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Empowering Voters.Defending Democracy.
Your Vote is Your Voice.
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The Voter
Summer 2026
Official Newsletter of the League of
Women Voters of Sonoma County
Volume 31, Issue 6
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Annual Membership Meeting
byLeona Judson and Sherrie Brand
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Approximately 25 of us (comprising a quorum) gathered at the new KRCB studios, and what a warm welcome we got! The conference room was all set up with our power point slide presentation ready to go. Tina Vierra, Events and Marketing for KRCB, even brought in a tub of ice for our drinks. Donna Roper, our President, started the business meeting after a brief social time to meet up with new and old friends and grab some goodies.
Sara Ingle, Treasurer, presented our proposed budget for 2026-2027 projecting a loss of under $10,000. The proposed budget was approved.
Susan Novak, our Nominating Chair, presented the proposed Slate of Officers and Directors.
Officers
President: Donna Roper
ExecutiveVP: Robyn Bramhall
Secretary: Sherrie Brand
Treasurer: Sara Ingle
Advocacy VP: Jim Masters
Directors
Communications/Vote 411: Rebecca Jones
Director at Large: Deborah McKay
Director at Large: Deborah Doyle
Director at Large: Evan Ehly
Director at Large: Juanita Roland
Membership: Julianne Guariglia
Programs: Leona Judson
Stand Up for Democracy: Lynn Dooley
Voter Service: Eleni Misthos
Youth Outreach: Chris Riezenman
The Slate was approved.
Donna presented our Areas of Emphasis
Making Democracy Work (Our Core Mission)
Climate Change
Housing
Immigration
Criminal Justice
Transportation
Our Areas of Emphasis were approved.
Our Committee Reports were presented:
- Advocacy–Jim Masters gave examples of issues the committee has worked on such as Fire Safe Roads, Cannabis Ordinance Draft Environment Impact Report (DEIR), California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) changes, SMART, and Santa Rosa Junior College (SRJC) issues. The committee is looking for help with writing their reports for the newsletter.
- Communications– Presented by Rebecca Jones. The committee redesigned the website, added new committee pages, emphasized the elections page and expanded social media presence. Their goals for the coming year are to expand expertise and knowledge, address membership roster tracking and maintenance, and prepare for the November election and coordinate with the Voter Service team.
- Vote411– Presented by Rebecca Jones. Their scope is local candidates and measures on the national voter information website. They had 70% participation from our local candidates. Their goals are to post and promote local forums and pros and cons on Vote411 as well as on the website, and to prepare a Vote411 flyer and ask the Registrar of Voters (ROV) to include it in their candidate filing packages.
- Membership– Presented by Donna Roper for Julianne Guarigilia. Their goal is to expand our membership base in Sonoma County with a target of younger, more diverse members. They plan to host current member and new member events at venues throughout Sonoma County. They plan to partner with other Leagues to learn about member expansion and diversity. They are also planning various member events with a fundraising element to increase donations.
- Programs– Presented by Leona Judson. Hot Topics this year included issues such as Income Inequality by Mary Fricker, First 5 (Childcare) Measure I update, Update on Measure O. These are available to watch on our YouTube channel. Goals for 2026-2027 are to increase attendance and viewership and to continue to share timely local issues affecting our County.
- StandUp for Democracy – Presented by Rebecca Stanwyck for Lynn Dooley. They started up our bus back ad campaign, Civics topics in English and Spanish, Yard signs and posters, Rotary Club presentations, Civics Topic of the Week, expanded partnerships, and Lynn will be presenting SU4D at the LWV National Convention. Our goals for 2026-2027 are to expand our Spanish community engagement, grow community partnerships, and expand our Stand Up for Democracy audience.
- VoterServices – Presented by Eleni Misthos. They held the Sonoma County Supervisor Primary Forums. They held Special Election education for Prop 50 and volunteers replaced 5,200 Voter Registration Cards at 112 locations across the county. They provided community education and tabling at community events. Their goals for 2026-2027 are to expand voter education, provide up to ten Candidate forums for City Council races and ballot measure pros and cons. They need a tabling coordinator, and Forum and Pros and Cons volunteers.
