Educating Voters. Defending Democracy.

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

The Voter

March 2025

Have you cast your vote in the March 4 Measure A Special Election? If not, click here to access the information you need about this important election.

Up Front from our President

Join Us for an Engaging Discussion on Campaign Finance & the Federal Judiciary

The League of Women Voters is founded on informed advocacy—our positions are shaped by thorough study, discussion, and consensus. I’m excited to tell you about a unique opportunity to engage in two critical studies that will guide our future advocacy.

At our upcoming General Meeting on March 18, Kathee Tyson will update us on our study of local campaign finance and accountability. We will also dive into the LWVUS study on the Federal Judiciary, exploring key issues such as judicial ethics, transparency, and accountability.

How does judicial conduct impact public trust? What standards should guide judicial decision-making? What reforms should the League endorse? These are just some of the important questions we will tackle.

LWV positions, once established, shape our advocacy for years to come. Be part of this vital discussion and help us work toward a more fair, transparent, and accountable government—locally and nationally.

See below for more information.

We look forward to your voice at the table!

Tina Doede, president

Two League Studies—One Important Meeting

March General Meeting

Tuesday, March 18

7–8:30 p.m., via Zoom

Join us to discuss our current Local Government Transparency and Accountability Study and the LWVUS Federal Judiciary Study.

Kathee Tyson, study lead and past president of LWVNCSMC, will report on our local study concerning local campaign finance and accountability. Hear what the study committee has been working on this year and what it hopes to accomplish going forward.

Next, Kathee will present the LWVUS Federal Judiciary Study. The scope of the study is to develop a position on the Federal Judiciary by addressing concerns and clarifying judicial accountability, transparency, independence, and ethics. The study addresses the Supreme Court and other Article III courts. Learn about ethics for federal judges, the Code of Conduct, impartiality concerns, “judge shopping”, possible reforms for SCOTUS, stare decisis and binding precedent, shadow dockets, and recusal. Our League’s responsibility is to answer consensus questions on the study and submit a response to the National League by mid-April.

Expect an interesting evening of lively discussion!

Kathee Tyson, LWVNCSMC past president

Eileen Easterbrook. program committee chair

Bay Area League Day

Regional Government:

How Does It Affect You?

Saturday, March 8, 10 a.m.–1 p.m.

via Zoom

League Day 2025, LWVBA’s annual issue education forum, will focus on the inner workings of regional governance.

Have you ever wondered how regional government works and how it affects your daily life? How do decisions made by MTC-ABAG affect a local jurisdiction?

Click here for detailed information. We will begin with a keynote address by District 13 Senator Josh Becker and end with an update on LWV Bay Area’s regional government and land use study, currently underway.

Have a suggestion or comment? Contact us at lwvbayarea@gmail.com

One Person, One Vote

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.

—Margaret Mead, anthropologist

At our February meeting, we reviewed a draft presentation that we can offer to local audiences on why we believe that the Electoral College is bad for our democracy and why we must change it.

At our March meeting we will continue to share what we’ve learned about the Electoral College and develop our plans for informing voters and changing minds about the effects of this provision of our Constitution.

All League members are invited to join:

What: One Person One Vote committee

Where: online via Zoom

When: Monday, March 10 at 5 p.m., via Zoom

Are you ready to join in the audacious effort to eliminate the Electoral College? We welcome members to work on all phases of this project. For more information, please email margaret.lukens@lwvncsmc.org.

Margaret Lukens, board member

LWVNCSMC Monthly Board Meeting

Wednesday, March 12, 4–6 p.m., via Zoom

All members are welcome. Click here to join.

Housing Caucus

Monday, March 17, 5–6 p.m.

Regular Meeting, via Zoom

Many who work in our County cannot afford to live here. Join the Housing Caucus, committed to engaging and educating the Local League about our region’s affordability crisis. We meet monthly, on the third Monday at 5 p.m. The February meeting is cancelled due to the President’s Day holiday. Our next meeting will be on Monday, March 17. Please register at the link below.

New to our Caucus? Please watch our April 11, 2023 General Meeting, Affordable Housing in San Mateo County: Behind the Numbers, for some challenges and roadblocks our cities face, as they plan to reach the State's target of 48,000 new housing units--nearly 20,000 of which should be affordable--by 2031.

Elana Lieberman, co-chair

March is Women’s History Month

On Monday, March 24, The American Association of University Women,

Half Moon Bay Branch will be presenting a program on the majesty and

mayhem of the first National Suffrage Parade, held in 1913 in Washington, DC.

The presentation will focus on five incredible women: Hazel MacKaye, Mary

Church Terrell, Rose Schneiderman, Harriett Stanton Blatch, and Mary

Louise Bottineau Baldwin, who were involved in this historic event.

The social gathering begins at 6 p.m. and the program will begin at 7 p.m.

Location: Half Moon Bay Library, 620 Correas Street, Half Moon Bay. For additional information, please contact Cynthia Chin-Lee at cynthiachinlee@gmail.com.

Eileen Easterbrook, program planning

How Are Our Cities Planning for Climate Change?

April General Meeting

Tuesday, April 8, 12–1:30 p.m.

via Zoom

Join us at our April General Meeting to hear Sustainability Officers from Burlingame, San Mateo, and Half Moon Bay share their accomplishments and plans, and what they see as the opportunities and challenges to meet the Climate Crisis across our region. Public welcome with prior registration.

Eileen Easterbrook, program planning

May Book Discussion: Focus on the Electoral College

How does the Electoral College work? Where did it come from? And, most important, when everyone is talking about the cost of eggs and constitutional crises, do I really need to care?

