Ann Jaynes, Editor
The VOTER
April 2005
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LWVCC Officers
President
Lois Huff 985-9702 Secretary Margaret DeVille 992-8450 Treasurer Velma Luna-Budd 881-8022 Ext 4237, or 949-0511 Vice President, Program Patricia Mattocks 991-9480H or 855-4215W Vice President, Community Relations Elia Gutierrez 852-6779 Vice President, Member Services Linda Allen 949-7869 Directors
Off-Board Chair Nominating Committee Pauline Clarke, Chair
Jane Bachman Carol Scott Elizabeth Stewart Ann Jaynes Newsletter Editor
The Voter
Webmaster
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Visit our Web Site
http://www.lwv-cc.org
Help America VOTE ACT:
secure, accurate, recountable and accessible During the 2004 LWVUS Convention, it was determined that in order to ensure integrity and voter confidence in elections it is critical that the implementation of voting systems and procedures are “secure, accurate, recountable, and accessible.” We are honored to have as our April guest speaker Nueces County Judge Terry Shamsie. Judge Shamsie will discuss the process and status of implementing the voting system requirements of the Help America VOTE ACT (HAVA) in Nueces County. Terry Shamsie was elected in a countywide election in November of 2002 to serve as presiding member of Commissioners Court for a four-year term. He is the only lawyer on Commissioners Court. Judge Shamsie graduated from St. Ambrose College (Iowa) with an accounting degree, and continued his education at South Texas College of Law in Houston, Texas, where he was on the Law Review and received various American Jurisprudence awards for scholastic achievement. He has been licensed to practice in all the courts of the State of Texas since 1988, and is licensed to practice in the United State District Court, Southern District of Texas. His volunteer activities include the Mentor Program, Teen Court, National Hispanic Institute, Fighting to Rid Gangs in America, Compassionate Friends, Volunteer Lawyer Program/Women's Shelter, Dawson Elementary PTA, and the Citizen's Juvenile Advisory Board. Please join us Thursday, April 21, to learn more about HAVA in Nueces County. Pat E. MattocksVice President, Program President’s Message Dear Members: Eighty-five of every one hundred registered voters in our sparkling city by the sea could not spare the time to vote at the recent election. Several questions are raised by this action: are local residents generally pleased with the direction taken by the past (and for the most part, returning) council; was there disinformation or a lack of credible information resulting in potential voters being unable to make a decision; are we becoming lazy? If you keep up with our website, www.lwv-cc.org, you will have read about the $12 million Texas Voter Registration contract awarded to IBM and Hart InterCivic. Part of HAVA, the Help America Vote Act of 2002, requires that accurate voter registration take place.Regardless of how many voters are registered, if they do not make informed decisions in a timely manner, if they do not make the effort to vote, what good will this new system provide? From a financial perspective, I understand that the cost of the special election regarding smoking will cost $100,000. Did the people who signed the petition to put this on the ballot vote in either this most recent 2005 election or in the last local election? Maybe it is time to change our City Charter, and only allow citizens who VOTE to sign petitions. Fiscal responsibility and an acknowledgement that we have scarce valuable resources tell us that either we want to vote on everything and save the trouble of having elected representatives, or that we want to trust those that we elect to truly represent us. Many incumbents were re-elected, and yet we are planning on spending $100,000 to put one of their decisions before the electorate. So what can we do? Get involved! Help others get involved! See you soon, Lois Lois Huff, PresidentLeague of Women Voters-CC |
Proposed Program 2005-6
In the March VOTER, the Program Committee asked for your input for the 2005-6 Program. No suggestions were received, so the program will be presented to the annual meeting without change. Here is the proposed program:The first three items are suggested as refinements of and replacements for Items 1 through 3 voted on at the 2004 annual meeting. We recommend that last year’s Item 4 be dropped. Item 5 was completed in 2004 and action taken at the state and national levels. The League will continue to study this subject as the need arises.
If you have a subject that you would like the League to consider adding to the 2005-6 program and you are willing to chair a committee studying your subject, with a view to taking your study to consensus and action, you are encouraged to bring it up from the floor at the annual meeting.
