LWV St. Louis Park Program for Action
GOVERNMENT
Diversity
  • Support the city of St. Louis Park in developing a long-range plan for hiring and promoting qualified persons of diversity at all levels of city government services. (1993)
  • Support St. Louis Park elected officials, civic groups and community leaders in collaborating to develop a long range plan for the city to use in solving problems related to communication between diverse groups, public safety, racism, violence, and maintaining neighborhoods. (1993)
 
Initiative and Referendum
  • Support of the continuation of legislative initiative and compulsory voter referendum on constitutional amendment; opposition to most forms of voter initiative and referendum on statutes.
  • Opposition to recall by voters of members of the Legislature and state constitutional officers.
  • Support of strict procedural limits on any process of initiative.
 
Details
Support of:
  1. The continued initiation of constitutional amendments by the legislative branch; opposition to all forms of voter initiative of such amendments (direct, indirect or advisory).
  2. The continuation of compulsory voter referendum on constitutional amendments.
  3. Strict procedural limits on any form of initiative, referendum or recall considered or adopted in Minnesota, including restrictions on: 
    1. Time span for collecting signatures.
    2. Eligibility requirements for persons signing and collecting petitions.
    3. Percentage of signatures required, geographic distribution of signers, and verification of signatures.
    4. Size of vote required for passage.
    5. Procedure for repeal or amendment of a successful initiative or referendum.
    6. Contributions to and spending for ballot issue campaigns.
 
 
Opposition to:
  1. Direct initiative and advisory initiative on statutes, no agreement on indirect initiative on statutes.
2.  Optional and compulsory referendum on statutes; no agreement      on petition referendum statutes.
3.  Voter recall of members of the Legislature and state constitutional officers; no agreement on voter recall of judges or appointed officials. (2002)
 
EDUCATION
ESL Programs
  • Support the ESL (English as a Second Language) program.  Support additional funding for the ESL program. Support increases in the following if additional funding becomes available: Books, workbooks, reference materials, computer discs, teachers, and paraprofessionals.  Support adequate space for the ESL program. The League does not support cutbacks in the funding for the ESL program. (1990)
 
Diversity
  • Support St. Louis Park School District 283 in being pro-active in working to ensure that students and school personnel understand the increasing diversity of the students. (1993)
  • Support the teaching of history, culture, literature and arts of African-Americans, Asian Americans, Hispanic- Americans and Native-Americans on an ongoing and comprehensive basis. (1993).
  • Support the development of a long range, pro-active plan to hire qualified persons of diversity, and that it uses the assistance of its present minority personnel in doing this. (1993)
 
NATURAL RESOURCES
Recycling
  • Support the expansion of recycling of solid waste, including plastics.      (1987).
  • Support policies that promote and protect environmental quality. (1973) (1979).
 
SOCIAL POLICY
Domestic Abuse
  • Support mandatory arrest of the offender as part of the stated policy and guidelines that police must follow. (1988)
  • Support the handling of domestic abuse cases in criminal court. (1988)
  • Support an intervention/advocacy program in St. Louis Park. (1988)
  • Support funding of advocacy and intervention programs through a combination of private and public funds. (1988)
 
Prevention of Violence
Support for violence prevention programs in our community.
  1. Educational programs that emphasize self-esteem, healthy sexuality, problem solving, positive expression of emotions, nonviolent conflict resolution, and respect for others to prevent violent behavior. This would include support for:
a. Government-sponsored parenting and early childhood classes.
          b. Local or state government mandating or encouraging such education programs in school curricula.
c. Use of public money to train teachers and administrators to use nonviolence curricula.
          d. Training for childcare providers.
  1. A requirement that adult educators, including coaches, participate in prevention of sexual harassment and violence education programs and that public money is provided for adequate training.
  2. The use of public money for a stateside public information and communication campaign designed to prevent violent and sexually violent behavior; i.e. to promote healthy sexuality, nonviolent conflict resolution, and gender and race equality. 
  3. Efforts by state and local government to develop and coordinate programs dealing with primary prevention of violence.
  4. Allocation of public monies in governmental programs to combat violence through reducing substance abuse and poverty, and by identifying and responding to individuals who have been violent or are at risk for violent behavior.
  5. The following social institutions taking an active role in preventing violent behavior:
          a. Religious community
          b. Business community 
          c. Legal community
          d. Medical community
          e. Media, civic and recreation community
  1. Efforts to encourage the media industry to exercise self-restraint in the promotion of violence.
  2. Efforts to encourage the pornography industry to exercise self-restraint in the promotion of sexually violent pornography. (1991).
  
