Archive of Past Events 2024

We are posting our archives of past Zoom events on this page in case you missed one. Most of these are from our popular Lunch with League events.

See upcoming League Events including the next Lunch with League.
Also see our Archive for programs in 2023, 2022, 2021 or 2020.

We talk about democracy and the recent election with Dave Lesher, co-founder and editor in chief of CalMatters, and Moryt Milo, editor of San Jose Spotlight. Both are nonprofit news organizations. Dave introduced "Digital Democracy", a tool his team has developed to help people easily access in-depth information about state government and their legislators. November 21, 2024.

The League is proud to present an unbiased, nonpartisan analysis of ballot measures before an election which we call "Pros & Cons". At our Lunch with League event on October 17, our own members jn our speakers bureau helped us understand Propositions 4, 5, and 36. For more information on these all measures, see "Online Resources "

A.J. Jacobs is a journalist, lecturer, "human guinea pig" and author of four New York Times bestsellers including "The Year of Living Biblically". His latest book is "The Year of Living Constitutionally". He spoke to us and answered our questions on August 15, 2024 Learn what it is like to carry a musket in public, write with a quill pen, and pull up your woolen socks What does it mean to live by the Constitution? How does the Constitution fit into our democracy today?

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Ann Ravel, past Chair of the Federal Election Commission and past Chair of the California Fair Political Practices Commission was our keynote speaker at our annual business meeting on June 8, 2024. Her presentation "Is American Democracy Backsliding?" included her perspective of Mexico's electoral system and constitutional laws, attacks on America's electoral processes and election administrators, and the impact of dark money in elections. Listen to her remarks after a welcome by Diane McNutt, our President.

Watch a riveting discussion on the power of innocence advocacy with the Northern California Innocence Project (NCIP). Discover how NCIP tirelessly fights to overturn wrongful convictions and set the innocent free. Through a combination of real-life cases and legal insights, Todd Fries, Executive Director, talks about the complexities behind wrongful convictions and the impactful work being done to restore hope and truth in our legal system.

Hear former San Jose Mayor Ron Gonzales and Guiselle Nuñez, authors of Life in the Fish Bowl discuss the personal side of politics with real-life stories of current and former elected officials and what their experiences can tell us about the personal sacrifices we ask of those who enter the political arena. What is it like to be a local elected official today? They are interviewed by our President Diane McNutt.

Kerrie Romanow, the Director of Environmental Services for the City of San José, leads the city to meet the climate goals of the Paris Accords through Climate Smart San José, an ambitious, data driven climate plan to decrease San José’s carbon emissions, conserve water and improve the quality of life. Learn about recycling, changing to electric, building codes, San Jose Clean Energy, and more, She was interviewed by Gloria Chun Hoo and answered our questions on March 21, 2024.