On the Web
Some new items have been placed on our web page, www.lwv-cc.org:Senate Committee Substitute for House Bill 2
Television news April 5 featured Lt. Governor David Dewhurst reporting a bill entitled Texas Children First. The bill, introduced by Senator Florence Shapiro, was the work of a committee composed of Shapiro, Vice-Chair Royce West, Senate Finance Committee Chair Steve Ogden and Vice-Chair Judith Zaffirini. View this bill at TexasChildrenFirst.com.
LWV-Texas Legislative Newsletter
The Legislative Newsletter is now on the web at www.lwvtexas.org/LNL.shtml, or log on to our web site www.lwv-cc.org and look for the link. To subscribe, email lwvtexas@lwvtexas.org with the subject heading “subscribe-LNL.” Individual subscriptions are free to members. Email subscriptions are $25 for nonmembers; regular mail subscriptions for nonmembers are $50.
Local League in Action
I would like to offer a big thanks to the membership for all their help with getting the Voters Guides distributed throughout the community. After our March meeting everyone took some Guides with them and placed them in a variety of locations. All 7000 were gone in just a few minutes. I was lucky to keep one back for me! They were in great demand. Jan Richardson helped with the layout and editing to help produce a qualityVoters Guide. Thanks to Linda Allen for getting it on our web site, along with all the election information for the public.
The candidates' forum was also successful. Pauline Clarke said she got some very positive feedback from the candidates and those attending the forum at City Hall. We offered each candidate a different question this time, which they appreciated. Many questions were given to me from the membership, which was a big help. Thanks also go to Lois Huff, for being a great moderator, and to Ann Jaynes, Pauline Clarke, and Velma Luna-Budd for their assistance at the forum.
Thanks again to all for your help. It couldn't be done without you, and the community is better informed as a result.
Pat Parr, Voter Service
Membership
Membership renewals were recently sent in the mail,
and many of you have already responded. We currently have over 100
members and are growing.
The membership year is from June 1st to May 31st. If you join or renew after the first of the year, your membership is paid through May 31st of the following year.
Linda Allen, Membership ChairCalendar
| April 2005 |
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| 21 |
Luncheon Meeting, Seaman’s Center, 11:30 a.m., $10 Speaker: Terry Shamsie, Nueces County Judge |
| 22 |
Earth Day |
| 23 |
Earth Day-Bay Day, Cole Park, 10:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. |
| May 2005 |
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| 19 |
60th Annual Meeting, Seaman’s Center, 11:30 a.m., $10 RSVP 853-9642 or 993-7851 by Monday, May 16th |
| Coming Events: June: David Seiler, Director of Operations, RTA July: Sr. Officer Jessie Cervantez, CC Police Department August: Scott Elliff, Citizens for Educational Excellence |
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| Nominating Committee Report | |||||||||
| The Nominating Committee presents the following nominees for 2005-2006: | |||||||||
| President, 1-year term to expire June 1, 2006*: | Lois Huff | ||||||||
| Secretary, 1-year term to expire June 1, 2006* and **: | Margaret DeVille | ||||||||
| Treasurer, 2-year term to expire June 1, 2007* and **: | Velma Luna-Budd | ||||||||
| Vice President of Program, 2-year term expires June 1, 2006*: | Patricia Mattocks | ||||||||
| Vice President of Community Relations, 2-year term to expire June 1, 2007: |
Open |
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Vice President of Member Services,
2-year term expires June 1, 2006***:
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Linda Allen |
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| Director, term to expire June 1, 2007: | Susan Berndt | ||||||||
| Director, term to expire June 1, 2007: | Emilie Olivares | ||||||||
| Director, term expires June 1, 2006*: | Elizabeth Stewart | ||||||||
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| 2006-7 Nominating Committee | Ann Jaynes, Chair Peggy Duran Open |
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| Respectfully submitted, 2004-2005 Nominating Committee Pauline Clarke, Chair Jane Bachman Ann Jaynes Carol Scott Elizabeth Stewart |
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| The Voter The League of Women Voters of Corpus Christi 317 Peoples Street, Ste. 404 P. O. Box 8276 Corpus Christi, TX 78468 |
Nonprofit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Permit No. 517 Corpus Christi, Texas 78469 |
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| The LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS is a non-partisan,political organization, that 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. |