Editor's Note: Women For: Orange County held its final organizational meeting in late December, at the Duck Club in Irvine. We share photos by longtime member and in-house photographer Angelo Vassos featuring guest speakers (journalist Sandy Banks and constitutional law scholar Erwin Chemerinsky), volunteer projects, the annual Suffrage Day Luncheon and, of course the legendary Great American Write-In. Below, Irvine Mayor Larry Agran, novelist Mary Camarillo and WF:OC President Carol Tuch reflect on the work of one of our favorite organizations. And --- good news --- Women For member Felicity Figueroa confirms that the Great American Write-In will continue under the auspices of the League of Minority Voters!

Larry Agran: Thanks, Women For: Orange County!

So, sadly, Women For: Orange County is no more. But the organization's legacy of civic activism lives on, propelling generations of women (and, yes, men too) toward ever more effective civic engagement — as informed voters, as candidates and officeholders, and as relentless advocates for progressive change. Happily, I understand that Women For's most spectacular programmatic creation — the annual "Great American Write-In" — will endure. Thank goodness! Devoting one day every year to gathering together hundreds of citizens, young and old alike, to write letters to public officials requesting and even demanding action on issues of war and peace, social justice, the environment, and much more...well, that's pure genius.  

As an elected official myself, it was my pleasure to attend many of the past Write-Ins. I'd often be invited to take a few minutes to explain to participants the impact of an old-fashioned, from-the-heart, hand-written letter — sent via U.S. Mail — as compared with cut-and-paste emails that are part of an organized email campaign. Yes, emails (and text messages too) have some impact, but as a general rule hand-written letters requesting a written reply are put on the very top of the incoming pile of mail. Some call it snail-mail; I call it real mail. Thanks, Women For: Orange County...and thanks to those who are committed to keeping The Great American Write-In — and American Democracy — alive in these perilous times.

 Mary Camarillo: The Letters I Wrote

Although I’ve been a woman in Orange County for most of my life, I belonged to Women For: Orange County for only a few years. I regret not joining earlier, especially since the organization has recently disbanded.

What attracted me initially was the chance to participate in the Great American Write-In. The Write-In is an annual free event where organizations offer information to the community about issues like education, health care, human and civil rights, and the environment. Since 1986, Women For: OC has provided postcards, paper, stamps, and address labels, and given me a chance to express my opinion to government and corporate decision-makers.

It was also a chance for me to do one of my favorite things: write letters. (Full anachronistic disclosure: I also subscribe to a print newspaper and listen to music on vinyl.)

I am a life-long letter writer. Raised in the South, I was required to write thank you notes to my grandmothers as soon as I learned cursive. I had an English pen pal when I was twelve. We wrote to each other on postal aerograms about the Beatles. Her favorite was Paul, mine was John.

I still send thank you notes, and sympathy, birthday, and Christmas cards. I had a long career with the postal service sorting other people’s Christmas cards. There used to be so much mail at Christmas that I worked ten hours a day, six days a week, during the entire month of December. That volume has long disappeared and since postage and printing costs have escalated, this year I’m trimming our Christmas card list.

I wonder if anyone will notice.

Meanwhile, the conservative members of the Huntington Beach City Council never seemed to notice the emails I sent about their plans to privatize our library and set up a twenty-one-member citizen committee to decide which books to buy. (They don’t trust librarians.)

I also wonder if anyone noticed the letters I wrote as a volunteer with Vote Forward during the presidential campaign. Vote Forward is a nonprofit organization of grassroots volunteers who send handwritten letters encouraging Americans in strategic states and districts to vote. This year, it was a great excuse for me to buy John Lewis stamps and write to folks in my home state of North Carolina.

Vote Forward is still evaluating the results of its 2024 campaign. They’re not sure at the moment if their letter writing efforts were worthwhile but expect to offer an analysis next summer. I hope we had an impact, even though the results were disappointing.

I will miss writing letters with Women For: Orange County, and I will also miss their annual Suffrage Day Luncheon honoring outstanding Orange County women for their unique contributions. One of this year’s honorees was Huntington Beach City Council Member Natalie Moser.