Our May book discussion meeting will focus on the Electoral College, its effects on our government and our lives, and why we believe it needs to change. For this big topic, we’ve chosen not one, but two books! You can read both or either (or neither – even if you haven’t read a page, we think you’ll still enjoy the discussion.)

Our books are:

“Distorting Democracy: The Forgotten History of the Electoral College—and Why It Matters Today” by Carolyn Renée Dupont, professor of American History at Eastern Kentucky University.

“Let the People Pick the President: The Case for Abolishing the Electoral College” by Jesse Wegman, member of the New York Times editorial board.

We’ll meet in person at our League office.

When: Saturday, May 10, 10–11:30 a.m.

Where: 444 Peninsula Avenue, Suite 1, San Mateo (enter the narrow driveway on Peninsula Avenue to find the building in the rear, next to the construction fencing)

All are welcome. Please RSVP to margaret.lukens@lwvncsmc.org

Margaret Lukens, board member

Save the Date!

LWVNCSMC Annual Meeting

Saturday, June 7

9:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m.

Save the Date for this year's Annual Meeting at the Burlingame Community Center, with Jackie Speier as guest speaker. You won’t want to miss it!

Eileen Easterbrook, program planning

Thank You Voter Service Volunteers!!

February was a busy month.

Voter Service conducted three Pros & Cons sessions for the March 4 Special Election:

Kathy Wheeler presented on Zoom February 6. Over 220 people registered and over 120 attendees attended, and added 95 new names to our email/prospective membership list!
Margie Gater and Kathy presented during “Brews & Views” at Half Moon Bay Library to 30-40 people. They asked excellent questions and engaged in thoughtful conversation.
Margie presented at the Thrive Alliance/San Mateo County Elections Office’s Voter Education Outreach and Advisory Commission. Margie is our liaison to this group. An Assistant Attorney for San Mateo County also attended and helped to answer questions.

Our League also provided voter education while tabling at four farmers' markets. Special thanks to Susie Raye who organized our presence at the College of San Mateo and Burlingame markets and worked several shifts. Many thanks to: Valerie Cardozo, Cynthia Robbins-Roth, Edith Jones, Ann Kuchins, Patricia Paquette, Margaret Lukens, and Linda Jansen for staffing the tables. Thanks also to two of our Youth Council members, Ellora Mehta and Brooke Phimsoutham. And, thanks to Rita Armstrong, Beth Bhatnagar, Debbie Soon, and Arlene Kace who volunteered, but weren’t deployed due to weather or conflicts canceling our market attendance.

In between all the election action, we fulfilled our contract with Shelter Creek HOA to administer its HOA board election. Thank you to Theresa Boland, Diana Jacobson, Edith Jones, Cynthia Robbins-Roth, Susie Raye, Ann Kuchins and Margaret Lukens for your help, which added $2,500 to our bottom line.

Margie Gater

Kathy Wheeler

LWVNCSMC voter service co-chairs

Black History celebration continues!

The United States has officially celebrated February as Black History Month since 1970, but we often focus on the achievements of African-American men. Let's take time this month to recognize the contributions of African-American women as well.

You may already know about Rosa Parks, Bessie Coleman, Dr. Mae Jemison, Maya Angelou, Toni Morrison, Katherine Dunham, Harriet Jacobs, The following women also made significant contributions to modern life, but are not as well-recognized:

Alice Parker (1895–1920) Weary of cold winters, Parker designed a natural gas furnace more efficient than fireplaces. It reduced the risk of house fires and eliminated the need to burn wood, and was a major step toward modern central heating.

Bessie Blount (1914–2009) While working as physical therapist, Blount invented devices to help amputees returning from World War II eat on their own. Still, she struggled to find support and had to go on a TV show to demonstrate her inventions.

Katherine Johnson (1918–2020) A trailblazing mathematician, Johnson performed calculations that propelled NASA’s spaceflight program. She mapped the flight of Alan Shepard, the first American in space. Her contributions, and those of her Black female colleagues, were celebrated in the blockbuster movie Hidden Figures. She received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2015.

Marie Van Brittan Brown (1922–1999) Concerned about crime in 1960s New York City, Brown, a nurse, designed a front-door security system, complete with camera, speakers and alarm. Her invention paved the way for today’s security systems.

Marian Croak (1955–) With over 200 patents to her name, Croak invented voice and data systems that paved the way for video conferencing. Her technologies allowed donations by text after Hurricane Katrina and enabled text-based voting for the TV show American Idol.

Lisa Gelobter (1971–) A computer scientist, Gelobter contributed to internet technologies for online streaming and gaming. Her work is used by billions and includes the animation tools for the GIFs that liven up our texts and chats.

Black women have contributed much to new technologies despite sexism and racism. Learn more here about Famous and Inspirational Black Women in History.

Edith Jones, advocacy

Welcome to our New Members

Cathy Bonnar

Jean Cohn

Diane Savage

Mark Your Calendar for these March events

Stay Informed

Stay informed with updates and alerts from your state and national Leagues. Use these links to register:

For California League updates, sent monthly: LWVC
For national League updates, sent twice a month: LWVUS (scroll to the bottom of the page to sign up for e-mail updates).

Keep an eye on our website, lwvncsmc.org, for the latest on upcoming events.

Join the League

We love having new members join us and help with the important work we are doing. Click here to join online or print out a mail-in form. Scholarships are available for new members. Please contact us at membership@lwvncsmc.org.