| The CAMC Seminar |
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| Council for America My Country |
"To Empower to Practise Good Citizenship"
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| 965 Clover Court, Blue Bell, PA 19422 |
T: (610) 277-0149 |
F: (610) 277-3992 |
E:camc@icasinc.org |
Jerry Boucher
Im Ja P. Choi
Steve S. Choi
Mary Etezady
Don Kim
Il Hwan Kim
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Director for Systems Management
Director for Community Relations
Deputy Director for Voter Registration
Advisor
Secretary
Director for Outreach
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Sang Joo Kim
Tae Shik Kwon
Jae Jin Ma
Choon Ki Yoo
Ae Sook Yoon
Il Joong Yoon |
Chairman
Director for Community Relations
Treasurer
Deputy Director for Outreach
Director for Ageing & Elder Care
Director for Voter Registration |
Remarks to CAMC
Mary Etezady, President,
League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania
January 17, 2000
I am honored to be invited to serve as an Advisory to Council for America My Country and I congratulate you on your dedication and desire to become active citizens by learning about how to become strong participants in democracy in America. While I hope my experience as president of the League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania will be useful to you as you move forward, I know that learning about your experiences and interests will be most stimulating and educational for me and my organization. I'm looking forward to a mutually-rewarding and enduring relationship between the League of Women Voters and Council for America My Country.
Let me begin by telling you a little about myself and the other members of the League. I am a sociologist with a special interest in nonprofit organizations and service providing systems within communities. My varied career has included work with schools, community mental health programs, and juvenile justice systems. I have also been a coordinator and producer of a community arts program which introduced adults and children to professional artists in dance, theatre and music. Prior to joining the League, my major contact with politics, elected officials and government offices focused on seeking grant support for my programs. My primary "civic" responsibility as a "good citizen" was voting.
And, my background is not different from other League members -- few are "professional" government people or "politicians." They are doctors, lawyers, teachers, clerks, retirees and students, men and women who are concerned about their families and communities, but also interested in figuring out and impacting the workings of their community, state, and national government .... people like these are the heart and soul of the League; they are our grassroots. It is people like these that are the foundation of a healthy democracy.
To look at the history and roots of the League, is to look at the evolution of an organization that is very similar to the one you are creating here. The League of Women Voters was established in 1920 in the aftermath of the women's suffrage movement in the United States. As an underrepresented minority with limited rights, women struggled for more than half a century to win the right to vote. When the winning vote was finally cast to pass the 19th amendment, the leaders of the suffrage movement were determined that newly-franchised women would -- and should-- become responsible voters who would "make a difference" in politics.
Women would vote, not because party bosses told them who to vote for, not because their husbands or fathers told them who to support, but because they had taken the time to understand the issues and to learn where candidates stood on these issues. These new women voters would decide how to vote based on which candidate had the best proposals and who would best serve the needs of the community.
It was critical to our founders that women voters would be independent of political party business as usual.... they would be nonpartisan AND politically involved. That seems like a contradiction, doesn't it? How can an organization -- or a person -- be politically involved and still be nonpartisan?
Let me clarify, first, that although the League, as an organization, is absolutely nonpartisan, our members as individuals can be fully engaged in partisan ways, and some are. Some League members work in political campaigns; some run for office, and some are even elected representatives --we count some members of the General Assembly and even some executive officers among our membership. League membership does not prohibit political activity. However, those members who are spokespersons for the League, such as myself as president, are prohibited from any activities during their tenure that would cause questioning of the League's nonpartisan status.
As a nonpartisan organization, the League of Women Voters focuses on politics from an issues standpoint... we do not support or oppose any political candidate or party, but we DO take positions and advocate on some issues. Our positions on issues are developed after members have studied materials prepared by research committees and which cover various points of view; the members or grassroots then discuss and deliberate among themselves in local chapter meetings to arrive at consensus positions which become the platform from which the League can make policy statements. If consensus cannot be reached, the League will not speak on an issue or lend its name to coalitions that address that issue.
The value of this approach makes the League, and similar nonpartisan groups, able to speak across the legislative aisle, and even serve as a catalyst in moving discussions on highly partisan and controversial issues. For example, in Pennsylvania campaign reform has never been seen as something that would warrant legislative consideration. Even as other states were experimenting with public financing, contribution limits, and other reforms to improve their political campaign processes, campaign reform legislation in Pennsylvania never received serious consideration. In 1997, the League undertook an effort to include all the major stakeholders -- elected officials, parties, campaign handlers, PACs, special interest groups and civic and good government types -- in discussions to address issues that seemed to be undermining citizen participation both at the voting booth and in the pool of candidates wanting to run for office.
In March '98, those discussions resulted in a conference including over 200 representatives of stakeholder groups who forthrightly discussed campaign finance reform, media coverage, negative advertising, judicial elections, among other subjects. The goal was to try to find ways to reinvigorate the electorate in Pennsylvania. Did we succeed?
One political observer noted that we were successful even if all we did was to convene that well-attended conference: Marveling at the names at the conference, he noted, "These are people who ordinarily wouldn't even sit down to have a hamburger with each other. You should be proud of the accomplishment." But we did a little more than bringing a diverse and inclusive group together (some would argue a very little more): that Campaign Integrity Conference produced the Campaign Integrity Candidates' Pledge, a code of conduct by which all candidates running for state offices pledged to run honest, fair, issues-oriented campaigns. The pledge may not have seriously changed the way campaigns ran, but it did make candidates aware that the public was watching as ordinary citizens were told to call campaign headquarters and hold candidates accountable for any activities they felt were contrary to the code of conduct.
Another measure of success for the League is that the discussion is not over. Today, a joint House committee is working with an advisory group, of which the League is a part, to explore adoption of a candidate pledge and other "reforms" suggested in the Campaign Integrity initiative. The process is slow, but at least it IS proceeding.
Earlier I noted that the League is an example of the evolution of a nonpartisan organization. Today we are still evolving. In our early history, coming to positions and advocating them strongly was a major focus. Today, as more and more special interest groups come forward to advocate with greater expertise on various sides of today's complex issues, we find ourselves drawn more to guiding citizens through the maze of information available, helping them form their own opinions, and providing them the resources to form coalitions to work for their own community needs. For example, we are partnering with other organizations to bring rural communities together to address their particular needs to give their children access to quality public schools. The goal is to help these communities form working groups with representatives from business, civic organizations, churches, and parents to work together to understand and address their children's and school's needs and develop strategies, including lobbying their representatives, to achieve their goals.
One area where we have not changed our commitment is in the importance of encouraging and guiding citizens to become involved in the political process. We are committed to facilitating voter registration, connecting voters to candidates via broadcast forums, our Voters Guide, and, in Election 2000 via the Internet in an exciting venture called DNet -- you can sample that online at http://www.dnet.org. You'll see candidates' most recent positions as they "debate" online. Our national organization already has presidential candidates online; by Fall, we hope to have all Pennsylvania legislative candidates participating so that voters will have the opportunity to see who and what they're voting for.
We know that one of the challenges League will face in the coming years is the growing diversity of the electorate. A growing number of naturalized citizens form Asian countries, from Russia, and the Middle East suggests that a broader selection of election service information should be made available in those languages. The League in California has been addressing this need for the Japanese community. I know that you are interested in materials for the Korean community. Perhaps this is one area we can begin even now to work together if you have translators interested in this project.
In closing, I want to thank you again for inviting me here, and to encourage you to continue working to empower yourselves and your community by becoming a strong nonpartisan political organization. The League office in Harrisburg has many resources that may be of use to you. Please call them any time at 1-800-JOIN LWV, or visit our website at http://www.pa.lwv.org/pa. Since we have local League chapters in communities throughout this area, I would encourage you to be in touch with them. I'm sure they would also be glad to hear from you. Finally, I would like to suggest that you become familiar with the new Liberty Museum in Philadelphia. They have much material addressing issues of diversity and the American experience. They highlight "heroes" of liberty from many background and countries, and I know they would be very interested in connecting with the Korean community.
Thank you again for having me here. I look forward to hearing more about your plans and working with you in the future.
ABSTRACT:
The League of Women Voters is a nonpartisan political organization, established in 1920 in the aftermath of the women's suffrage movement in America. The League's goal and mission then, as it is now, aims to educate citizens about important policy issues and the political process so that they may better fulfill the responsibilities of citizenship, from voting to advocating in the interests of their communities. As a corollary to these efforts, the League works to ensure an open government process that does not dissuade citizens from participating.
Nonpartisan, grassroots organizations such as the League have the advantage of being inclusive in their membership. The interchange of many voices and views empowers the League to serve as a catalyst in moving policy discussions forward -- an important function in today's increasingly polarized political environment.
CAMC is a not-for-profit,
nonpartisan, civic and educational organisation. It promotes ways to enhance
good citizenship and its practice. It is solely supported by voluntary
contributions. CAMC
strives to provide public service pro bono publico in the public interest.
All staff members are non-paid volunteers.
This page last updated 7/5/2001 jdb
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