Saying Good-bye

I missed the last card vote where they passed  the cowboy hats to collect the votes.  I've never been much of a tweeter but I couldn't stop checking the #lwv2014 twitter feed throughout the convention.  Twitter was the only thing that made leaving early easier.  Our session started at 8:30 and I had to leave at 9:45 to catch my plane.

I didn't make it to the 7:30am session, again.  Note to self, don't expect you'll make the 7:30 session if you stay up until 2:00am!  For the first plenary session on Saturday we in the IL delegation didn't realize that we needed to pick up our own sign and find a place on the floor for our delegation to sit.  After that we assisned someone to get there early enough!  Yesterday was no exception, we had pretty good seats.  I noticed that the buzz of energy had dampened a bit probably due to a combination of exhaustion and staying up late the night before.

I had just gotten my coffee when I saw Elisabeth talking to a few delegates.  After telling her that it was a fantastic convention I asked to have my picture taken with her.  Unfortunately the woman who took the picture has no sense of what it means to have a picture in focus before taking it!  Here is the pic, such as it is.

I then picked up my coffee and said that I had to get up there to the session.  She said, "I do too!"  Oh yeah it doesn't start until she opens the session.  I know that I must sound like a star struck groupie in all of my reflections but I've been captivated by the whole convention; the people, the process, the issues, and so much more.

Up on the floor Eleanor Revelle and I snuck up on the podium and took this picture:

We were the only two delegates from Evanston and had been passing in the night all weekend.  She sat most often with her fellow former national board members.  I did get to sit next to her yesterday and asked her some procedural questions.  I was concerned that we weren't going to get through our business by 12:30.  She said that somehow we always finish.

I left in the middle of a debate where people kept motioning to amend the motion and then amend the amendment.  It was all so confusing!  One person tweeted, "I am beginning to worry that the "Happy" song is mocking us at this point." (The song we were dancing to the day before.) This is where twitter became so helpful.  I followed the rest of the convention until I got on the plane.  The card vote was used when they voted on the motion for a living wage.  A motion needs to win by 2/3 in order to pass.  It was defeated, the vote was: yes votes 257, no votes 214.  No wonder the chair couldn't tell by a voice or standing vote if the motion had passed!  Apparently the problem was not the spirit of the motion but the wording of the motion.

I'm home now and writing this post in a coffee shop on Central St.  In looking over my posts and all of my notes I can see why my brain feels stretched!  I'm looking forward to meeting with the Evanston board next month to share the nitty gritty of what I've learned and what ideas I have for us moving forward.  I think that the defeat of Eric Cantor yesterday illustrates the importance of every vote and the reality that the people can use their voice and their vote to effect change.

Thank you for reading my blog.  I have enjoyed writing and reflecting everyday.  Look for me again next year during our state convention.  I'll leave you with this picture.  Our foremothers fought for suffrage with every fiber of their being.  My hope is that through the work of the League we can give everyone the chance, the opportunity, and the right to vote!

The Vote, The Debates, The Banquet

Well, we've had another jam packed day! I will cut to the chase and let you know that Elisabeth MacNamara won the election for President with 2/3 of the vote.  ( I've also realized that I've been spelling her name wrong throughout this blog, it is with an s and not a z) I'll start with the election and then do my best to summarize the rest of the day.

Election Day

631 delegates headed to the credentials table to get their ballots ( at least I hope everyone voted!) What a fantastic way to see democracy in action! After our morning plenary session, which went late by 40 min, we dashed out in the hall to cast our vote for LWVUS President. Most of the process seemed to have been well planned out but as in most elections, I think it could have gone smoother.

The table with the ballots was divided alphabetically by state.  My issue was that the area was very small and everyone was in tightly packed lines.  After getting my ballot it was checked again at the door to the voting room.

Here is my ballot (before I voted)  Voting ended at 2:00.  We all went off to our afternoon training sessions wondering when the results would be ready.  I decided to follow the twitter feed. Finally the results came in at about 6:00.  It seemed an awfully long time to count 600 ballots!  I think the election energized the convention and got everyone to reflect on what they want to see in a president.  

At the banquet tonight both women spoke after sharing a warm hug.  As in other elections it was nice to see opposing sides come together in the end and show unity.

Plenary

After a little housekeeping including a summary of yesterday's work, we got down to business.  I have two masters degrees and I really had to pay close attention to understand what was going on.  I looked to the program booklet to see what we were going to do next.  It said:

Debate And Vote on Board-Recommended Concurrence and Any Not-Recommended Concurrence Items Voted Consideration on Sunday

I had to read it through a few times and then watch my fellow League members in action before I got the hang of it.

Here is someone waiting to speak on a con mike.  Next to her are a monitor and a parlimentarian.  As the President was calling out to the different mics I was confused as to which were pro and which were con. I asked the person next to me and she said that that would be a red card question.  So I got up and went to the mic... I was nervous, I hoped I would remember to introduce myself properly.  But when I talked to the monitor she said that the odd# mics were pro and the even#'s con.  Apparently it had been announced earlier.  Rats! I missed my big chance.

