From Laura at lwvny.org Wed Feb 8 14:26:26 2012 From: Laura at lwvny.org (Laura Ladd Bierman) Date: Wed, 8 Feb 2012 15:26:26 -0500 Subject: [LocalLeagueIssuesandAdvocacy] Jan State Voter and State News Message-ID: <019801cce69f$eebe4fe0$cc3aefa0$@org> Hi- As you all know, the January State Voter was emailed to members last week. I have attached a copy of the Voter so that you can print it out and make copies for those members without computers. I have also attached the January State News. This one page newsletter is great to include in your own local newsletter - or take parts of it and copy and paste them into your newsletter. Let me know if you have questions. Laura Laura Ladd Bierman Executive Director League of Women Voters of New York State 62 Grand Street, Albany, NY 12207 518-465-4162 FAX: 518-465-0812 email: Laura at lwvny.org Website: www.lwvny.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: State News jan 2012.doc Type: application/msword Size: 261120 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: State News jan 2012.pdf Type: application/pdf Size: 35436 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: State Voter Jan 2012.pdf Type: application/pdf Size: 120348 bytes Desc: not available URL: From Laura at lwvny.org Mon Feb 27 14:56:21 2012 From: Laura at lwvny.org (Laura Ladd Bierman) Date: Mon, 27 Feb 2012 15:56:21 -0500 Subject: [LocalLeagueIssuesandAdvocacy] FW: Update on Redistricting Efforts Message-ID: <018301ccf592$42931eb0$c7b95c10$@org> The email below was just sent out to all members by email. The link to the message is: http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs078/1102704766323/archive/1109396081959 .html. Please print and distribute to those members without emails and/or announce at local League meetings. Feel free to contact Sally Robinson at robintwins at gmail.com or call the state League office if you have questions. Thanks Laura Laura Ladd Bierman Executive Director League of Women Voters of New York State 62 Grand Street, Albany, NY 12207 518-465-4162 FAX: 518-465-0812 email: Laura at lwvny.org Website: www.lwvny.org From: League of Women Voters of NYS [mailto:laura at lwvny.org] Sent: Monday, February 27, 2012 3:35 PM To: laura at lwvny.org Subject: Update on Redistricting Efforts Having trouble viewing this email? Click here League of Women Voters of NYS Update on Redistricting Sally Robinson, LWVNYS VP Issues and Advocacy As many of you may be aware, we are nearing the end of our most recent campaign for a better redistricting process for New York and I wanted to provide an update on what is happening in Albany and clarify the League's position. Many of you held public forums highlighting the need for reform using the materials we provided in the fall of 2010. This followed years of the League advocating for a constitutional amendment setting forth permanent and fair guidelines and establishing an independent commission to draw lines free of partisan gerrymandering. We have long felt that the pen that draws legislative lines needs to be removed from the hands of the legislators, but understandably it has been an uphill fight given the inherently political nature of the redistricting process. The first set of state legislative lines for the 2012 election was released by the Legislature in January and a revised set is expected soon. At the time of their release, we criticized those lines as partisan and gerrymandered, as did our good government colleagues and many others, and we called for both improving the lines and implementinglasting structural reform to a fundamentally flawed process. Congressional lines have yet to be released, even though a federal judge has moved the Congressional primary forward to June 26. It has never been more obvious that the redistricting process in New York is broken and the courts are already preparing to step in as they have in past decades of Congressional redistricting. We believe that the Governor should use his veto threat, and the power it gives him to negotiate with the Legislature, to not only improve the 2012 lines but also to achieve certain and permanent structural reform to the redistricting process. Permanent structural reform can only be achieved through a constitutional amendment but momentum for this has typically diminished greatly in the years following each redistricting battle. Now may be a unique opportunity for reform in light of the unprecedented campaign that has been waged by many different groups, including those allied with us in ReShapeNY, to hold legislators to their pledge to enact redistricting reform and Governor Cuomo's insistence that the status quo could not stand. Certainty can be added to the process by coupling first passage of a constitutional amendment with an accompanying statute, ensuring reform even if the amendment does not achieve the second legislative passage necessary to go on the ballot.The League will continue to urge the Governor and the Legislature to reach an agreement that provides for both a constitutional amendment and a statute, creating structural reform that permanently takes the redistricting pen away from the legislature and provides the voter with the power to choose their elective representatives. If you have any questions about redistricting contact Sally at robintwins at gmail.com or call the state League office at 518-465-4162. League of Women Voters of NYS 62 Grand St, Albany, NY 12207 Phone: 518-465-4162 Email: lwvny at lwvny.org Website: www.lwvny.org Forward email This email was sent to laura at lwvny.org by laura at lwvny.org | Update Profile/Email Address | Instant removal with SafeUnsubscribe T | Privacy Policy . League of Women Voters of NYS | 62 Grand Street | Albany | NY | 12207 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: