May Greetings Everyone!
This is an exciting time for our caucus as we await the outcome for our many endorsed candidates. I want to remind everyone of these local candidates that have been endorsed by our caucus in the past few months:

NWPC Fresno Endorsements:
Fresno City Council District 3  –  Keisha Thomas
Fresno City Council District 5  –  Danielle Parra
Fresno City Council District 7  –  Ariana Martinez-Lott
Fresno Superior Court Office #3  –  Rosalina Nunez
Fresno Superior Court Office # 6  –  Deidre Adams
Fresno Superior Court Office # 14  –  Jaime Xiong-Vang
Fresno County Supervisor District 1  –  Maria Pacheco

NWPC CA Endorsements:
California State Senate District 14  –  Esmeralda Soria
California Assembly District 31  –  Annalisa Perea

I am so proud of this slate of women who asked us for support. I don’t think we have ever endorsed this many candidates in just one election. I am also very proud of our caucus for our willingness to support them, both with our endorsement and with our financial support. All of our candidates have worked hard in this campaign and we wish them well!

Now the disappointing news…. I just learned that while we have been interviewing candidates, working on plans for Women’s Equality Day, and planning for the Pride Parade, we failed to register to participate in the Pride Parade. Somehow that slipped through without our notice and the parade is full and not taking any more groups. I apologize to everyone, and I take personal responsibility for this oversight. 
 
The Pride Parade staff suggested that we, as individuals or as a group, ask to join with other groups who will be participating in the parade. I know many of us are already members of other groups who participate in this event. I hope everyone who was planning to join us can find a group who will welcome our members. I am so very sorry that we will not be able to be together and show NWPC’s support for the LGBTQ community. 

If you haven’t already voted, now is the time to complete your ballot and get it in by mail or in the ballot boxes located around the County. This is a critical election and every vote counts!

Hope to see you at our June 2nd meeting.  We’ll be finished in plenty of time for you go home to watch the early election results.

My best to all,

Lynn Badertscher   

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• Equal Rights and Equal Opportunities for Women
• Reproductive Rights to Choose
• Equal Pay for Women
• Access to Quality Child Care

I encourage you to hold off voting when your ballot first arrives in early May. There have been a number of candidates who have already dropped out of the race for governor and there may be more to come. Our own NWPC CA endorsed candidate for governor Betty Yee dropped out of the race in recent days, but her name will still be on the ballot. Eric Swalwell will be on the ballot too but he has withdrawn from the race. A vote for any withdrawn candidate is a wasted vote, so let’s wait until the later part of May to cast our ballots. It is crucial that our votes count in this important election.

So, let’s get ready for the June 2 primary. Watch the upcoming debates; do our homework and learn about the many candidates running for all the offices on our ballots; get your ballots in on time or go to your assigned polling place and vote in person. You may want to check out the NWPC CA website nwpcca.org to find who our state caucus has endorsed across the ballot.

This is such a critical time in our state and our nation. So much division, so much anger and so much distress among our citizens. I am proud of the work we do in endorsing and financially supporting local progressive women candidates. We support women who are problem solvers, not agitators. We support their work for our communities. Let us continue to do what we can to be agents for change in our community.

Be sure to join us at our May 5th for BIG NEWS about our
Women’s Equality Day Event!

So happy for our sisterhood!

Lynn Badertscher   

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I heard so many people saying “I thought I was the only one ….” or “It feels so wonderful to be with so many likeminded people.” One woman said to me “I was so very angry when I got here. I hate what is happening to our country. When I looked around, I was overwhelmed by how many people were carrying signs that said what I’m here to say. I don’t know anyone in Fresno but this is my tribe.” I heard the word “tribe” over and over today.

We had a grand time reading the wonderful signs people were carrying. Here are some favorites:

• Keep Your Hands Off My Voting Rights & My Social Security
• They like their tea with ice, I like my tea in the harbor
• Resist
• Clean up on Aisle 47
• No Ice in America
• Bring Our Soldiers Home

I handed out lots of NWPC brochures to women standing on the sidewalk or holding signs and waving to the cars passing by. I told them about our caucus and about the work we do and the women we endorse and support. I really hope many of them will join us at an upcoming meeting. No one had heard of NWPC but everyone asked questions.

At a time when so many of us are angry, disheartened, and frankly afraid for our country, I came away from today’s No Kings event in Fresno feeling uplifted by the thousands of people standing on the sidewalk and peacefully proclaiming their objections to the direction and policies of our current administration. I didn’t see anyone passing by who was cursing at us, raising their fingers to us, or showing us any disrespect. Instead, we saw lots of people cheering us on and honking their horns is agreement. Fresno should be proud of the way everyone handled themselves at the No Kings event on this beautiful Saturday morning.

I look forward to seeing everyone in April!

