May 2025
Editor Jennifer Bales
jbales@me.com
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Please attend our annual meeting!
Click here to register:
| | | Co-Presidents Susan Saunders and Peggy Leech | | By Peggy Leech and Susan Saunders | We’ve been thinking about May Day. It’s both a call to celebrate spring (May 1) and a call for help (Mayday, Mayday)! You’re reading this after the 1st of May, but we can still celebrate the approach of Mother’s Day when it’s safe to begin planting and time to hit the golf course and tennis courts.
Instead of crying Mayday in distress, we can celebrate the crowds of concerned people who attended rallies and wrote letters and placed phone calls in support of our democracy and the belief in equality on May 1.
Instead of lamenting the distress our nation appears to be suffering, we can celebrate the League of Women Voters and strengthen our focus on what needs to be done to move forward, calmly.
We can look forward to our Annual Meeting and its recognition of our work and increased membership as well as the election of the next Board of Directors. We hope to see you there!
Check our website frequently to see other opportunities for involvement, such as festivals, new citizen ceremonies, Drinks and Dialog, and more. | 2025 Duck Race: July 4, 2025 in Niwot
Buy a ticket to support LWVBC
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LWVBC is selling tickets to the Niwot Rotary Club's "Duck Pluck" which takes place on July 4th. This is a fundraising opportunity for US...and YOU get a chance to win a nice CASH prize! LWVBC has had two winners in the past--could you be next?
Tickets are $5 each and can be purchased at any of the following:
• LWVBC Annual Meeting, May 31
• Erie Pride, June 1
• LWVBC Drinks and Dialogue, June 16th, St Vrain Cidery, Longmont
• Most LWVBC Board Members have tickets for sale
• Ruth Stemler’s home, May 28 - June 28th (email Ruth at rjstemler@gmail.com to make arrangements)
Arrange purchases of 5 tickets or more with Ruth
Ticket sales conclude on June 29.
If you are interested in SELLING tickets to help with this fundraiser, please contact Ruth at rjstemler@gmail.com.
| | | Vacancy-reform bills affecting state legislators and larger-population county commissioners have passed the legislature and are on their way to the governor. Unfortunately, the bills passed without any of our proposed amendments. If the governor signs the bills and the proposed vacancy elections occur, Colorado would be the first state to hold an election to fill a seat but limit, based solely on party affiliation, who can run and who can vote in the election. A constitutional challenge seems likely. LWVCO issued this press release: Vacancy Reform Bills
We estimate about 90% of the $320,240 FY 2025-26 fiscal note for HB25-1315 would be eliminated if the vacancy election were opened up to any candidate and all voters, regardless of party affiliation.
The last day of the legislative session is May 7, 2025. The LWVCO Legislative Wrap-up on Zoom is May 21 at 5:30pm. Register on the calendar at lwvcolorado.org.
LWVBC members may be interested in joining RCV for Longmont on Tuesday, May 13th, from 1:30 to 3:00 at the Longmont Public Library for a non-partisan discussion with civic leaders from across Colorado on how to build a bold, representative democracy. rcvforlongmont.org/events
| 2025 LWV Colorado Annual Meeting
| This is a virtual meeting, and free to all participants.
Boulder County is entitled to 10 delegates. If you would like to become a delegate, please contact Peggy Leech at pegleech@aol.com by the deadline of March 14. Basically, materials such as the budget and nominations are presented on Friday evening, followed by discussion and voting on Saturday morning.
The keynote speaker on Saturday will be Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, talking about Colorado’s lawsuits against the current administration.
If you are not a voting delegate, you can also attend as a non-voting observer.
You will need to sign in as a member on the LWVCO website to open the links below. (Your password for LWVCO is the same password as you have for LWVBC.) You can also just sign in on the LWVCO website, click on the Members tab, and then the Annual Meeting tab.
| Drinks and Dialog Are Back!
| Drinks and Dialogs are back!
For the first time since before the pandemic, LWVBC will host a Drinks and Dialog event. This will be the first of several over the next year. These were always popular in the past, and we are pleased to be able to offer them again.
Save the date:
Monday, June 16, 6-7:30 pm
St Vrain Cidery in Longmont
Topic: There’s Good News!
What one citizen did to hold elected officials accountable.
This should be informative, entertaining, and FUN, with time to enjoy friends and cider.
The event is free, but we will be asking for a small donation at the door to help cover costs. In addition, we hope everyone will support St Vrain Cidery by buying a beverage.
Details and registration will be on the LWVBC website soon.
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By Susan Curtis
Membership count: 224 | | | Welcome to these new members who joined in April: Connie O’Dell, Hannah Wurl, Susan Bateman, Cynthia Beeler, Kathie Burson, Douglas Anderson, Ana Maria Angel Anderson, Erika Noll Webb, Lori Stevens, and Rafael Hernandez Guerrero. Welcome!
League Events in May: Please consult the scroll down calendar on the LWVBC home page, on the right at LWVBC.org. There are so many exciting events happening in May and we need your help. There are many volunteer opportunities!
Annual Meeting, Saturday, May 31
The League of Women Voters of Boulder County Annual Meeting is Saturday, May 31, at Rule4, 3002 Bluff Street, Suite 100, Boulder 80301. The meeting begins at 9 a.m. with social time. The keynote speaker is Stacy Feldman, Founder and Publisher of the Boulder Reporting Lab speaking on The Front Page and the Future of Democracy. She will begin her remarks at 9:30.
The business meeting will follow Stacy’s presentation. This meeting is an important part of our League calendar year and sets the pace for the coming fiscal year with election of officers, approval of the budget and much more. Highlights are the presentations of the student scholarship and merit awards. It’s an opportunity to enjoy all our accomplishments, recognize our important work and celebrate the role each of us plays in achieving the goals of the League of Women Voters of Boulder County.
We recognize the difficulty many in our communities are having in meeting basic needs. Please bring a non-perishable food item to the meeting to donate to EFAA, Emergency Family Assistance Association.
Please plan to attend and register at LWVBC.org. We look forward to seeing you!
We’re Growing!
Not only is LWVBC growing with all these wonderful new members, the Member Services Team is growing too. We’ve added three new members to our team so we are now an active and involved team eleven strong. Please join us in welcoming Barbara Holthaus, Eleri Robinson and Erika Noll Webb to the Member Services Team.
Please Renew Your Membership
You, our members, are our lifeline! We need you! If you are unsure of your renewal date or have tried to renew and been unsuccessful, please reach out to the Membership Team, membershipdirector@lwvbcv.org.
| Photos from Cinco De Mayo Celebration
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