- VoterOutreach – Presented by Chris Riezenman and Robyn Bramhall. Their in-class voter registration program reached 978 students, and they raised registration and pre-registration from 9% to 81%. They had a successful first ever rally-style registration event with 150 students. At Santa Rosa Junior College (SRJC) they held Ready to Vote 2026, sponsored by SRJC Social Studies Department and “Yes We Can” Indivisible featuring Chris Riezenman and Debbie McKay for LWV, ROV Evelyn Mendez, and Scott Alonso from Assemblymember Chris Rogers’ office. They have a fall event scheduled for October 7th.
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Darren LaShelle, President & CEO for Northern California Public Media,
speaks to LWVSC members at the Annual Meeting.
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| Darren LaShelle, president & CEO for Northern CA Public Media, provided a brief history of the organization which began in 1984 with TV channel 22. Radio was added in the 1990s. Their focus has been on local journalism, documentaries, and arts & culture. They share content with the much bigger KQED station. Like all PBS stations they have been affected by the omission of Federal funding.We were then treated to a tour of their new facility that they just moved to in October. There is an array of live broadcasting rooms, a large recording studio and more. It was wonderful to peek behind the scenes. Darren LaShelle is eager to do more with our League with the upcoming election and our Stand Up for Democracy project. |
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President’s Message
by Donna J. Roper
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It was so inspiring to be with over 1,000 League delegates gathered to learn, deliberate and decide the future of theorganization’s direction. The focus on powerful women leading organizations with whom we partner showed us building relationships and trust which will help the League move forward. The National Program of Defending Democracy Under Siege concentrating on voting rights, protecting elections, redistricting, immigration, individual rights and the Presidency. We have our work cut out for us! Very encouraged by our leadership team -Celina Stewart, the CEO and new president Sania Irwin will be leading a very diverse board of amazing women. I attended workshops on fundraising and governance so we can position our League to do great things! I also had such a great time getting to know other delegates – Sherrie Brand and Theodora Pollack as well as blown away by Lynn Dooley’s presentation on Stand Up For Democracy. You can read more from them later in this newsletter.
Looking forward to working with you this fall in our myriad of activities as well as meeting you at new orientations, the Grand Jury luncheon or other social events.
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MANY THANKS TO OUR DONORS IN 2026
Some of you may have also donated online. We thank you for your donations!
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Joseph Conway
Sherrie Brand
Jan Randall
Kathleen Baumgardner
Leona Judson
Charlotte Durnin
Bobbie Frederick
Deborah La Nouette
Terry Husebye
Lisa Taylor
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Nan Butterworth
Sherie Hintereder
Heather Young
Barbara Oddone
Nancy Richards
ShirleySullivan
Carol Murota
Nancy McKinney
Charles McGowan
Charlotte Fox
Mary Louise &
John Jaffray
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Madeline O'Callaghan
Roberta Koss
Junko Rich
Sara Ingle
Rebecca Stanwyck
Caroline Ramberg
Brienna Doherty
Gayle Peterson
Katherine Harkness
Nancy Dougherty
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2026 National Convention
Women Unite & Rise
League of Women Voters of the United States
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Convention Reports
from Lynn Dooley, Theodora Pollack, and Sherrie Brand
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An Amazing Experience
by Sherrie Brand
What an amazing experience! I learned so much, met so many fascinating, energized, empowered women, and gained much more hope for our nation. It was so wonderful to see real democracy in action! I highly recommend attending! These arethe breakout sessions I attended:
Why Should We Abolish The Electoral College?
Joyce Williams, Founding Member Electoral Committee, LWV Chicago IL and Barbara Laimins, Member Electoral College Committee, LWV Wheaton IL presented the LWVUS slideshow, “Why We Should Abolish the Electoral College”. I learned great talking points for discussions about the Electoral College. During the introduction they talked about how they could help us with presentations, and they mentioned Sonoma County. They said they sat in to help but were not needed because Sonoma County was able to handle it well. They provided us with postcards about the LWV position that we can mail to our representatives at the end of January, when the new nominees arrive. We can obtain more information online atlwv.org/opov. When I talked with Rosemary Heilemann, Founding Member of the Electoral College Committee, Deerfield/Lincolnshire IL, as soon as she heard I was from Sonoma County, she asked about Robyn Bramhall exclaiming how great it was working with her.
