The latest news from Paula Lopez, the President of the Santa Barbara Women’s Political Committee (2023 – )
August 2023
August 29, 2023The month of August brings Women’s Equality Day and the 35th Anniversary of the founding of Santa Barbara Women’s Political Committee. These are two significant opportunities to recognize the accomplishments and advancements of women locally in this country while taking a hard look at where we need to go and what we need to do to ...Read moreJune 2023
June 19, 2023For many people June in Santa Barbara will be remembered as a month of gray days, graduations, Juneteenth and Pride. It also marks nine months until the March primary, which gives us a time frame and time clock to gear up for the 2024 election. We have an opportunity to continue to build on a trend ...Read moreThe secret to world peace is women
April 21, 2023The secret to world peace is women. When women are involved in negotiations, the probability of a peace deal being sustained over 2 years increases by 20%. It’s 35% more likely that the peace deal will last over 15 years when women are represented at the negotiating table.” Thank you to our past President Lois Phillips ...Read moreFebruary 2023
February 21, 2023January 2023 began as a stark reminder of how little we have accomplished in curbing the gun violence that has plagued our country and our state. It was also a reminder of how much farther we have to go. 40 mass shootings were committed and more than 60 people died. While it was a coast-to-coast phenomenon, ...Read moreJanuary 2023
January 15, 2023Following a tumultuous year that saw the dismantling of women’s reproductive rights in June with the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe vs. Wade, the midterm elections brought a renewed sense of hope as to what the American people, particularly American women, value and are committed to holding on to. Not only did the midterm ...Read more
Columns by Former SBWPC President Catherine Swysen (2021-2022)
Political Action in Time of Crisis
August 22, 2022These past few weeks, we have witnessed the Supreme Court strike a devastating blow to women’s rights when it overruled Roe v. Wade, taking away our constitutional right to abortion and calling into question other rights rooted in the Fourteenth Amendment such as contraception and same sex marriage. Other decisions issued this term have undermined gun regulations ...Read moreThis June, Have Your Voice Heard
June 10, 2022As we mourn those who were murdered in Buffalo, New York and Uvalde, Texas, it is our responsibility to rise up and send a clear message that we have had enough of our failure to confront our history of racial terror and injustice, the white supremacy ideology infecting the public sphere and gun violence. We have ...Read morePromoting Hope
April 24, 2022This month we celebrated Women’s History, Women Providing Healing Promoting Hope. As I was reflecting on this theme, I was drawn to Vaclav Havel’s description of hope as a state of mind, an ability to work for something because it is good. We hold a deeply held conviction that our core feminist values matter and that, no ...Read moreSBWPC Elects New President and New Board Members
February 14, 2022As we start a new year, let our feminist values guide us through 2022, a critical midterm election year. Our values are elemental and universal: human rights and full equal rights for all, globally and locally, equality and equity in all spheres of society. As stated in our position papers, “we will achieve our vision ...Read more
Columns by Former SBWPC President Luz Reyes-Martín (2019-2021)
Closing Message from the President
December 15, 2021SBWPC Members and Supporters, We recently held our 2021 Cosmopolitics event, virtually, with keynote speaker Dr. Jenna Tosh. Jenna is the President and CEO of our local Planned Parenthood and Planned Parenthood Action Fund. She provided an in-depth overview of the current status of abortion rights and the Supreme Court. More than ever, we must all ...Read moreInternational Women’s Day
March 8, 2021SBWPC Members, This month we celebrate Women’s History and today we celebrate International Women’s Day! International Women’s Day is powered by the collective efforts of all From the International Women’s Day website: Collective action and shared ownership for driving gender parity is what makes International Women’s Day impactful. Gloria Steinem, world-renowned feminist, journalist and activist once explained “The ...Read moreCelebrate Black History Month! Exciting Events Coming Up!
February 17, 2021I invite you to celebrate Black History Month this February by furthering your learning, strengthening your support for racial justice, and supporting local events. There is still time to tune in for many upcoming virtual events in our local community in celebration of Black History Month. Additionally, we are thrilled to welcome Los Angeles County Supervisor Holly ...Read moreResponse to Siege on the US Capitol
January 8, 2021SBWPC Members – Yesterday, I had planned to send a communication to celebrate the Senate victories in Georgia. However, I watched the news yesterday in complete horror at the events unfolding in our nation’s Capitol. Congress convened to fulfill their Constitutional duty to confirm the election of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. In the midst of ...Read moreFeminist Voter Guide
September 26, 2020SBWPC Members, There is quite a lot to share with you this month. But I must start by saying the words that are heavy on my heart today: Breonna Taylor Breonna Taylor deserved justice, she did not get it. She deserved better. Black women deserve better. We must do better to seek justice and reaffirm that Black Lives ...Read more84 Days to Go…
August 12, 2020SBWPC Members, As of August 11, there are 84 days to go until election day. We’ve heard over and over that this election will be the most important election of our lives. We know what is at stake. So the question must be – what are we going to do to ensure that on November 4th, ...Read moreStay-At-Home to the Work Continues
April 7, 2020SBWPC Members, I had hoped to get this newsletter out to our members sooner – but if there is anything COVID-19 has shown us it is that all our carefully laid plans are out the window! It’s hard to imagine that just a few short weeks ago, we were full speed ahead planning for upcoming events ...Read moreGetting to Work
March 18, 2019The Santa Barbara Women’s Political Committee kicked off 2019 with a visible presence at the Women’s March Santa Barbara, our Annual Membership Meeting and with a Board Retreat. At the Women’s March, I was proud to represent SBWPC and speak about our feminist values and our determination to continue to persist in the face of relentless ...Read moreOff to a strong start in 2019!
January 23, 2019I wish you all a Happy New Year and Welcome to 2019! I am humbled and honored to lead, along with our Board of Directors, the Santa Barbara Women’s Political Committee into its 31st year. I am constantly inspired by their passion and commitment to feminist values. Thank you for being a member and supporting the ...Read more
Columns by Former SBWPC President Catherine Swysen (2016-2018)
Thirty Years, The Mid-Term Election and Beyond
December 29, 2018Dear Members: 2018 was a landmark year for SBWPC as we celebrated “30 Years of Feminism: From Marching in the Street to a Seat at the Table.” Thirty years ago, our founding members organized to bring feminist consciousness into the political discourse. They understood that feminist, progressive women needed to take a seat at the table, ...Read moreYear Two of the Resistance: Let’s Keep our Eyes on the Prize – A Seat at the Table
January 19, 2018Last year was a year of profound disappointment but also of tremendous activism. Together, we rose, we resisted and we persisted! The Board and the various committees worked hard to protect and promote our feminist values. Our engagement took several forms. We marched, we protested and made our voices heard loud and clear in the streets. ...Read moreLet’s Be Bold for Change
April 10, 2017On January 21, we started the year by participating in the historic Women’s March in Los Angeles, 600 strong, marching in unity and solidarity with hundreds of thousands of women and men of all ages and background. Many of you who could not join us marched here in Santa Barbara. Our voices joined the voices ...Read moreA Call to Action
November 16, 2016Like you, I was hoping to wake up on November 9 with the first woman President -Elect ever. It was not to be. Instead, the unimaginable happened: our nation elected someone whose vision of America runs counter to ours in every respect. The presidential campaign has also exposed that racism, sexism, and misogyny are still ...Read moreIn the Fall Spirit
September 30, 2016I cannot believe that we are already in October! Election Day is only a month away. This year’s elections are critical at the local, state and national levels. There is so much at stake and we must make sure that our voices are heard and our feminist agenda put forward . We could not fulfill our ...Read more
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