Ann Jaynes, Editor

President

Lois Huff, 985-9702

                                loishuff@lwv-cc.org

Secretary

Margaret DeVille, 992-8450,

                                   ellived@msn.com

Treasurer

Velma Luna-Budd, 881-8022 Ext 4237,

            813-4040, saintsvl2@stx.rr.com

Vice President, Program

Patricia Mattocks, 991-9480, 855-4215

          pmattocks@marchofdimes.com

Vice President, Community Relations

Elia Gutierrez, 852-6779

        gutierrezelia4149@sbcglobal.net

Co-Vice Presidents, Member Services

Linda Allen, 949-7869

                           LALLEN1@stx.rr.com

Jo Ann Carpenter, 852-5476

                    meemowjccw@yahoo.com

Directors

Ann Jaynes, The VOTER, 852-7942                            Jaynesann@aol.com

Elizabeth Stewart, 994-1212,

                     stewartep@sbcglobal.net

Marjorie Walraven, 992-8031

                       wilraven26@yahoo.com

Off-Board Chair

Pat Parr, Voter Service, 855-3664

                          PATGPARR@aol.com

Nominating Committee, 2005-6

Pauline Clarke, Chair

Jane Bachman

Carol Scott

Elizabeth Stewart

JoAnn Carpenter

Webmaster, www.lwv-cc.org

Linda Allen, 949-7869

                          webmaster@lwv-cc.org

League of Women Voters
317 Peoples Street, Suite 404

P. O. Box 8276, Corpus Christi, TX 78468-8276

361-993-7851, lwvcc@lwv-cc.org

www.lwv-cc.org

Luncheon Meeting

Thursday, February 17, Seaman’s Center, 1501 Mesquite

Lunch Served 11:30 a.m., $10, RSVP 853-9642, 993-7851

Speakers (12 noon): LWV-CC Lobby Day Participants

Oscar Caballero, HALO-Flight, March of Dimes Volunteer

We’re changing the calendar! Our February meeting will include two presentations:

·         League of Women Voters Lobby Day

·         March of Dimes Texas Advocacy Initiatives

Our own LWV-CC President, Lois Huff, and other Lobby Day attending members will report on LWV-TX Lobby Day. We’ll hear first hand about their experiences.   This is a wonderful opportunity to learn how the LWV-TX priorities were received by our State Senators and Representatives.

Oscar Caballero will present an overview of March of Dimes Texas Advocacy Initiatives. Oscar has been an active volunteer with the March of Dimes since the fall of 2000. He currently serves on the Region 11 Program Services Committee and grant review subcommittee. Mr. Caballero is the Marketing Coordinator for HALO-Flight where he is responsible for the GUARDIAN Subscription Plan and all public relations activities.

All these presenters have taken the challenge to putting words into action. They each have transformed concern into commitment. If YOU are serious about issues, if YOU want to initiate change, this is a meeting that YOU need to attend.

Let me end with a quote: “Paul Revere earned his living as a silversmith. But what do we remember him for? His volunteer work. All activism is volunteering in that it's done above and beyond earning a living and deals with what people really care passionately about. Remember, no one gets paid to rebel. All revolutions start with volunteers.” - Susan J. Ellis.

Hope to see you on the 17th,

Pat E. Mattocks

Vice President, Program

Home: 991-9480   Work: 855-4215

Email: pmattocks@marchofdimes.com

President’s Message

Dear Readers,

LWV-CC (League of Women Voters Corpus Christi) is respected in our community for our Voters Guide and our Candidates Forum. With a local election approaching in less than two months, there is much to be accomplished. One part of the local election process that YOU can help with is increasing INFORMED VOTER turnout.

In the last three General Elections (99, 02 & 03) the average voter turnout was less than 15% (www.cctexas.com). There are an estimated 165,000 voters (Caller.com, 2.1.05) eligible to vote on April 2, 2005. In November of 2004, 51% of those registered voted. Let's all try to increase the voter turnout for this important local election to beat the ‘04 figures. Let’s try to get at least 86,000 INFORMED and motivated VOTERS (52%) to the polling place in April.

Please commit right now to being an informed voter and to help educate or inform others about the issues. "The League of Women Voters is a nonpartisan, community-based political organization that encourages informed and active participation of citizens in government and influences public policy through education and advocacy." The League Mission Statement provides guidance that we can all follow.

See YOU at the polls on April 2.

Lois Huff

(PS--If you have not renewed your membership, please do so TODAY. And, if you want to become more involved in LWV-CC, contact me at 774-1500. Your active participation is critical.)

Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP)

Texas has again forfeited federal money it could have used to provide health insurance for low-income children. The State gave up $104.6 million, or slightly more than one-third of the money, that the federal government assigned to Texas for its Children’s Health Insurance Program in fiscal 2002 – money that is awarded as matching funds or relinquished if state spending falls short, reported the Dallas Morning News. Texas to date has now forfeited nearly $772 million in federal CHIP money. A spokesman for Governor Rick Perry said that because the state got a late start in launching its CHIP program in the late 1990s, Texas has been perpetually running behind in using its federal funds. (Dallas Morning News, January 20, 2005).