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League Advocacy for Trust in Government
PWN Privatization Update:This wasa discussion on one of the non-recommended proposed concurrences from Plenary: LWV of Port Washington-Manhasset NY to Update the National Privatization Position SO THAT accountability in the position IS more explicit, by: (1) defining "fails to perform" with an unambiguous standard of "fiduciary responsibility" to the public when managing public goods, and (2) aligning the position's list of public goods to conform to other LWVUS positions in Impact on Issues. There was an enthusiastic discussion after the presentation.
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UN Observer Advocacy
How LWV is Advancing Change in a Rapidly Evolving World
United Nations Observers Camille Brewer, Jane Ruby, and Sarah Warner presented the history and role of LWV United Nations Observers.They talked about how their work aligns with Impact on Issues, the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and the Unite & Rise 8.5 initiative to advance democratic and human rights outcomes with examples from local leagues in support of UN initiatives, along with their own personal experiences. They also explained how to become an Observer.
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Stand Up for Democracy
WOW!Lynn Dooley hit it out of the park with her presentation of the Stand Up for Democracy program. The audience was very engaged and were thrilled that she had a program ready for them to take home to their respective Leagues. I only wish we had a bigger room as many more wanted to attend!
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Incredible Turnout for Stand Up for Democracy Presentation
by Lynn Dooley
LWV US Girl Scout Workshop
I attended a workshop around LWV’s national partnership with Girl Scouts of America. The connection allows individual leagues to get in touch with their local Girl Scout Councils to invite them to participate in league events and committees. The National League has offered to help make that connection if a local council is not responsive. In addition, the National League has pioneered a program called The Voter Girl Project. It is a paid program that offers a curriculum package to reach girls ages 5-14 with voting and citizenship information. This could be a collaboration with area Girl Scout Councils and is a meaningful volunteer experience. The founder was in her superwoman Voter Girl costume at the convention. To learn more about this program visitThe Voter Girl Project.
Stand Up for Democracy
Ihad the enormous pleasure of presenting ourStand Up for Democracyprogram in a workshop at the US League’s National Convention. About 50 people convened to hear about our civics education program. We explained that by tying an understanding of someone’s constitutional rights to current events and individual values, they could potentially be inspired to vote – even if they hadn’t voted in the past. The program was enthusiastically received. We also offered any interested league the opportunity to adapt our program to their market. By requesting aStand Up for Democracy Tool Kit, they could adapt our materials to their leagues. So far, we have received 14 requests. Our presentation will be posted on the US National Convention’s website so more people can learn about our program and take advantage of our offer to share. The invitation to host this workshop was a huge salute to the incredible Stand Up for Democracy committee and the teamwork involved in creating this program. Thank you to all!
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Truly Empowering
byTheodora Pollack
To be in one room with people who allshare your passion, that is truly empowering. THAT, in a word was my experience atthe 2026 National Convention of the League of Women Voters. “Unite AndRise” indeed!
The breakout presentations concerning Protecting the Rights of Immigrants
Everything from Birthright Citizenship(topical indeed), Detention policy, Asylum policy litigation - also likely to go to SCOTUS, Use of the National Guard, Opposing funding for ICE ~ vitally important subjects all, and the Washington State league is leading the way. Upon reading this you may say, “Much of this I know,” to which I would proffer, Repetition for emphasis!
The Washington League had suggestions for us all
Go to schools and ask them directly, "What are you doing to protect immigrants in your classrooms?”There was discussion on the need for more guardrails on federal immigration enforcement.There is much failure of the SAFE Act: protecting sensitive locations from immigration enforcement - daycares, schools, healthcare, immigration detention in the state, access to immigrants in detention in the state.
