Presidents' Letter

By Co-Presidents Molly Saunders and Rionda Osman

Greetings !  

Our joint term as co-presidents has begun, and a busy month it has been!  We have lots to learn and lots to do.  Fortunately, we benefit from the great experience and continuing good will of our outgoing co-presidents, Peggy Leech and Susan Saunders. 

Here are the highlights:  

We’re in a Constitutional Crisis!

LWVUS has taken the extraordinary step to declare that our country is in a constitutional crisis. In response, they have launched the Unite and Rise 8.5 initiative, rolling out new opportunities and programs every three months for us all to remain engaged and active in the defense of democracy. 

Learn more:  Watch the video (1.5 min) The Crisis

Learn even more:   Unite and Rise 8.5

Add your voice:  Sign the Petition. Non-LWV members are encouraged to sign also!

Our new Board is ready to rock!

We have many fresh faces on the Board ( Leaders ), bringing lots of good ideas and enthusiasm and we need YOU to help us carry out our mission.  

The Events team, events@lwvbc.org, successfully revived the Drinks and Dialog series, starting off on the topic of redistricting with Barb Whinery at the St Vrain Cidery.  Check for our upcoming Conversation in September on food insecurity, which will also be an issue on our upcoming ballots this year. 

The Community Engagement team, community@lwvbc.org, staffed a table at the Juneteenth celebration in Longmont. Great conversations were sparked with passersby and many people used our Postcards and ready-made address labels to communicate to their representatives on the spot.

LWVUS called on all of us to participate in one of the 1,600 local Good Trouble demonstrations across the country to honor John Lewis on his birthday, 19 July.  Boulder County had events in Boulder, Erie, Lafayette, Louisville, and Lyons.

In the midst of this constitutional crisis, our core mission continues:  defend democracy and empower voters.  Our fellow citizens need information to participate confidently in our democracy, and we have a mission to provide that information.  We will encourage all our members and all the residents of Boulder County to make their voices heard in defense of our democracy, of our immigrant neighbors, and of our social safety net. 

We’ll be asking for your help.

Voter Service team members Jo Porter, Martine Elianor, Judy Mares-Dixon, Cindy Lindsay and Kathryn Coleman met virtually on July 9, 2025 to share information on the fall 2025 Boulder County election and to start making preliminary plans for candidate and issue forums.

While 2025 is an odd-year election, a lot will be happening. At the time of the meeting it was known that Longmont, Louisville, and Boulder will have city council elections. Longmont will also be electing a mayor. Both BVSD and SVVSD have school board elections in odd years when there is a contested race. Jo Porter began communicating with some of our partners in those communities, e.g. Channel 8, Longmont Public Media, EFAA, etc., to discuss how we can best work together.

It was agreed that LWVBC should attempt to ‘get out front’ so that our forums are held early on in the run up to the election.

Since that meeting it was learned that there will definitely be at least two state initiatives on the fall ballot. The State Legislature is asking voters to support the funding/continuation of its Healthy Schools Meals for All program. Local issues, if any, will become known in late August.

Welcome to these new members who joined in April:  Sue Houck, Blythe Toussaint, Elizabeth Jessup, Holli Adams, Debra Brindis, Taimi Ames-Clark, Jasmine Summers, Bridget Myers, Simone Rees, Maddy Janeczko, Kubs Lalchandani, Lynette Kelley, and Jennifer Schilz. 

Fall Kick Off, Monday August 25

We have an exciting Fall Kick Off planned for Monday, August 25. Please see the flyer at the beginning of this newsletter. The location is Relish, the newest hot spot in Louisville—unique and fun.  The address for Relish Food Hall and Pickleball is 550 McCaslin Blvd. in Louisville.  With 8 different food vendors and spacious outdoor patio and inside atrium, there is something and some place for everyone.  Please plan to arrive by 5:30 to order food and drink and have time to enjoy the space.  Please do not plan to bring food and drink into the meeting room as we will have space only for you to move about and explore all the volunteer opportunities available with the League of Women Voters of Boulder County. 

We will meet in the combined conference rooms.  Beginning at 6:30, Beth Hendrix, Executive Director of LWVCO will speak briefly about the importance of volunteers to the work and success of the League.  Beth will stay for the evening and be available to answer questions about ongoing opportunities associated with LWVCO, including many task forces.  Many of the LWVBC leaders will be available to answer questions about the work of LWVBC and the various opportunities to volunteer to help, whether your talents and interests range from planning and executing events, fund raising, voter services, community outreach or many others.  We need your expertise and enthusiasm!  We will also honor a new Lifetime Member, Anne Hooker, for her 50 years of membership in the League of Women Voters.  The meeting will conclude around 8 p.m. and we encourage you to move out to the patio or atrium, order dessert or a drink and continue your conversations with fellow league members and guests.  

Guests are most welcome so this is a great opportunity to gather your friends for a fun and informative evening out.  While there is no charge to attend, please register yourself and guests so we know how many to expect.  Remember to log on to the LWVBC website when you register.  See you Monday, August 25 at Relish for an “appetizer” of our busy Fall ahead and our “buffet” of volunteer opportunities!

Register Here

Learn more at a special evening presentation Wednesday, August 27th at Boulder’s eTown. Doors open 5pm, and presentations start at 6:30. Learn more and reserve seats at www.leadoverhead.com.

Please also see other articles by the Climate Action Team on our  blog here.

Read the rest of the article here.

She made phone calls for us. When we wanted to know how each individual town in our territory dealt with some issue, she would call the city governments and get information.”  At her memorial service, “One of her sons said he learned a lot about the law from his [lawyer] father, but he learned about justice from Jan.”

Liz Black writes of Jan: “One of my recent memories of Jan was her telling me that she regularly visited a friend who had dementia.  Even though the friend didn't necessarily recognize Jan, Jan felt it  was worthwhile to be present as a way of respect for her friend and their friendship.   Jan was the first person I knew who openly talked about a family member who was gay, and her doing helped my understanding about different varieties of sexuality and the many disadvantages members of the LGBTQ community face because they are not accepted for who they are by many of the rest of us.”

From Louisa Matthias: “Jan worked with us on the minimum wage for Boulder employees. Her positive energy, knowledge about LWV issues … were so much a part of our forward push to getting the City of Boulder to pass their $15.67 minimum wage which was the first government body in Boulder County to do so.  It was an honor to work with Jan.”