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Weathering the Storms
By Bernadette Brooks
Just as we began to feel the warmth of spring and enjoy the sight of yellow mustard and acacia blooming, the weather gods launched a torrential path of rain, hail, and snow! We are grateful for the rain but not for the wild and sometimes destructive weather season that we have not seen for decades. So while we want to stay inside in our comfort zone, things need to be done and we must rise to the occasion!
It also feels like a very cold  winter when I contemplate the assault on women’s health options that began with the Dobbs decision and continues with the fallout in Texas courts and legislatures in many other states. It would be easy to hunker down and do nothing about the wild and destructive legal actions we have not seen in decades.
But hunkering down is no longer an option! We must take action to let our elected officials know we will not accept government mandates about what is best for “our bodies and ourselves.” We must get involved and, most of all when the time comes, we must VOTE.
March 8th is International Women’s Day, which is traditionally celebrated by giving beautiful yellow mimosa flowers, symbols of strength, sensibility, and sensitivity. This March is also national Women’s History Month—a time for all of us to bloom, hold our heads high, get noticed, and take action to ensure the fundamental right of women to manage their own health decisions, now and in the future.
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Chávez-Huerta Day
In 2014, then-President Barack Obama proclaimed March 31st a federal commemorative holiday to celebrate the birth and legacy of César Chávez. California and many other states also honor Dolores Huerta on this day. Both were leaders in the fight to obtain labor rights for farm workers in California and the nation.
 Chávez’s activism began when he was a farmworker; Huerta joined the labor movement as a community organizer in Stockton, California, where she had established the Agricultural Workers Association. Together they helped form what ultimately became the United Farm Workers in 1962. In 1965, the UFW changed history with its national grape boycott, resulting in the first collective bargaining agreement for farm workers in history. The UFW has been instrumental in procuring safer working conditions and better pay for field workers. César Chávez died in 1993. Dolores Huerta continues her advocacy work; see her “Herstory” at https://www.lwvnapa.com/herstory-history.
Nomin ation Committee Request
By Jan Darter, Chair
The committee is asking members to submit their recommendations for people to serve on the Napa League’s board of directors. Members may also recommend themselves if they would like to serve on the board.
The election of officers and directors will take place at our annual meeting on June 10th, but interviewing and planning has begun. The deadline to submit recommendations is March 31st. Please email jandarter@gmail.com, and a committee member will contact you.
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Taking Action on Local Climate Priorities
Moderated by Joyce Kingery, Chair, Climate Action Committee
Wednesday, April 19th, 5:00–6:15 pm
Napa County Library, 580 Coombs Street, Napa
Don’t m iss this exciting opportunity to learn what some local students and community groups are doing to mitigate climate change. Program topics will include:
–Implementing Napa County’s Climate Challenge, presented by student leaders
–Banning additional fossil-fuel gas stations
–Eliminating single-serve plastics with Reusable Foodware Ordinances
–Moving away from the use of gasoline-powered leaf blowers
Attendees will also learn how they can take action on the issues that most interest them. Details will follow in April’s Voter.
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International Women's Day
Embrace equity on March 8th
International Women’s Day (IWD) is a testament to how small actions can grow into large ones. In 1908, women in New York City marched about 15,000 strong for a shorter work week, better pay, and suffrage. In 1909, the Socialist Party of America in New York declared February 28th “National Woman’s Day,” which eventually morphed into the IWD we celebrate today.
In 1910, several German communist advocates for women’s rights suggested the idea at a women’s conference in Copenhagen; the 100 women from 17 countries unanimously agreed. Usually held at the end of February or early March, the popularity of yearly celebrations spread to many countries. This year, the IWD organization’s global theme is “Increasing the Love, Prosperity, and Peace on Earth,” with events in New Delhi during March 3–8. See internationalwomensday.org.
