Programs are generally held on the third Wednesday of each month (except December) at the Women’s City Club in downtown Grand Rapids. Refreshments (including a wine ticket bar, $5/glass) are at 5 pm and the program runs from 5:30 to 6:30 pm. Free parking is available on the west side of the building or at the WCC lot on Lafayette south of Fulton. If you need to use an elevator, please use the entrance off the parking lot on the west side of the building to reach the lower level meeting room. For more information, contact us at program@progressivewomensalliance.org

WHAT'S COMING UP

PWA FUNDRAISER/PROGRAM- Wednesday, September 15, 2010
"The Stakes for Michigan's Supreme Court"
Social/Networking: 5 - 5:30pm, with wine ticket bar $5/glass; Program, 5:30 - 6:30pm including Q & A
Location: Women's City Club, UPPER level, 254 East Fulton, Grand Rapids
Admission: $25. Support PWA's mission to fund candidates.

The stakes for the 2010 race were laid out for us last October by political analyst Bill Ballenger. The redrawing of voting districts after this year's census will likely end up as a Supreme Court case. Who will be in control of the Court when that happens - Engler's conservative bloc, or justices that want to restore balance and fairness? At this month's special PWA program/fundraiser, Mark Brewer, chair of the Michigan Democratic Party, will join us to discuss strategies and how our support can help continue the Court on the road to reform.

Here's how Bill Ballenger explained what's at stake:
Supreme Court races are ostensibly non-partisan, although the candidates are nominated at party conventions. Currently, the Court is 4-3 Republican. The two seats up next year are those of two incumbent Republicans, Elizabeth Weaver and Robert Young, both of whom are likely to run for re-election. The Republicans have nothing to gain and everything to lose in this race. If the Democratic candidates should win both seats, they would gain a 5-2 majority and we would see a complete undoing of the January 1999 Engler court. The Supreme Court ballot does not list party affiliation, but it does identify Incumbents, giving Weaver and Young a built-in advantage (unless someone else gets the Republican nominations). But all Democrats have to do is finish second. The top two vote-getters will win seats. If the Democrats win only one, they will still have a 4-3 majority. Democrats might be smart to nominate only one person and consolidate their support.

Join us on Sept. 15th for an inside look at this year's Supreme Court race and provide your financial support to PWA so that we can continue to usher progressive candidates into office at all levels of Michigan government!

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