From: "Physician's News Digest, Texas Edition,” Friday, January 21, 2005, submitted by Peggy Duran

Thanks to LWVTX Speaker Elaine Talarski

One of the reasons we send part of our dues to LWV-Texas is the number of resources made available to us from the state organization. An example of this is seen in our January speaker, Elaine Talarski. One of the handouts she brought to the meeting addresses “Development of Program and Position Statements.” Please hold on to your copy because you will need it a little later in the year. Step 1 is the most important for members – “suggest and discuss possible issue ideas.” Your ideas are studied by the Board, and recommended items are brought to the annual meeting to be included in the League’s program for the next year. Suppose you have an outstanding idea and the Board chooses not to recommend your idea. You can still bring it up at the annual meeting for a vote of the membership—just remember, you must support your idea by being willing to work for it. This is what makes the League so great!

A personal note about our Program Chair. In her other life Pat is Director of Program Services for Region 11 of the March of Dimes, a national voluntary health agency whose mission is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects and infant mortality. The League of Women Voters advocates basic health care for all and welcomes input from other organizations that support this goal.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Rebuy

Each ton of recycled paper saves 3.3 cubic yards

of landfill space; 7,000 gallons of water; 17 trees;

and 4100 kilowatt-hours of electricity.

To learn more visit www.texasrecyclesday.org.

YWCA Women in Careers Awards

Congratulations to League member Anita Eisenhauer, who was named to receive the YWCA’s Y Women in Careers Award at a banquet March 3! Eight area businesswomen were named recipients of the award for distinguishing themselves in business, industry, education and other professional areas.

FOR THE LATEST INFORMATION, LOG ONTO www.lwv-cc.org

Welcome New and Renewing Members

Jean Carson

Katharine Guerra

Patricia Eisenhauer

Carol and Mark Scott

Amanda and Michael Stukenberg

Kay Wilson

THANK YOU

TO OUR CONTRIBUTORS

Pat Eisenhauer

Nelda Martinez

Amanda Stukenberg

April 2 City Election

Mayor/City Council Candidates

Mayor:

Raymond E. Chapman

Henry Garrett

Rolando P. Garza

Ray Madrigal

Tony W. Vintinner

At Large:

Abel Alonzo

George Jay Balli

Betty Black

Leo Botello

Brent Chesney

Melody Cooper

Evelyn Coppola

Jerry Garcia

John B. Martinez

Gloria Perez

District 1:

Sherry Dunlap

Bill Kelly

Jason Luby, Jr.

District 2:

Javier D. Colmenero

Edward John Marez

District 3:

Emile S. Bolden

Jesse Noyola

District 4:

Joe Farah

Cliff Harris

Mark Scott

District 5:

Robert C. Cagle

Rex A. Kinnison

Milan G. Marinkovich

The League and the Voters

When you say to the public you're a member of the League of Women Voters, they immediately identify the League as the group who puts out the Voters Guides and produces the Forum for the candidates. I'm told repeatedly how much they appreciate this service to help educate them about the candidates.

This is the way it happens:

The process of doing these projects is pretty much the same. A group of interested League members gets together to identify the hot issues of the race(s) and comes up with some questions for the candidates that are thought-provoking and of interest to the public. All the candidates with opposition are sent these questions and asked to respond in a timely manner for the Voters Guide.

However, at the Forum, the candidates have to respond "off the cuff" to the questions since they have no idea what the questions will be. We are fortunate to have access to the City Council Chambers to broadcast the Forum live and to show it in replays on Channel 20. Members of the League and Leadership Corpus Christi Alumni help put the Forum together. Help from the membership is necessary to do this.

The Voters Guides are actually more time-consuming to print. After the mailouts of the questions are sent, Pauline Clarke, who mans our phone, receives many calls from the candidates asking questions and needing someone to walk them through the process. If they don't respond by their due date, Pauline is calling them. No one wants to receive a call from Pauline and be chastised! After the responses and pictures are taken to Ad Sack we wait to do the proofing and the general layout.. Once they are printed we depend on the kindness of members to see to the distribution of the Guides throughout the city. I hope this Voter Education 101 is of some help to you in understanding all the work that is involved. Pat Parr, Voter Service

Legislative Newsletter

Don’t forget to sign up for the Legislative Newsletter which began in January. Contact the office (lwvtexas@lwvtexas.org) and give them your e-mail address—that is all you have to do! It will be electronic again, and members receive it free. [If you do not have e-mail, call the local League office, 993-7851, and we will mail you a copy. Ed.]

YThe League of Women Voters Turns 85:

A Lifetime of Making Democracy Work

The League of Women Voters (LWVUS) celebrates its 85^th birthday on February 14, 2005. Founded by Carrie Chapman Catt in 1920, the League of Women Voters, a nonpartisan political organization, has worked for 85 years to improve our systems of government and impact public policies through citizen education and advocacy. “The League strives to make democracy work for all citizens. We have spent 85 years…encouraging citizens to take part in their government and their communities,” said Kay J. Maxwell, LWVUS President. “We will continue to help Americans understand the fundamental importance of citizen involvement in our democracy,” Maxwell declared.

LWVUS Press Release February 3, 2005