November 2013 Meeting

Nancy Hall urged members to participate in the Observor Corps – even by watching video of municipal meetings from the comfort of their homes. Grace Sinden's photo of herself and other League lobbyists with Governor William Cahill at the signing of a clean air bill assured members that joining the Lobby Corps is both satisfying and fun. Chrystal Schivell, joined by guests from the Campaign to End the New Jim Crow, urged members to join the Action Committee to restore voting rights to probationers and parolees. After the presentations, the Action Committee, including its partners, sat down and began planning.

Consensus on LWVNJ Human Trafficking Study

Fourteen members participated in consensus - either in person or via email. All but one question was approved. The paragraph on gender inequity was considered beyond the scope of the study. Click to read the LWV-Princeton Area Consensus Response Form.

Voter Service Report

Thanks to the participation of many members and in collaboration with Princeton Community TV and the Princeton Packet, Voter Service held 12 registration drives, produced three forums that were videotaped and rebroadcast, and published nine Voters' Guides. Fifty-six voters took home registration forms, two more registered with League, 73 needed Vote by Mail applications, and many others asked questions about the special Senate election and thanked the League for its work. All three forums were well-attended, and the three videos have received over 2,000 plays. As a result of these events, 18 people expressed interest in joining the League. The Membership team followed up, and four have joined officially. Read more details in remainder full Voter Service Report for 2013.

Membership

A glitch in the process by which current members receive information about new members was identified. The membership team and treasurer will work to resolve this issue and report back at the next monthly meeting.

Events

Princeton Community Housing, which LWV-Princeton Area supports, has proposed co-sponsoring a program to inform Princeton residents about options available for affordable housing. It was agreed that such an event would be appropriate, but it was suggested that HUD, which oversees housing in the Witherspoon area, and Princeton Affordable Housing, which operates Washington Oaks and Griggs Farm, be included along with the Human Services Commission. Sandy Smith will follow up.

Nancy Hall proposed that LWV-Princeton Area, possibly in collaboration with other area Leagues, sponsor a presentation about Represent.Us, an organization sponsoring Congressional campaign funding reform through a new bill called the American Anti-Corruption Act. One of the organization's short-term goals is to get at least 1,000 signatures supporting the introduction of the Anti-Corruption Act from each congressional district in the country, and then increase the numbers so that there is bottom-up support for changing congressional campaign funding. Since the mission of Represent.Us appears to mirror that of LWVUS, it was agreed that Nancy follow up.

Monthly Meeting December 10

Just for fun, members are invited to come as a famous woman in history. Although there's no need to dress up, why not? Please be ready to give clues so that we can guess your identity. The meeting will take place in the second-floor conference room in the Princeton Public Library. Please arrive promptly at 10:30 AM since we must be out by 12:30 PM.