December 2024

As December begins, I am more aware of shorter and shorter days, and the coming winter solstice that is nearly upon us.  That leads me to a few thoughts about the power of light.  I remember a late 1970’s song by folk singer/songwriter Charlie Murphy, titled Light is Returning  (here) that traces the cyclical experience of the earth moving  away from and back towards the sun.  About the winter solstice he sings:

Light is returning even though this is the darkest hour
No one can hold back the dawn

Let’s keep it burning let’s keep the flame of the hope alive
Make safe our journey through the storm

 In his song, Murphy uses the image of “earth mother” as the force making our journey safe, but I’d situate the power in our individual and collective commitment to improving our knowledge and capacity for creating a just and equitable world.  This power is muted when we look at the world through lenses that obscure or only show us what we want to see.  Our political  polarization today offers an exhausting display of truth obscured, and questions the possibility of any shared understanding.

Continued here, including  additional poetry and her invitations to make ourselves the light we need in this time and to attend the December 8 all-member program planning meeting.

Also read more inspiring messages by Rosemary at the President's Blog here.

All-Member Program Planning – December 8

(No Unit Meetings in December)

Join other League members for a fun, social, creative afternoon

1:00 - 4:00 pm

Friendship Hall (Lower Level)

First United Methodist Church

621 Tacoma Ave. S.

Tacoma, WA

Potluck Refreshments at 12:30 pm

Bring something to share and your ideas for how our League (at the state or local levels) should act to defend democracy and empower voters in these uncertain times. For questions, contact Rosemary  Powers, rpowers@eou.edu.

What is Program Planning?

Program planning is the first step in setting a membership-approved agenda for the League’s next program year, July 1 through June 30. It consists of discussion among members, generating ideas, and setting priorities for further development. These can be ideas for a new study, revision of an existing study and position, or specific action based on current positions. It’s also an opportunity to meet together for a creative session, learning more about each other and how we each see the League’s role and potential for the year ahead. 
This year, program planning will generate ideas for our local League (this happens every year) and for the state League (this happens biennially. Proposals generated from this meeting go to the state League Board for consideration at the LWVWA convention in June).
Why is it in December?
Many local Leagues do their program planning in January, but our League has traditionally used it as a holiday get-together and calendar year-end celebration as well as work session.
What happens next?
After the suggestions with the most support are developed at the Program Planning meeting, volunteers work on developing the concepts into specific proposals that the membership can vote on at the June Annual Meeting. These proposals are submitted to the Board for review in late March. Those that are approved are put into the Annual Meeting booklet that comes out in early May. At the Annual Meeting, members vote to approve the proposals they want to pursue. Members can even bring up for a vote any proposal that was not approved by the Board. This doesn’t happen often; usually the Board submits all proposals. But when it does, the members can request a vote on a non-approved proposal.

Those that are approved at the Annual Meeting become priorities for League work beginning in July.

Welcome, New Members!

Brenda Barteck & Amiee Jove

Thank You, Generous Donors!

Paula and Donald Eismann
Cynthia Lorch          Christie Perkins          Cynthia Stewart

2024 Civics Education and Voter Registration Project

As we have for the past four years, teams of LWVTPC members presented in high schools about the history and importance of voting in our democracy and offered an opportunity for students to register to vote. This fall, our teams presented for between 45 and 60 minutes in 41 Civics and AP Government classes in nine Pierce County high schools. In most cases. the teams spent the entire day at the school.

Classes ranged in size, but averaged about 23 students, so approximately 950 students were reached. Here are a few of the comments from students about what they learned from our presentations. 

What stood out to me was:

• The amount of unsigned ballots that don’t get counted
• That your presentation included Mexicans, Native Americans, and Asians because it’s something that we’re rarely taught
• Mexican repatriation
• How you have to sign the same way. [on ballot return envelopes]
• The timeline on who could vote
• How many ballots get thrown away because of mis-matched signatures
• The time it took for Native Americans to [get the right to vote
• Voting is very safe now and checked to see if the vote is actually valid
• The fact that our votes as 18 year-olds actually have an effect

If you are interested in presenting to high school students and are willing and able to spend entire days next fall in some of our local high schools, please contact Liz Knox at lizknox74@hotmail.com.

Observer Reports

2024 Election Observer Report

Years ago, Julie Anderson, then our Pierce County Auditor, asked our League to organize an Independent Election Observer Group to work alongside the political parties’ election observers. Since I became the coordinator of that group 18 months ago, we have had about 40 members, about one half being members of our League.

Observers are required to attend an annual training class, and classes are held at least twice per year. With the approach of the November general election, the latest training class brought the number of independent observers to 64. Now about two-thirds of our group are not members of LWVTPC. 

Presidential elections are associated with higher voter participation. The work involved with processing these ballots is huge, and any observer can attest to the care with which it is done in Pierce County.  Compared to the five elections that were held this year, next year will be less intense. But there will still be elections, and we invite our members who have not had this experience to join us.  Contact Ann Williams at willar12000@yahoo.com for information.

Note: Voter turnout in the November 5 election was 76.7%. 

Local Government Observer Reports 

Consider Participating with These Ally Organizations

Puget Sound Advocates for Retirement Action (PSARA)

Consider participating in the new Pierce County PSARA  unit to  advocate regarding Social Security/ Medicare and related social issues.  The group will meet every second Thursday of the month to learn and determine responses.  The next meeting is Thursday, December 12, from 5:00 till 6:30 pm at the Central Co-op, 4502 N Pearl St, Tacoma, WA 98407. Get more information about PSARA here or contact Richard Burton, burtonrichard1962@gmail.com, with questions or to be added to a shared email list.  

Comprehensive Plans are Due

• Pierce County Comprehenesive Plan and Final EIS are here
• The One Tacoma Plan update is here
• City of Lakewood's Comprehensive Plan 2024 is here
• City of Puyallup's Comprehensive Plan is here
• City of Gig Harbor's Comprehensive Plan is here
• City of University Place's Comprehensive Plan is here
•  City of Fife's Comprehensive Plan is here

Unit Meetings - January 2025

HUD requires that CoCs conduct an annual count of people experiencing homelessness who are sheltered in emergency shelter, transitional housing, and Safe Havens on a single night. This data is used for better understanding trends in homelessness and for planning services for unhoused people.

Volunteers are needed for the Pierce County PIT Count. There are two ways to volunteer. One is to participate in the count. The other is to support the count by donating supplies handed out to unhoused people during the count. Get much more comprehensive information about the event and volunteer here.  

Donations offer a starting point for the PIT interviews and can help break the ice when volunteers are out surveying. Donations can be dropped off Monday - Friday, 9 am to 4 pm, through January 27 at 3602 Pacific Ave., Suite #200, Tacoma, WA. Donations needed include coats, hats, space blankets, gloves, socks, and feminine hygiene products, as well as food, such as granola bars, protein bars, fruit snacks and crackers.
Many thanks to those who donate to others in need.

A Set-back for National Climate Policy

By Chuck Jensen 

After some considerable progress in development of clean energy policy and programs, the second Trump  administration is expected to  rescind many of those gains.   Still a climate change "denier", he is expected to again pull the US out of the Paris Accord agreement of 2015.  The main impact of that will be stepping out of a global leadership role in fighting climate change.  The actual impact on national climate policy will be more affected by his appointees to the EPA and the DOE. 

New York Congressman Lee Zeldin is his choice to head the Environmental Protection Agency.  Zeldin has a mixed record on climate issues but will probably work to roll back auto emission deadlines and other aspects of President Biden's Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.  While in the House, he consistently voted against clean water and clean air legislation. 

The Department of Energy will probably be headed by an oil and gas executive, Chris Wright of Colorado.   Another "climate denier", he will attempt to unravel much of which former head Jennifer Granholm so ability orchestrated. 

Globally, COP29 has ended in Azerbaijani -- again, a mixed bag with an uptick in pledged assistance to impacted underdeveloped nations (at $300 billion per year), but far short of the ideal goal of over a trillion dollars. Brazil will host COP30 next fall.