| March 2023
Editor Jennifer Bales
communications@lwvbc.org
| | In this issue:
From Membership
New Member Spotlight
Merit Awards
Student Scholarship
League Events
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for March 2023
By Elizabeth Crowe | | |
It's Women's History Month, and being involved in League is such a great way to manifest the spirit of women's leadership in community and politics, and how women of all backgrounds and walks of life have organized for positive change. Throughout the month, our CU intern Kristin Young, will be posting to social media profiles of women who made remarkable contributions in our community and country. Check out the posts on League's Instagram and Facebook pages, give them a "like" and share!
How is League contributing to changemaking today? Check out this recording of the People Powered League Pep Rally from February, when we celebrated our 103rd birthday. The event featured our national League President, Dr. Deborah Turner and other state and national leaders defending democracy. Those of you who participated in one of our LWVBC Positions for Action meetings (click the link to watch the recording from Feb 22) heard about our national and state policy positions and discussed our local positions, which we use each year to advocate on a wide range of policy issues. THIS is how women power democracy, and I'm so glad we can do it together.
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What is it and what you can do | | The issue of climate change is so broad and how to manage or handle it is daunting. The Climate Action Team of Boulder County has been looking at ways we can locally influence or impact climate by our practices and behavior. We have gathered information through a variety of sources including a film “To Which We Belong” by (Boulder resident) director Pamela Tanner Boll and co-director Lindsay Richardson (see movie poster, right). And the NRDC Regenerative Agriculture 101, whose practices are being used by local Boulder County farmers and ranchers.
What is regenerative agriculture? It is an approach to land management to think about how all aspects of agriculture are connected through a web – a network of entities who grow, enhance, exchange, distribute and consume goods and services – not a linear supply chain.
| | | Positions For Action Meeting Summary
By Rionda Osman and Holly Monkman | Each year, local League chapters across the country meet to review their various organizational positions – or guidelines for action & advocacy – and vote to affirm those positions or suggest modifications. The LWVBC 2023 Positions For Action meetings were held in-person on Saturday, Feb 18th at Frasier Meadows and virtually on Wednesday, February 22nd. Between the two meetings, there were 25 members in attendance, not counting members at both meetings twice.
The discussion focused primarily on support of proportional representation for county commissioner, municipal boards and school district elections, initiating a limited study on how to elect 5 county commissioners until proportional representation is possible (via district, at-large or some combination), and initiating a full study on primary election reform, in addition to a few minor edits of LWVBC positions.
|  | | Left to Right: Celeste Landry, Martine Elianor, Kerri Surbaugh and Neal McBurnett of the Voting Methods Team at the Positions for Action meeting. | The Voting Methods Team proposes a Primary Election Reform Study
By Jeanne Clelland, Marcus Ogren and Celeste Landry | Many recent changes in the primary election process transcend party politics and have a major impact on the overall conduct and outcome of elections at all levels. The Voting Methods Team believes that the League should study these issues and formulate a position on how best to conduct primary elections for all the elections that we, as Boulder County voters, participate in. At the LWVBC Program Planning Meetings in February, we proposed that the LWVBC undertake a Primary Election Reform Study.
Read the rest of the "Primary Election Reform Study" article here.
| New Voter Initiative Approved: At the February 16 LWVBC board meeting, a new voter services initiative was approved. In the proposal presented to the board by Pirie Jensen, the Energizing Young Voters initiative, developed by Pat Supplee with the New Jersey State League, envisions a democracy where every person has the desire, the right, the knowledge and the confidence to participate in our democracy. The program focus is on 18 - 29 year olds in the United States with the goal that these citizens will become life-long voters and engaged citizens.
Energizing Young Voters consists of 40-minute modules with supporting resources for teachers at the middle and high school levels and college level to supplement their history, civics and social studies curricula. The curriculum, including resources, is free. The foci of these modules are: |
- Why it is important to vote
- To develop the intention to vote
- To be equipped to overcome barriers to casting a ballot and participating in our democracy
- To understand how the political process brings about change
- To develop the confidence and skills needed to participate in the political process
- Be willing to take a stand and defend democracy.
| We need your help! If you have contacts in the Boulder Valley and St. Vrain schools, you could help us meet these faculty members to share the information about Energizing Young Voters. Please contact Pirie Jensen, voteroutreach@lwvbc.org,
For more information about Energizing Young Voters, go to www.energizingyoungvoters.com.
| | | Welcome to these new members who recently joined: Dwight Shellman, Amy Grollman, Joan Goddard, Cathy Fox and Peter Richards.
| | New Member Spotlight: Carol Charles joined the League of Women Voters of Boulder County in October 2022; she is a first time member. Carol says she was drawn to the organization’s mission and goals and likes the history, credibility and non-partisan nature of the League. Carol is on the Membership Committee and is very interested in Gun Safety. Carol was especially inspired when she attended the swearing in of new U.S. citizens last Fall and found a recent Legislative Action meeting interesting. Carol believes it is crucial to get young people involved in the work of the League, our communities and our democracy.
Carol lived in New Jersey most of her life and was a Realtor there for eighteen years. Most recently, she was involved in a consumer products start up business with her son-in-law. A recent retirement allowed her the time to look for volunteer organizations where she could lend her expertise. Please reach out to Carol soon and welcome her to LWVBC. | | | You Can Say Thank You! Many LWVBC members have worked hard over the past year and it’s your chance to say “thank you” to some of these hard working members. Merit award nominations are due March 10. Please see the complete article with the list of potential awards and information on how to nominate an award recipient in the February issue of The Voter. Merit awards are presented at our Annual Meeting in May.
Student Scholarship: Applications for a scholarship awarded to an eligible LWVBC student member are due April 1. Please see the February Voter for complete information regarding the scholarship.
League Events in February: 15 members and guests attended the Member Coffee on February 11 at the Lafayette Public Library. Elizabeth Crowe led a discussion on diversity, equity and inclusion as applied to League work.
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