HealthEquity is yet another problem - Your immigration status is determined by your health care ability.In Washington, as in so many states, people come in to discuss their legal status, and they are picked up, detained, taken away.
Another Breakout Presentation was an Immigration ActionRoundtable
with delegates from Illinois taking the lead. Suggestions were many: Become empowered by knowing your rights; educate yourself and others of the rights of immigrants. Go out and photograph what is happening. Abolitionist groups go and shut down facilities because it is all about the money.
Immigration is a civil issue. It is importantto work with the ACLU and other organizations that work locally in the area where you live. All residents, regardless of their immigration statusor citizenship, should be treated with dignity and respect. Immigrants should be able to live safely.
There are League members all overthe country doing this work on behalf of immigrants.It behooves us here in California to do more.
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California Delegates Representing!
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Breakout Sessions Links Available Soon
If you are interested in any of the breakout sessions and would like further information, don’t hesitate to contact us. As soon as LWVUS posts the convention, we will send the links!
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Stand Up for Democracy
byLynn Dooley
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ExcitingStand Up for DemocracyNews
It’s official -the bus-back adswill remain up on the Sonoma County Transit buses through the month of September!
And that is thanks to the generous donations from YOU, our members!
- Thank you,Rebecca Stanwickfor your very generous donation in memory of your motherRuth G Armstrong.
- Thank you toGayleMcKinneyPeterson
- Thank you,Leona Judson
- Thank you,Shirley Sullivan
- Thank you,Sherrie Brand
Thanks to all these amazing members the League will have presence on Sonoma County Transit buses right up to the mailing of the ballots for the Midterm election.
Our bus-back ads offer Sonoma county residents the opportunity to refresh their civics knowledge and why these rights matter today.In addition it serves as a branding campaign for our league and lets the public know that the League of Women Voters of Sonoma County isdoing somethingto support democracy in these challenging times.
Civics Moments on NorCal Public Media
Our community partner Northern California Public Media has taken our civics topics and created thirty-second public service announcements that are airing on their television, radio, digital and social media platforms.Tune in to see our league members Chris Riezenman, Rebecca Stanwyck, Jim Masters and Evan Erly all of whom participated in this campaign.
“250 Years Later – Why the First Amendment Still Matters.”
Our community partner Sonoma County Library collaborated with us to host this panel discussion on July 7that 6:00 pm via Zoom webinar. The panelists were:
- Stephen Rohde,First Amendment scholar and retired constitutional lawyer
- Rebecca Hermosillo, Sonoma County Board of Supervisors Chair and Supervisor, District 1
- Deborah Doyle, Sonoma County Library Commission, Former Chair
- Greta Mart, News Director, Northern California Public Media
- Karen Weeks, Moderator, League of Women Voters
The event was well attended and prompted good discussion among the panelists around the rights associated with First Amendment. Thank you to Sonoma County Library for partnering and hosting this important discussion. And thank you to our panelists for your interesting and knowledgeable participation.
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Support the Equal Rights Amendment
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Carolyn B. Maloney, Founder and CEO, ERA-NOW Inc. and former Member of Congress, writes that two hundred and fifty years ago, as the men who would found this nation argued over liberty and self-governance, one woman watching from the edges of history, Abigail Adams, sent a letter that changed everything. Her husband, John, was at the Continental Congress. She was running the farm, raising their children, and managing a household in wartime. She wrote him a letter that contained three words now famous across two and a half centuries:Remember the Ladies. Carolyn tells us that many of us stopped reading there and what Abigail wrote next is the part that matters most.
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“Remember, all men would be tyrants if they could.
If particular care and attention is not paid to the ladies,
we are determined to foment a rebellion and
will not hold ourselves bound by any laws
in which we have no voice or representation.”
- Abigail Adams, 1776
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The Equal Rights Amendment which would make sex discrimination unconstitutional has been ratified by 38 states, the exact numberrequired. 250 years later, Congress has yet to formally affirm it as the 28th Amendment to the Constitution.Your voice is needed.