Family Services
  • Support a one-stop-shop office for coordinating family services. (1995)
  • Support computerization of the services to simplify distribution of information and to eliminate duplication. (1995)
  • Support a program to supplement the public bus system. (1995)
 
CONTINUING STUDIES
  • Study revisions of the St. Louis Park City Charter.
  • Study revisions of the St. Louis Park Comprehensive Plan. 
  • Study housing opportunities in St. Louis Park to meet future needs of the community.
 
  1. TRANSLATING LOCAL LEAGUE POSITIONS INTO ACTION
Informal action begins with every member spreading interest and information in an ever-widening circle, starting with family, friends and neighbors.  In addition, we can take action by carrying this information into the community through other organizations to which we belong.  Supporting legislation, which furthers League’s Program, by contacting our legislators is another important action to take.  No one should speak or write letters for the League without first checking with the President.
Advocate
March for our Lives
March 24, 2018
The League of Women Voters Minnesota has a 99-year history of activism in Minnesota on issues affecting our families, education, health care and voting rights. Taking steps to curb this epidemic is not just a Second Amendment issue — it is a horror no less deadly than bubonic plague. Gun violence is a family issue, as we’ve seen when domestic abuse becomes deadly and children are left without a mother. When children go to school in a climate of fear, how can we expect them to learn? Gun rights advocates cry that this is a mental health problem. They’re right, but what steps have they taken to keep guns from mentally ill people?
 The League of Women Voters Minnesota stands firm in its resolve that the Legislature must act swiftly to restrict the sale, possession and use of firearms including provisions that:
  • require registration and licensing of long guns, hand guns and assault weapons
  • require background checks for sales of all firearms
  • ban the manufacture, sale and import of assault weapons and assault weapon parts
  • require mandatory firearm safety training before the purchase of a firearm
Our organization also supports legislation that provides adequate and consistent funding for treatment of people with mental illness, including housing options and long term care. As a starting point, keeping guns out of the hands of the mentally ill seems like a reasonable starting point.
 The League of Women Voters will be present in St. Paul, Washington DC and all across this country on March 24 at the March for our Lives in support of rational change on gun laws in this country. While lawmakers brag about blocking common sense legislation, young people are showing them and all of us what it truly means to lead. The League of Women Voters is proud to walk with them and will be there with election information and voter registration forms. The League will also be encouraging them to do more than march; they must vote. Their voices will be heard on March 24.
SLP High School Walk Out
March 14, 2018
LWVSLP helped more than 80 students register to vote for the November election.
Ranked Choice Voting Charter Commission Vote
In Favor Ranked Choice Voting
March 13, 2018

​Ranked Choice Voting Listening Session
March 6, 2018
Nearly 30 St. Louis Park and Minneapolis residents spoke in favor of Ranked Choice Voting.  One person spoke against RCV saying he thought it was illegal.

Ranked Choice Voting Media Briefing
​December 5, 2017
St. Louis Park leaders discuss lessons learned in the 2017 Ranked Choice Voting municipal elections in Minneapolis and St. Paul.
Link to the recording of the St Louis Park Media Briefing.

​Ranked Choice Voting Media Briefing
November 9, 2017
Minneapolis leaders discuss the impact of Ranked Choice Voting on the November 2017 election.
Link to the recording of the Minneapolis Press Conference.

  • Key successes from Minneapolis and St. Paul --
    • Surge in voter turnout more than two decades
    • Historic diversity in slates of candidates who ran and candidates who won
      • Minneapolis elected the most diverse city council in history
      • St. Paul elected its first African American mayor
    • Statistics show that voters understood the power of ranking
      • Nearly 90 percent of Minneapolis voters ranking their ballot
      • Minneapolis had a valid ballot percentage of 99.999%
      • 76 percent of the voters in St. Paul ranked their ballots
    • Candidates demonstrated the power of reaching out beyond their base for second and third choice support
    • Candidates held more civic and issue focused campaigns
Key lesson learned: This election demonstrated the power of giving voters more choice and more voice

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LWV United States Impact On Issues 2016 - 2018

Link to LWV US policy position for 2017 - 2018
http://forum.lwv.org/member-resources/book/impact-issues-2016-2018-online-edition

Reviewing the policy positions of the LWV SLP are alternated each year between the LWV MN and the LWV US. 2018 is a year that the LWV SLP weighs the support of the US positions,. What does the LWV SLP support? LWV usually has this discussion in December of the year before, hence December of 2017. The LWV SLP policies are then sent to LWV US. All Leagues nationally are combined to become the consensus of the LWV United States.

 LWV Minnesota Program For Action 2017 - 2019
Link to the LWV Minnesota Positions
https://www.lwvmn.org/where-we-stand/other-positions