Almost 80 years later, in 1977, the United Nations General Assembly voted to set aside March 8th as the day to celebrate “Women’s Rights and World Peace.” In 2017, In a message in support of IWD, UN Secretary-General António Guterres oommented that women's rights were being “reduced, restricted and reversed.” He called for change “by empowering women at all levels, enabling their voices to be heard, and giving them control over their own lives and over the future of our world.” Every year, the UN chooses a new IWD theme; this year’s is DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality.
 While acknowledging IWD elsewhere in the world, the United States continues to have its own annual theme. The 2023 theme is #EmbraceEquity. The creators ask that we “imagine a gender-equal world. A world free of bias, stereotypes, and discrimination. A world that’s diverse, equitable, and inclusive. A world where difference is valued and celebrated. Together we can forge women’s equality.” See clever and inspiring photos and script at internationalwomensday.com/2023Theme.
Women's History Month
Celebrating women who tell our stories
During the month of March, Americans are asked to celebrate women’s historic contributions to culture and society. Women’s History Month (WHM) grew out of a weeklong series of events in 1978 involving hundreds of students in the Sonoma County school district, which included a “Real Woman” essay contest and a parade in downtown Santa Rosa. The idea caught on, with intense lobbying and intermediate successes for national recognition by the Santa Rosa–based National Women’s History Alliance (NWHA). 
In 1987, the US Congress dedicated March to “commemorating and encouraging the study, observance, and celebration of the vital role of women in American history.” NWHA has designated March 2023’s theme as “Celebrating Women Who Tell Our Stories” in recognition of “women, past and present, who have been active in all forms of media and storytelling.” See nationalwomenshistoryalliance.org for details.
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WOMEN'S ISSUES IN THE NEWS
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In the news this month are two cases involving women’s rights or protections. They balance each other out: one setback is a backlash for fighting back against sexual misconduct in the workplace and one win is for a large employer upholding the right of women to take on a traditionally male role.
By Robyn Orsini
#MeToo Movement Setback
Witness confidentiality scrapped
 Women who blow the whistle on actions of sexual harassment, abuse, or assault can no longer expect their anonymity to be protected in California. A recent decision by a Superior Court judge in Sacramento County has made it mandatory to disclose the names of those who testify against someone in the workplace for alleged sexual misconduct.
The case involved former Democratic assemblyman Matt Debabneh, who was accused of sexual misconduct with a number of women (including at least 52 witnesses). Debabneh’s lawyers argued that he had a due-process right to know the names of those testifying against him. The judge concurred and the lawsuit was settled when Debabneh gained access to the witness list. Now, without the assurance of confidentiality, women who feel they have suffered sexual mistreatment will be more afraid to come forward lest they lose their jobs and possible future employment.
Women as Pastors
Southern Baptist Convention says NO;
Saddleback Baptist Church says YES
The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) is the world’s largest Baptist denomination in the world. And it is the largest Protestant and second-largest Christian denomination in the nation, with about 47,000 member churches and 13.7 million followers. Formed in 1845 in Augusta, Georgia, its roots remain in the South, although it has gained church memberships nationwide.
Until mid-February, the SBC’s second-largest congregation was the Saddleback Church, a megachurch whose main campus is in Lake Forest, just south of Los Angeles. Its congregation tops 30,000 evangelical believers, who attend services in 14 mostly Southern California locations, plus 4 in Hong Kong, Germany, the Philippines, and Argentina.
In 2000, the SBC updated its official statement of belief to say: “While both men and women are gifted for service in the church, the office of pastor is limited to men as qualified by Scripture.” So when Saddleback refused to fire its four women pastors, the SBC Executive Committee responded by ousting the entire church. The SBC excommunicated four other like-minded congregations in Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, and Mississippi. One pastor in Texas expressed his displeasure by writing that the decision was “driven by power [and] male supremacy; and it stinks in the nostrils of God.”
