Santa Barbara Women's Political Committee Member Newsletter - February 2019

From the President's Desk Getting to Work

The Santa Barbara Women’s Political Committee kicked off 2019 with a visible presence at the Women’s March Santa Barbara, our Annual Membership Meeting and with a Board Retreat.  At the Women’s March, I was proud to represent SBWPC and speak about our feminist values and our determination to continue to persist in the face of relentless efforts to curtail our rights. It was a beautiful and powerful day in our community and an energizing event.  Later in January, we hosted our annual all member meeting. This event is always a great opportunity for members to come together and gear up for the next year. At this meeting, we were honored to have newly elected Santa Maria City Councilmember, Gloria Soto, address our membership.  Gloria spoke to the importance of women in elected office and was a clear example to our members of the power of women policymakers. Her inspiring words are a reminder of the importance of our work and what a difference it makes to have women in elected office. We know the City of Santa Maria is in good hands and we look forward to following her leadership. KCSB did a story about our Annual Meeting. If you didn’t catch it on the radio, you can hear it by clicking here .  Fund for a Feminist Future - We need your support! The Santa Barbara Women’s Political Committee will begin the process of looking at races coming up in 2019 - and in 2020. The work we do to recruit, train and support feminist candidates is ongoing. In order to continue doing this important work, we need your support. We’ve established the Fund for a Feminist Future, which is a dedicated fund to promote progressive, feminist political involvement. Its goal is to increase the number of feminist women in elected and appointed office. These funds are exclusively used in two areas: campaign training and campaign contributions. Consider making a contribution to this important fund today. Learn more on our website or by clicking here . Lastly, the Board of the SBWPC is made up of dedicated, hard-working feminists. Over the weekend, we came together for a Board Retreat where we were able to being outlining our priorities for 2019. We are energized and ready to go! Adelante/Onward, Luz Reyes-Martín President

Welcoming Members

2019 Executive Committee and Past President Swysen

Councilmember Gloria Soto, City of Santa Maria

SBWPC Board Members at our 2019 Retreat

Join Us! 18th Annual SBWPC Presidents' Circle Luncheon Join us on Friday, March 15 for the 18th Annual Presidents' Circle Luncheon. We are honored to be joined by Betty Yee, California State Controller. Register today!

REGISTER HERE

Equal Rights Amendment Update

The Equal Rights Amendment continues to be short just one more state's ratification for the required 38. Virginia has passed the amendment in their Senate, but their House is proving more difficult. Virginia's legislature only meets two months of the year and this year's session ends before the end of February. There are current plans to pass a Rules Change to allow a simple majority of delegates to bring the ERA to the floor and to oppose a resolution requiring a 2/3 supermajority. Voters in Virginia are being encouraged to call their elected representatives. Other states which may be close to ratifying this amendment are Arizona, North Carolina, and Utah. SBWPC's ERA Ad Hoc Committee continues to follow the news in these states through news reports and organizations such as EqualMeansEqual.org and VAratifyERA.org.

Stop the "National Emergency" Rally Monday, February 18 at Noon

Join us on Monday, February 18 at Noon in De la Guerra Plaza to rally against the "National Emergency." Check out the Facebook Event for updates.

Water Wise Women Lead! Cachuma Operation and Maintenance Board The mission of the Cachuma Operation and Maintenance Board (COMB) is to provide a reliable source of water to member agencies in an efficient and cost effective manner for the betterment of our community. The COMB Governing Board is composed of one publicly elected representative from each of the COMB member agencies. They are responsible for setting policy on matters such as fiscal management and financial planning. The current COMB Board is made up of a majority women and is staffed by a woman General Manager!

Pictured are, from left to right: Cori Hayman, alternate rep. to COMB of the Montecito Water District; Polly Holcombe, rep. of the Carpinteria Valley Water District; Janet Gingras, General Manager of COMB; Lauren Hanson, rep. of the Goleta Water District; and Kristen Sneddon, rep. of the City of Santa Barbara.

Upcoming SBWPC Events

SBWPC Friendraiser Spring into Action: Be the Change You Want to See Carpinteria February 25, 5:30 - 7 pm Carpinteria Woman's Club Join the Santa Barbara Women’s Political Committee for Happy Hour at the Carpinteria Woman’s Club. Let’s discuss how you can help shape the future of Carpinteria/Summerland.

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