Then came the moment where I felt like I finnaly got it.  Someone had put forth a motion to change the wording of the original motion.  I asked the person next to me, "Can the motion be re-written and voted on or not? Because we won't have voted concourance on the new wording"  By jove I think I've got it!  The answer was that the motion can be re-written and voted on.  The debate went on so long and was so confusing that we voted to postpone a vote to a definite time (tomorrow morning.)

Banquet

We had a fun banquet with a woonderful speaker, Wade Goodwyn from NPR.

I took this pic from the back of the room.  It's not very good but it should give you a sense of the size and scope of the event.

Here we are, most of the IL delegation!

In her final comments tonight Elisabeth commented that since we didn't have any caucus' scheduled tonight that we could all get some rest.  Everyone laughed.  Some have moved to the bar or after parties in their rooms.  I'm sure that some of the Kansas delegation are re-writing that motion we tabled until tomorrow.  As for me I decided to write tonight out on a balcony off one of the lobbies.

Here's my view.  There is a wonderful breeze and almost no humidity, perfect.  I just looked around and realized that I'm the only one out here. I just looked in at the convention hallway and there is no one there either.  Maybe that's because it's 11:30!

I have another long day tomorrow.  I'm going to a meeting at 7:30 on how to recruit young members before the plenary session at 8:30.  I have to leave around 9:45 to catch my plane.  I'm sure I'll miss some of the votes.

There is one thing that I know I would vote for, and that is sending as many of our delegates as possible to the national convention in D.C. in 2016!

Other News Today

This morning as I was getting on the escalator I saw Elizabeth MacNamara on the escalator ahead of me.  She was by herself, standing tall, not on her cell phone or looking at notes.  I wondered what she was thinking as she rose to meet the day ahead.  It turned out to be a very busy day.  There were other things that went on today aside from the buzz about the election for president.

Because the morning was such a marathon the afternoon session had to include the work we didn't get done this morning.  This included questions about the budget.  I must admit that my eyes glazed over during this discussion! We then moved into a discussion, debate, vote part of the afternoon.  We were looking at making some changes to our by-laws. This was when the Robert's Rules were rockin' the room.  I couldn't keep up so I finally put my pen down and just watched.  We used the pro and con microphones. (If someone has an urgent point of order or need for clarification they go to one of the six microphones and wave a red card.) As soon as the president sees the card she stops, almost mid sentence, and shouts in an authoritative voice, ""We have a red card on microphone 3!" I wish you could hear it. When it happens I really feel like I'm at a political convention!

As we made our way through the votes, which need a 2/3 majority to pass, we came to a standstill with one of the votes.  A voice vote wasn't clear, a standing vote wasn't clear, so we went to a paper vote.

First they closed the doors and didn't let anyone in. This prevents someone who was not in the room for the debate from voting.  Then monitors passed around straw cowboy hats to collect our votes.  In the end the amendment to the by-law passed easily.  Then I really felt like I was at a convention.  You have to understand, I'm a political junkie so I'm eating this up.

We kept meeting.  Elizabeth asked if we wanted to take a break and there was a resounding no!  Instead we stood up to stretch. Then the song Happy came on and everyone danced.

It was a great moment....

Tomorrow we vote for president along with a full day of plenary sessions.  More tomorrow!

Our Voices Our Votes

Well, all I can say is that I should have gotten more rest before I came! I chose the above title because this morning at the plenary we used our voices and our votes. We met from 9:00 to 12:10 without a break, then after  a 15 min break we met for a candidate forum from 12:35-1:40.  I took lots of notes and will do my best to summarize.

MacNamara v. Macnab

The Deidre and Elizabeth buttons are increasing in visibility and people are standing around in little groups discussing tomorrow's vote for President.  I notice that within the IL delegation buttons for both candidates are being worn. Last night and this morning everyone had the opportunity to write down questions and put them in a box.  The forum itself was moderated by the President of the Dallas League. (She did a great job! She had clear expectations and kept the candidates on time) The structure of the forum was that the same question was given to each candidate and they had one minute to respond. At the end they each were given one minute for a closing statement.  MacNamara won the coin toss and elected to make the final statement.

They were asked about their vision for the League, the priorities of their vision, how they would implement their priorities...the list goes on.  In all they were asked 17 questions.  I've chosen two to tell you about.  When asked how their experience would prepare them for the Presidency Macnab responded first recounting her experience in business and serving on the school board of a very large district.  But her emphasis was on her leadership as President of the FL League in which membership and funding have increased.  In terms of going from President of a state League directly to President of the national League she gave the example of U.S. Governors becoming President.  MacNamara said that she too worked her way up through the League and was president of a very strong state League. She made the distinction that she served on the US board before becoming president of the board. She feels that this experience has been invaluable in that it gave her an understanding of national isses before taking on the presidency.  They were also asked to list what the three most important issues are for the League.  Macnab listed: protecting the right to vote, fair redistricting, and campaign finance reform.  MacNamara listed: voting rights, money in politics, and environmental issues.