For the past two years, Moser and the two other progressive council members were consistently criticized, ignored, and outvoted in their efforts to protect our library and serve the community instead of picking endless fights with the state of California over housing mandates, voter identification, and book bans.

Although they weren’t reelected, I admire all three for running again. Alas, Surf City now has a seven-member MAGA city council, MAGA city attorney, MAGA city clerk, MAGA city treasurer, and brand new “Make Huntington Beach Great Again” red hats.

Just now I’m writing to Santa and asking for the energy and stamina to keep up some sort of good fight. And for more stamps too. Before the price goes up again.

Women For: Orange County President Carol Tuch: I Should Not Have Been Surprised & Some History

In the aftermath of the pandemic, Women For: Orange County was finally considering hybrid and “in-person” meetings. At our December 2021, planning meeting, I presented the idea of contacting David Pepper --- lawyer, writer, political activist, former elected official, and adjunct professor --- to discuss his recently published book Laboratories of Autocracy, A Wake-Up Call from Behind the Lines. I about fell off my chair when I received an “I’d be happy to discuss my book with your club” email from Pepper. Wow! David Pepper, who Al Franken, Thom Hartmann, and countless others had interviewed, was going to speak to us! The discussion inspired other David Pepper presentations by groups including the League of Women Voters. But I should not have been surprised, as Women For has always engaged forward thinking, influential leaders.

Women For received a letter from an estate law firm, Albrecht & Barney, in February 2020, explaining that we were to be one of the beneficiaries of the Joann Paige Ruden Trust. Only one of our board members, Marilyn Vassos, remembered Joann and knew she was originally a member of the Los Angeles chapter, founded in 1964, before moving to Orange County. Ruden, a champion of women’s rights, education for all, community, and people, knew our founding members: Ruth Bellows, Grace Dunkley, Constance Haddad, Vivial Hall, Lynn Osen, Joyce Rothfeder, Joan Rowland, Mary Lou Sortais, Vivian Thorp, and Paula Werner. Women For: Orange County was founded in 1984 and has an incredible history to be proud of.

Women For has lobbied for women’s, human and civil rights, peace, justice, education, health care, and the environment through letter-writing, public events and fairs, educational speaker presentations, political action, marches, and honoring Orange County activists who support our ideals. In the past forty years Women For: Orange County has, among many other actions:

• Hosted speakers including Erwin Chemerinsky, Sandy Banks, Kathleen Belew, Father Gregory Boyle, Blase Bonpane, Carolyn Inmon, Hans Johnson, and the Hon. Frederick Aguirre.

• Sponsored the Women’s March 2017 and 2018, Candlelight Vigil Against Gun Violence, Tea with Alice and Me, People’s Budget OC, Stop Hunger Now/Rise Against Hunger, World Fair Trade Event.

• Held two major events annually: The Great American Write-In, where local, state, national and international organizations invite participants to write letters to legislators and leaders. And the Suffrage Day Luncheon, to commemorate Suffrage Day, August 26,1920, and honor Orange County residents dedicated themselves to women’s suffrage and human rights.

• Been instrumental in adopting Laura’s Law, the dissolution of Hoag Hospital and St. Joseph Health System, SB 135: Paid Family Leave, fighting human trafficking.

• Weighed in on LGBTQ+ issues, the Supreme Court decision Burwell v. Hobby Lobby, refugees, homelessness, and gun violence, along with countless other issues vital to our health and well-being.

It has been an honor to be a part of Women For: Orange County. We are very grateful to all our members and supporters who have sustained us through their attendance at our events and meetings. We are proud of our many accomplishments and hope we have inspired you all to participate in, volunteer with and support other organizations dedicated to advancing human and civil rights, peace, social justice, education, healthcare, and the environment.

Larry Agran is currently the Mayor of the City of Irvine, California.

Mary Camarillo’s first novel The Lockhart Women, published in June 2021 by She Writes Press, won first place in the Next Generation Indie Awards for first fiction. Her work has appeared in publications such as 166 Palms, The Sonora Review, Lunch Ticket, and The Ear. Her newest novel, Those People Behind Us, is out out from She Writes Press. She lives in Huntington Beach, California.

Carol Tuch is the Orange County: Women For president.