anchor for KRON4 News, accepted her award with humor and poise, emphasizing how as she has aged she has increasingly focused on everything in her life for which she is grateful. The final honoree, Janet Reilly, is President of the Board of Directors of the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District. Ms. Reilly stated that this award is meaningful for her because the League bestowed it, and called the audience’s attention to the fact that although women do not run for elected office with the frequency of men, they do win at a proportional rate – so it is essential to encourage women to run!
After each recipient had been honored, Karen Clopton took the opportunity to acknowledge those past honorees who had returned in support of the League and the significance of the Gala. Among these were, in addition to our Mistress of Ceremonies, Cheryl Jennings, Elmy Bermejo, in from Washington D.C., where she serves in the Department of Labor as the Director of Intergovernmental Affairs, as well as Linda Crayton, Julie Castro Abrams, Lynn Bunim, and Barbara Rodgers – who was among the very first recipients of the award in 1992! President Tricia McGovern reflected that one of the things that make the League so special is that League leaders, including current and past honorees as well as members, defy stereotypes. “Powerful women have a stigma of being cold,” she said. “But it is just not true with this group of women. They are so warm-hearted.” The evening closed as Sarah Meakin, a talented contralto, took the podium to sing, as tradition dictated, Happy Birthday to the League, and all happily indulged in a champagne toast and delicious birthday cake. The 2012 Gala was a great celebration of women, their accomplishments, and the continued role that the League plays in reinforcing their potential. The League thanks all of the members and friends who joined us for a truly inspiring evening!
Are you captivated by the tenacity of the Occupyers but can’t quite see yourself at home at their General Assembly, wiggling your fingers? Ease into activism, the League way.
The League and Occupy share many core interests which can be described simply as government by the people for the people (all of us). The League’s national, state, and local positions support activism and education in areas high on Occupy’s priority list: campaign finance reform, the value of each person’s political voice, quality education, social services for the needy among us, a tax structure that provides for a civilized society, and more.
So be part of the Occupy movement within an organization you already know. For the San Francisco League, 2012 is shaping up to be an activist year and it needs you. The annual planning meeting held on January 16 focused on brainstorming areas where members could take action. A second planning meeting on February 11 will further identify topics of highest priority against which we can throw our thinking and our selves. The floor is still open to ideas; your participation will make a difference.
Come to the February 11 meeting (contact the office for more information and the location) and join other members resolved to do something constructive and productive now. As for those wild, crazy, and often brave Occupyers, get to know them better by monitoring their media, starting at www.sfoccupy.org.