Rick Warren, church founder and popular lead pastor of Saddleback for 42 years until his retirement last year, is strongly in favor of gender acceptance. Warren’s successor, Andy Wood (above right), whose wife, Stacie (above left), is a teaching pastor, says that the Bible “teaches that men and women were given spiritual gifts by God . . . [and] the church should be a place where both men and women can exercise those spiritual gifts.” Saddleback has the right to appeal the decision at SBC’s next annual meeting in June.
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Meet Assembly Member Cecilia Aguiar-Curry
Every year the California League asks its member Leagues to interview their legislative representatives. This month’s newsletter includes a link to a summary of the California assembly member who represents Assembly District 4. The meeting was held via Zoom on February 3rd. Ms. Aguiar-Curry and  the director of her Napa district office, Tracy Krumpen, met with Woodland League member Carla Cox and Napa County League members Bernadette Brooks, Ingrid Swenson, Nancy Moore, and Robyn Orsini, moderator.
The four interview questions concerned (1) California’s Voter Participation Gap, (2) Equitable Funding for California’s School Facilities Program, (3) Sustainable and Equitable Water Resource Management, and (4) the Legislator’s Personal Priorities. To read the summary of the legislator’s answers, click here. For more information about the interview questions and answers, email
lwvnapa@gmail.com and the moderator will contact you.
At the end of the interview, Aguiar-Curry was thanked for some of her recent legislative achievements and efforts, and was congratulated on being elected for the second year as co-chair of the California Legislative Women’s Caucus. The group is bipartisan and women of all parties are encouraged to attend. The caucus offers grants, scholarships, and financial assistance to women in each represented district.
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Highlights of February Board Meeting
By Ingrid Swenson
–Board Member. Cyndie Radford was unanimously selected to be a new at-large board member, serving until the June board election. She is actively engaged with the Criminal Justice and Membership committees.
–Emerging from Covid Restrictions. The board has scheduled in-person board meetings for the rest of the fiscal year. The next three will be held from 10:00 am to noon on March 8th, April 5th, and May 10th in the Laurel Room at the Napa Senior Cente r.
–Give!Guide donations plus other generous member contributions will allow the League to have more active community engagement in the year ahead. See the Give!Guide article below.
–The Program Planning Committee held a meeting on Friday, February 10th. Attending members voted to accept recommendations for the California League to prioritize in the next two years. They also identified three potential issues for the Napa League to emphasize in 2023–24. All recommendations were unanimously accepted by the board for members to vote on at the annual meeting. Members will have an opportunity to suggest other topics before and during that meeting, details to follow.
The Give!Guide Campaign
By Kim Farmer
For the last three years, the Napa League has participated with other local nonprofits in raising funds through an end-of-year Give!Guide (G!G) campaign sponsored by Napa Valley CanDo.
To add some pizzaz, women’s herstory, and humor to the effort, the G!G Committee decided to feature trailblazing women at the turn of the last century. Every week of December 2022’s campaign, we sent out an email presenting a woman who accomplished something first. It was no coincidence that these four women were the ones featured on the four labels of Olivia Brion wines, a brand conceived by winery owner Kira Ballotta. Her wines highlight the amazing feats of unsung American heroines: the first woman to design fitted one-piece swimsuits for women, to bicycle around the world, to travel coast to coast and back on a motorcycle, and to fly a powered aircraft.
The G!G Committee had a lot of fun publicizing this theme and made money too, receiving donations totaling about $4,500. After the campaign ended, one donors’ name was drawn to receive the Olivia Brion bottles of wine. Stacie Forsythe of Napa exclaimed after accepting her prize: “What a nice surprise to receive the Olivia Brion wines! The work you do is so very important. Voting rights and voting education are vital for the future of women’s rights and our democracy.“
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Joining the League of Women Voters is a great way to get involved in your community and play an active role in our democracy. Be part of a nationwide community of League members in over 700 nationwide Leagues, 40+ California Leagues, and 20 Bay Area Leagues in 9 Bay Area counties.
Click here for more information on how you can become a member today!
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