Lynn Badertscher   

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Best Wishes to Everyone and I hope to see you on March 3rd.

Lynn Badertscher   

The post President’s Message appeared first on NWPC Fresno.

Among the most popular topics were Immigrant Success Stories; Candidate Forums or Hearing From the Candidates; the Dakota Eco Gardens; and Dementia. We will do our best to cover as many of the topics as we can this year. There was also a lot of interest in becoming more active in the campaigns in 2026. If you have suggestions for election activities, please share your ideas or information with a Board Member.

We had our first Board Meeting of the year on January 21st . Our Board is made of up new members and members who have been with our caucus for decades, and some of us have been around for a while; we are of many different backgrounds, experiences, ages and interests. I’m excited to see what we can make happen this year.

Apparently, at the January meeting, I forgot to update every one on our December donation to Faith in the Valley. Our $1,000 donation was directed to their Valley Watch Network Program. This program focuses on the immigration landscape in the Valley and the current status of ICE detentions and raids in our local communities. Thanks to all of you who for your generous contributions.

Looking forward to seeing you on February 3rd .

Let Your Voice Be Heard!
Please contact your member of Congress and make sure they know how you 
feel about the “State of Our Nation.”.

In Unity and Equality,

Lynn Badertscher   

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          President – Lynn Badertscher
          Past President – Marsha Conant
          ADMIN VP – Vacant
          Secretary – Vacant
          ADMIN CFO – Michelle DeLaBarre
          State Director – Barbara Castle
          PAC VP – Darcy Brown
          PAC Treasurer – Linda Knight

Please consider joining our Board as either the ADMIN VP or Secretary. We hold our Board Meetings once a month for an evening Zoom meeting that lasts about an hour.

Marsha took responsibility for scheduling speakers this past year but that was not her official responsibility.  She will remain on the Board as Past President but she has decided that she won’t be able to take on the responsibility of arranging speakers. Please consider volunteering to be ADMIN VP. The major responsibility for this position is finding a speaker for the monthly meetings. I have already scheduled speakers for March and April and the Board will be helpful in suggesting speakers. The Secretary is responsible for taking minutes at the General Meeting and at the Board Meeting.

The Board is a fun and dedicated group of women who enjoy one another and our caucus. Join us in leading the largest caucus in CA. Please reach out to me if you are interested in taking on one of the vacant positions.

No speaker this month.  Instead we are going to break the meeting up into small groups of 4-5 and people give us ideas about topics or speakers and perhaps a theme for the year. 

Hope to see everyone on our January 6th meeting. Please feel free to bring a friend.

Happy New Year to Everyone!

My best to all of you,

Lynn Badertscher

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The post President’s Message appeared first on NWPC Fresno.

• Alysia Bonner – President, Central Labor Council
• Annalisa Perea – Fresno City Councilmember, District 1
• Bernadette Vasquez – Community Activist; Co-Chair of the Human Rights Commission of the Central Valley; and NWPC Member

Mary Stanley Courage to Run Award:

• Itzi Robles – Fresno Co. Board of Education

Good Guy Award:

• Rev. Tim Kutzmark, Minister Unitarian Universalist Church of Fresno

Our fundraising efforts allow us to provide endorsements and campaign funds for Valley women running for office for mayor, school boards, city councils, county supervisors, etc.
 
What can you do help make this event a success?

• Buy a ticket for yourself
• Bring your friends and family members
• Sign up to help with setup or take down after the luncheon
• Please consider donating an item or two for the silent action. Minimum value of $50 per item.
• Become a financial Sponsor of the event.
• Join the WED Planning Committee – Next meeting on Thursday, August 28, 5:30 on Zoom. Contact Marsha or Lynn to be included on the Zoom call.

Looking forward to a very successful fundraiser!
Lynn Badertscher

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My Best to all!  

Lynn Badertscher

The Warnings of George Washington

In 1796, George Washington wrote to the nation in his Farewell Address as he stepped away from the Presidency. Almost prophetically he anticipated the encroachment of one branch of government over the others. He said: “It is important … that … those entrusted with its administration … confine themselves within their respective constitutional spheres, avoiding in the exercise of the powers of one department any encroachment upon another…. The spirit of encroachment tends to consolidate the powers of all the departments in one, and thus to create … a real despotism.” Nothing aroused the wrath of Washington more than arrogant bureaucrats actually changing the fundamental structure of government by sheer despotic assertion of administrative power. He said: “If, in the opinion of the people, the distribution or modification of the constitutional powers be in any particular wrong, let it be corrected by an amendment in the way which the Constitution designates. But let there be no change by usurpations; for though this, in one instance, may be the instrument of good, it is the customary weapon by which free governments are destroyed.”