Tomorrow morning there will be a meet and greet from 7:30- 8:45.  We will then vote in the early afternoon.  The discussion before the vote should be fascinating!  I have no idea how much of the vote Macnab will get. I doubt it will get as far as needing to use our red and green cards, but don't quote me on that!

We gathered this morning in a bit of a scramble before the session started.

MacNamara checked her notes one last time before calling the session to order.

My First Plenary Session

I've been sitting here trying to figure out where to start.  Then I looked up at my desk and saw this...

l

These are some of my papers from today!  I have not read most of them and after a full day all of the statistics are swirling around in my head a bit.  But I do know what I have taken away from the day, so that's where I'll start.

MacNamara v. Macnab

There is controversy and intrigue at the convention this year.  I'll do my best to sort it out and explain it all to you.  Our current LWVUS president is Elizabeth MacNamara the National Nominating Committee has put forth her name for another two year term along with the rest of the slate.  BUT there is another candidate, Deirdre Macnab, who has been nominated from the floor.  Macnab has literature and supporters everywhere.  They are passing out handouts and buttons.  The MacNamara camp is not being quiet, they too have buttons and many supporters. 

From what I understand Macnab was asked to be on the slate for the national board.  At first she accepted and then she withdrew, instead deciding to run for President from the floor. At our session today Macnab was nominated from the floor.  A meet the candidates session is planned for early Monday morning.  The structure of that is set, not without some disgruntled Macnab supporters.  Here are two tweets that were sent in the heat of all of this.

"Too bad board Nominee Elizabeth MacNamara shuts down applause for @Dierdra4Pres when nomination made from floor at #LWV2014 flustered"

"Nomination from floor blamed MacNamara for loss of membership. I think this was a deceptive use of stats.  I stand with MacNamara."  

You can follow all of this on twitter #lwv2014

Meetings, Food, Meetings, Food

I did make it to the 7:30 am caucus on electoral reform.  The focus was on the under representation of women in both national and local office.  One of the statistics that stood out to me is that the US ranks 98th worldwide for its percentage of national legislative seats held by women.  Election reform seems impossible to me but when I think of the suffragettes I realize that nothing is impossible!

We rallied around our sign.  This years' convention has representation from 47 states and the District of Columbia.  We have  630 voting delegates.  I sure hope that we don't have a vote that is so close that we have to use our red and green cards, it will take all day! ( everyone has red cards for no and green for yes. They are only used as a last resort if the voice vote and the standing up vote aren't clear).

We started of the plenary session with the Color Guard.  It was not lost on us that the person calling out the commands was a young woman. (I apologize to those of you who know the correct terminology for the Color Guard, clearly I do not!) This was followed by remarks from Lupe Valdez the Dallas County Sheriff.

We then heard from Houston Mayor Anise Parker.  She was amazing!!! I wish we could move her to Chicago, although some might have trouble understanding her accent. She noted that among the 30 mayors of major cities, 26 are Democrats.  "You don't become mayor by promising NOT to do things." At the end she thanked the League saying, "We (government) need the League because you watch us, you engage us, and you hold us accountable!"  This made me think of all the hard work of our observer corps, thank you your work it is vital.

I went to a working lunch where we discussed sustaining local Leagues.  It is fascinating to meet women from other Leagues, I'm learning so much.

Some of the IL delegation went out for bar-b-que.  It was served Texas style with no plates and a role of paper towels on the table!

It's almost 11:30, I have to go to bed.  Hold on to your hats we're in for a wild ride in the days ahead!

 

I've Arrived in Dallas

I left a sunny and warm Evanston this morning and traded it for a hot and muggy Dallas!  But here at the convention the air-conditioning is blasting and the delegates are buzzing. I am here in Dallas for the  51st National Convention for the LWV.  This year's theme is Power: Our Voices Our Votes.  This is my first convention and I've already met delegates from around the country. My idea for this blog is to report on the issues as presented through caucuses, plenary sessions, training tracks (I'm in the New Local League Leaders track), and voting.  I'll also share my experiences and reflections.

I was waiting for the shuttle to the hotel when I met my first delegate, Susan, the President of the Pennsylvania League. (When she approached I was busy reading Robert's Rules of Order for Dummies. I know that the women of this convention are master's of Robert's Rules and I don't want to get left in the dust.) We didn't skip a beat and started talking about the convention and the issues of the convention right away.  Before we knew it the entire shuttle was filled, all going to the convention. As we shouted out where we were from a woman in the front said, "I'm from the land of taxation without representation!" She's the first I've met from DC. The woman from NC talked about all of the disenfranchisement going on in her state, another about membership outreach...and so it begins.

Here we are talking away!

This afternoon I dropped my bags in my room and headed downstairs to my first session, Ready, Set, Raise.. I now have new ideas for how we can raise money to support our League. After a quick dinner it was off to the opening receptions, both the National and the Illinois.  It was nice to meet the other IL delegates, we plan to sit together when possible.

Some of the Illinois delegation having our first strategy session.

I have an early start tomorrow, 7:30.  I'm going to a caucus on barriers to voter representation, Tackling the 800-lb Gorilla- From Suffrage to Parity.