Local chapter of the League of Women Voters kick starts 2004 election activities
DOWNTOWN — It has less than 150 members, but its nonpartisan message reaches thousands of Santa Monicans every election year.
The local chapter of the League of Women Voters kicked off its election-year activities late last month with a forum for potential political candidates on the November ballot. Later this summer and into the fall, the league will host a series of educational forums and partner with other groups to broadcast election information.
“During an election, voters very commonly will look to the league,” said Barbara Inatsugu, president of the local organization.
A variety of powerful local women spoke at the June 26 candidate workshop, which was held at the Ken Edwards Center downtown. Among the panelists were former Mayor and City Councilwoman Judy Abdo; school board member Emily Bloomfield; Santa Monica College trustee Carole Currey; City Attorney Marsha Moutrie; Betsy Rosenfeld from the Center for Governmental Studies and City Clerk Maria Stewart.
Born out of the suffrage movement 84 years ago, the League of Women Voters is a national, nonprofit group with state and local offices. Not just women belong, though. Its 130,000 members and supporters cross cultural and gender divides.
In Santa Monica, there are about 140 members, and each pays $55 in annual membership dues, with discounts for multiple members from the same household, officials said. Even with small grants from other outside groups, including a $1,000 contribution from City Hall, the local chapter of the league commands an annual budget of just $10,000.
That’s why collaborative partnerships with neighborhood organizations and other nonprofit groups are so important, officials said. Perhaps the most visible partnership the league enjoys is with City Hall’s television station. City TV each year is given between $33,000 and $36,000 to disseminate election-year information, Inatsugu said.
In conjunction with City TV, the league will spend most of September taping and producing interviews with interested candidates, at no cost to the candidates. Four seats will be open on the City Council this November, and three seats on both the local school and college boards, as well as two seats on the Rent Control Board. The field of possible contenders already includes several veteran community activists and civic leaders.
But the league won’t be taking sides, officials said “We are a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization,” said Inatsugu, a former league president at the state level. “We are not allowed, by law, to take positions on candidates. We don’t even take positions that would give the perception of support of a candidate. There’s a strength to having at least one organization who does not take a position, but devotes a tremendous amount of energy to getting the voices of all candidates out.”
League officials pride themselves on a broad base of support in Santa Monica and count among league members numerous civic and community leaders, male and female, from local governing boards and commissions.
“I don’t think one could overstate the importance of the League of Women Voters in Santa Monica elections,” Mayor Richard Bloom said.
“I don’t think one could overstate the importance of the League of Women Voters in Santa Monica elections.” — – MAYOR RICHARD BLOOM
“There’s no question in my mind — coming from one that’s been involved in four elections, both successful and not successful,” Bloom added. “They absolutely play an important role. They are the only neutral organization to provide information to the public.”
In addition to the City TV segments, league officials will be working with local chapters of the Parent Teacher Association to hold forums at various schools, something they’ve done for several elections. The group also will meet with leaders at St. Anne’s Church and hope to stage a bilingual candidate forum. Additionally, Inatsugu plans to partner with various neighborhood groups and other nonprofit organizations — though the league will not join with the local chamber of commerce this year, because the chamber has formed a political action committee and will be endorsing candidates.
Though it strives to remain nonpartisan, the league has been criticized at times by people on the opposite side of whatever issue it takes a stance on. But Inatsugu said those criticisms usually are short-lived and lack merit.
“In terms of the kinds of positions that we take on issues, our positions last over time,” she said. “What we have found is that our stand will remain consistent with our position over time. The environment around us may change. So, sometimes the league has been accused of being on the side of the conservative party or on the side of the liberal party, depending on the environment around us.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on July 6, 2004. Read the original PDF.