By Janet Anderson
League of Women Voters and also became a
member of the Advisory Council of the
Proportional Representation League. She saw PR
as a natural extension of the suffrage movement:it
was important not only to get the vote but also to
make the vote effective in securing representation.
Convention in 1921 and continuing until 1942, with
only three exceptions, the subject of Proportional
Representation appeared on the League's national
agenda either as an ongoing study or part of a
Continuing Responsibility. This term, which ceased
being used in the '70's, meant that the National
League supported the concept and urged members
to work for its enactment.
history! It was pieced together by Kathleen Barber,
author of several books on the history of PR in Ohio
hours in a public library wading through many years
of National Convention minutes in order to
assemble it.
merged with the National Municipal League. For
many years that organization published model city
charters. Along with the City Manager form of
government was its recommendation that a
proportional voting system be installed. At one
time 21 American cities, counties or school boards
used proportional voting systems.
the National Civic League and the King County
Municipal League knows nothing of this little piece
of history. Institutional memory is indeed a fragile
commodity.
lost. If you signed up, or are interested in assisting with our continuing study, please communicate with Janet
Anderson, JanetRAnderson@msn.com; 206-285-2460 or 4560 West Cramer Street, Seattle, 98199. In addition
to helping your own League conduct meeting/s on this subject, there will be opportunities to help us track and
lobby legislation. We have a huge educational challenge and can use all helping hands and heads. Committee
members are quite willing to assist local leagues with these programs.
Sizes: Small, Medium, Large, X-Large, XX-Large
Cost: $15.00 plus $3,00 shipping
Call or write: LWV of Yakima County
P. O. Box 723, Yakima, WA 98907
Washington. Each League in the state identified a member to be their representative to the committee and those
close enough attended monthly meetings in Seattle. We organized ourselves in the summer of 2000 and began
with a study of the current League position on trade and an analysis of literature from agencies and
organizations involved in trade issues. Beginning in September the committee heard presentations reflecting
various views on trade and globalization.
International Trade, who was primarily responsible for bringing the Ministerial Meeting of WTO to Seattle in
1999; David Korten, author of 'When Corporations Rule the World'; Jan Piercy, U.S. Representative to the
World Bank; a panel of three young Chinese diplomats whose work involves China's integration into WTO;
Patti Goldman, managing attorney for the Northwest Office of Earth Justice Legal Fund; Barrie Austin, a
committee member who participated in the Tokyo and Uruguay rounds of GATT; Jamie Grove of the
Washington State Labor Council and academic speakers from our local universities. Each IR committee
member/ representative was mailed minutes from the meetings including summaries of the speeches and
encouraged to share their thoughts with the committee and with the League's list-serv. (which some of them
did)
be shared with the League of Women Voters of US task force and League members in Washington State.
Barbara Guptill, LWV/Seattle; Jean Moehring, LWV Kitsap County; and Ruth McCloskey, LWV/Lake
Washington East used questions from Eleanor Revelle, LWVUS UN/Trade Study Chair, which appeared on the
Leagues list-serv and a concept grid to elicit responses from the committee. The results of that valiant effort are
in the following report.
CALENDAR FOR THE LWVUS TRADE UPDATE
CALENDAR FOR LWVUS UN UPDATE
Carol Goldenberg, International Relations Committee Chair
discussed by the entire committee, are in capital letters.)
firms whose assets rival those of nations. An increasing proportion of financial exchange is also international.
Since management and capital can relocate at will, they may increasingly be able to escape or overwhelm
national laws and regulations making their power for constructive and destructive action great. The need for
prioritizing becomes essential as awareness of our interdependence and the requirements for planetary
sustainability grows. The search for immediate wealth must not destroy basic human necessities. Therefore,
US trade and financial policy should promote the economic well being of the US in such a way that it can
enhance sustainability, prevent negative human effects on climate, and protect the uniqueness of the world's
cultures.
believes that U.S. trade policy must serve the long-
term political, economic and social interests of this
country and its citizens, and contribute to the
collective and individual welfare of our trading
partners.
contribute to political harmony between nations,
stimulate economic development at home and
abroad, and expand consumer choice. FT: THE
LEAGUE BELIEVES THE BASIC PRINCIPLE
OF A FREE MARKET IS TO ENABLE WILLING
BUYERS AND WILLING SELLERS TO DEAL
WITH ONE ANOTHER. THEREFORE, BOTH
PROTECTED AGAINST ANY FORMS OF
COERCION.
flexible, effective and efficient and based on the
present and foreseeable public interest.
and non-tariff trade barriers, recognizing that the
historic pattern of trade has, in the latter part of the
20thcentury, become one aspect of the larger
activity of international investment.
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