"Board for Redistricting"

LWVSC Efforts for the California Voters FIRST Initiative

I am the California League of Women Voters' Sacramento-area coordinator for the final month of signature gathering for the California Voters FIRST Initiative. I am writing to encourage you to help us make history in the month of April. The League has joined with Campaign Co-Chairs Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Steve Wesley, along with Common Cause, AARP and others to try to get this Initiative on the November 2008 ballot, but we do not yet have enough signatures. We are getting there, but we are getting down to the wire. The deadline for obtaining signatures is the end of April.

Please consider helping us gather signatures. Click here for a schedule of venues we have arranged so far for which we need help. We could do these and other venues if more volunteers came forward.

If you volunteer, I will do my very best to make the contribution of your valuable time as painless and productive as possible. I will make sure that you have materials and information that you need - you just need to show up with enthusiasm and a basic knowledge of the initiative. If you have an ironing board, let me know --it works well for tabling. (If you have a cute baby or well-behaved dog, bonus! we are not beyond shamelessly pandering at this point!)

But seriously - I will help in whatever way I can. If you have not circulated petitions before (or not for a long time) - take heart. I will try to pair you with someone who has done it before. I had never circulated a petition before this campaign, and I will confess here and now that I basically dreaded the thought. Since starting in February, I have to say that "tabling" (or "boarding" as it were) has been surprisingly liberating for me.

My first top 10 reasons to Board for Redistricting in April.

10.  Think "Fear (of rejection) Factor meets Redistricting Reform." - Free yourself from fear without having to eat worms or cohabitate with snakes (or whatever they do on that show.)

9. For College Hoops fans, March Madness is almost over. What else will you do now that college basketball is gone for another year?

8. This initiative is fundamentally about accountability - making sure Legislators are accountable to voters. Isn't that the basic check and balance of a democratic system?

7. You really are doing people a favor by circulating this petition. Even if they don't know it and would never admit it.

6. This initiative is (or should be) the poster child for the initiative process. Many people have expressed frustration with the over-use (or miss-use) of the initiative process. We can't solve that problem but we can point out that this type of issue is the reason why initiatives were (or should have been) created in the first place. The existing Legislature will not do this and it needs to be done. (See 8. above)

5. You are protecting citizens' right to walk right past you, snort in derision or tell you they are not interested. Yeah, it isn't fun, but it is democracy (and see 10 and 7 above).

4. Most people, when approached, really are nice, even if they don't sign. It might even reaffirm your faith in people.

3. You get to see and appreciate the incredible diversity of the people in our state. It is inspiring. Really.

2. It is not uncommon for people to say "Thank you so much for circulating this petition."! (Honestly - when people get this issue, it is incredibly rewarding.)

And Reason #1. It is a chance to be part of a process that may fundamentally change the way the Legislature works - for the better.

This is the election year, this is the initiative and now is the time when the rubber meets the road in getting it to the voters. Please help us make history.

You can email me at astroteton@yahoo.com or call my cell phone (916) 214-1152. I do have a day job (no, not a writer for Letterman - he never called back!) but I will get back to you in the wee hours of the morning or after work. Thanks and hope to hear from you soon.

Kathy Chovan

P.S. You should have received a petition in the mail from the League with the text of the initiative. If you don't have time for anything else, please sign this short form of the petition, get three other people in your County to sign, fill in the County (top) and the Declaration of Circulator (bottom) and send it back to the League office. Every signature helps!

For more information and a copy of the initiative, check out the Voter's First website: www.votersfirstca.com/

Proposed April Schedule: Tabling for Redistricting

Saturday, April 12:
   10:00 am - 3:00 pm: Nugget Market, 1414 E. Covell Blvd., Davis

Sunday, April 13:
   8:00 am - 11:00 am: Farmer's Market downtown [under WX freeway]

Saturday, April 19:
   7:30 am - 10:30 am. Nugget Market, 1414 E. Covell Blvd., Davis

   9:00 am - 1:00 pm: Sacramento Food Coop, "S" Street and Alhambra.
         [Note: an individual organization can only sign up once/month to table.
          The 19th is California Voter's First day.]

Sunday, April 20:
   8:00 am - 11:00 am - Farmer's Market, downtown -WX Freeway

  11:00 am - 3:00 pm - Sacramento Food Coop [under Common Cause]

  11:00 am - 6:00 pm - Earth Day, Southside Park

Saturday, April 26:
   7:30- 10:30 - Nugget Market, 1414 E. Covell Blvd., Davis
  
  10:00 am - 2:00 pm - Sacramento Food Coop [League's day]

Sunday, April 27:
   8:00 am - 11:00 am - Farmer's Market downtown [under WX freeway]