Carolyn suggests reading the following two powerful essays from Pat Mitchell, former president of PBS, and McKenzie Spellers, high school student from Henderson, North Carolina. Each author voices why it is vital that the 28th Amendment gets over the finish line.
10,700 Miles. One Unfinished Mission.
Equality Delayed is Equality Denied
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Add your name to the ERA NOW national petition.
One million signatures, delivered to Congress.
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Board BriefsJuly 2026
bySherrie Brand
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Treasurer’s Report:Sara Ingle reported that our year-end is very close to our budgeted plan, with some receipts still outstanding for June.
Convention Report:All went well, especially with Lynn’s Stand Up for Democracy presentation. More details in articles in the Voter.
Annual Retreat:To be held August 1stat Spring Lake Village.
Grand Jury Luncheon:To be held at the Iron & Vine restaurant at the Bennett Valley Golf Club on August 17th. Cost for guests will be $40, and we encourage everyone to attend to hear what the Grand Jury has accomplished this year and possible advocacy opportunities for us.
Annual Meeting:It was quite successful this year and led to partnerships with KRCB. Several members have already recorded civics moments for the station, and we may partner with them for our upcoming voter forms.
Tabling Events:Good Trouble March on July 19thto promote voting, contact Robyn Bramhall to help.
Voter Services:Training sessions for voter forums to be held July 30thand August 8th. Interested people should contact Eleni Misthos.
Youth Committee:We have a new co-chair, Kendall Gutt, to work with Chris Reizenman. They will have their long-range planning meeting on July 20th.
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Welcome New Members
It's great to have you on our team.
Barbara Hoff- Santa Rosa
Carol Murota - Healdsburg
Paulette Poli - Sonoma
Lori Simerly- Santa Rosa
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August 20 - Moderated by Karen Rust
One Nation Under Guns:
How Gun Culture Distorts our Historyand Threatens our Democracy
by Dominic Erdozian (2024 / 191 pages)
An in depth Look into how gun rights activists have muddied the story of firearms in our country and changed our laws. In the 1960s six out of ten Americans favored a ban on handguns. Richard Nixon hated handguns and despised the NRA. How did we get here, where the leading cause of death among children and teens is gunshots? And our “uniquely American“ problem of mass shootings? It's a well written look at a topic that is uncomfortable and terrifying.
September 17 - Moderated by Iris Harrell
The Book Club for Troublesome Women
by Marie Bostwick (2025 / 384 pages)
This book is about four suburban housewives in 1963 Virginia who form a book club to escape their dissatisfaction.They affectionately call themselves “The Bettys” after Betty Friedan and readThe Feminine Mystiqueas their first book, sparking conversations about their lives, secrets, and the societal expectations they face.The story follows their journeys of self-discovery as they forge a strong bond of sisterhood through shared vulnerability and support.
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LWVSC Calendar
latest schedule and for
locations or links to virtual meetings.
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Connect with the League
We want to hear from you!
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LWVSC Board of Directors
and Other Officers
Donna Roper, President
Robyn Bramhall, Executive VP
Open, Administrative VP
Jim Masters, VP Advocacy
Sherrie Brand, Secretary
Sara Ingle, Treasurer
JulianneGuariglia,Membership
Open, Community Outreach
Chris Riezenman andRobyn Bramhall, Youth Outreach
Eleni Misthos, Voter Service
Lynn Dooley,Stand Up for Democracy
Leona Judson, Programs
Rebecca Jones, Communications and Vote 411
Evan Ehly, Director at Large
Deborah Doyle, Director at Large
Deborah McKay, Director at Large
Juanita Roland, Director at Large
Linda Robinett,VoterEditor
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Some Useful Links
LWV Members Portal:
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BecomeaMember
League of Women Voters Sonoma County
The most direct way to join is to go to the LWV Membership Portal. You may pay your dues online, or print out your invoice and send it along with your dues payable to LWV of Sonoma County to our office at the address below.
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555 Fifth Street, Suite 300-O
Santa Rosa, CA 95401-8301
(707) 545-5943
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