The Warnings of John Adams

President John Adams, a key figure in American political history, expressed deep reservations about the two-party system. He warned, “There is nothing which I dread so much as a division of the republic into two great parties, each arranged under its leader, and converting measures in opposition to each other.” Adams recognized that such polarization could force voters into a perpetual choice between suboptimal candidates, rather than selecting truly virtuous leadership. 

The “lesser evil” argument in today’s political landscape often becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Voters often compromise their ideals to support the less objectionable candidate, political parties have reduced incentives to nominate exemplary leaders. This pattern can result in a downward spiral, where ethical standards decline little by little over time and the bar for acceptable behavior in public office continues to lower.

The Warnings of James Madison

Madison was known to be the philosophical soul-mate of Thomas Jefferson, but sometimes his contemporaries considered him somewhat paranoid and suffering from fears for the nation that would never happen. But the passing of time was to prove him more insightful than many of his contemporaries had thought. He said: “If Congress can employ money indefinitely, for the general welfare, and are the sole and supreme judges of the general welfare, they may take the care of religion into their own hands; they may appoint teachers in every state, county, and parish, and pay them out of the public treasury; they may take into their own hands the education of children, the establishing in like manner schools throughout the union; they may assume the provision of the poor…. Were the power of Congress to be established in the latitude contended for, it would subvert the very foundations, and transmute the very nature of the limited government established by the people of America.”

The Warnings of Benjamin Franklin

Franklin served as one of the foremost architects in structuring the Constitution, and while most of the Founders were congratulating one another on their remarkable charter of liberty, Benjamin Franklin injected this note of prophetic insight. “I agree to this Constitution … and I believe, further, that this is likely to be well administered for a course of years, and can only end in despotism, as other forms have done before it, when the people shall become so corrupted as to need despotic government, being incapable of any other.” All of this went along with Franklin’s basic philosophy of sound government; namely, that no people can remain free if they become wicked and immoral. When a society decays to the point where people begin to fear for their lives and their property, the demands for a police state have always been inevitable.

The Warnings of Abraham Lincoln

I answer, if it ever reaches us, it must spring up among us. It cannot come from abroad. At the age of twenty-eight, Abraham Lincoln gave one of the great speeches of his life. He had been asked to speak at the Young Men’s Lyceum at Springfield, Illinois (1837). He chose as his subject, “The Perpetuation of Our Political Institutions.” Lincoln deplored the spirit of lawlessness that was increasing among the people. He said: “There is even now something of ill omen amongst us. I mean that increasing disregard for law which pervades the country — the growing disposition to substitute the wild and furious passion in lieu of the sober judgment of courts, and the worse than savage mobs for the executive ministers of justice. The disposition is awfully fearful in any community; and that it now exists in ours … it would be a violation of truth to deny.” He was not afraid of invasion from without, but he saw the ominous possibility of self-destruction from within. He said: “At what point, then, is the approach of danger to be expected?

The Prophesy of Barack Obama

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“I think the purpose of life is to be useful, to be responsible, to be compassionate. It is, above all, to matter: to count, to stand for something, to have it make some difference that you lived at all.”.             

Bregman defines Moral Ambition as “the will to make the world a wildly better place… It’s a longing to make a difference – and to build a legacy that truly matters.”

Gosh, this sounds exactly like “Good Trouble” to me.

For more than fifty years NWPC and NWPC Fresno have worked to build a legacy that truly mattered. In the early 1970’s I’m sure most Americans could hardly conceive of a time when a woman would be a Presidential candidate for a major political party. For those of us in NWPC we can’t understand why several women haven’t already been elected to the Oval Office.

I remember taking my daughter’s Girl Scout troop to the CA Capital in the 1980s. The girls were in elementary school and we had the great honor of meeting and being escorted through the CA Senate chambers by Senator Rose Ann Vuich. In 1976 Rose Ann Vuich from Dinuba became the first women elected to the California Senate, in a seat she held until 1992. Sen. Vuich proudly escorted our troop to the Rose Room, named for her, and build for her since until her election there had been no need for a women’s bathroom in the CA Senate.

What a difference 24 years has made. Today, the CA legislature has near parity with 59 women and 61 men holding state office. NWPC Fresno has endorsed and supported many women who have sought and been elected to local Valley offices and some of them have gone on to hold offices in Sacramento. Good Trouble indeed!

Today we see a new cause that calls Americans to demonstrate Moral Ambition and to engage in Good Trouble. We are fighting for the very foundations of our democracy – for the Constitution, The Rule of Law, the Sanctity of the Courts and the Judicial System. It is sobering to think that our American way of life is hanging in the balance, but clearly this is true.

If we are to be successful in holding onto democracy, decency, kindness and compassion for those in need, the balance of power and the rule of law; we will need the majority of our citizens to join us in committing to the principles of Moral Ambition and Good Trouble.

Perhaps one day our generation will be seen as another “Great Generation.”

In Unity & Equality,

Lynn Badertscher

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