Vol 66 | Issue 3 | Date: March 26, 2024
LEAGUE UPDATE
LWV SLOCO has been busy in the new year! We registered high school students to vote, staffed polls for the Primary Election, made public presentations, held a DEI workshop for our board, were interviewed on KCBX and were a sponsor of the Latina Empowerment Roundtable. And we have many more activities in the pipeline! We have a few tickets remaining for the League fundraiser at SLO REP this Thursday, March 28: a preview performance of"What the Constitution Means to Me". Don't miss out - get your tickets today! Whether or not you're able to attend the play, this New Yorker article about the history and meaning of the Constitution is an interesting read. You'll find it here. Our first Cocktail Hour was a resounding success. The next one will be on March 27 at 5 p.m. so mark that on your calendars and join the conversation. Also coming up, the Civil Discourse Committee has scheduled a forum titled "How to Effectively Communicate Your Ideas and be Heard at Public Meetings" to be held on May 21 at 6:30 p.m. in-person at theNipomo Public Library Community Room. Read more about our recent activities and upcoming events below.
SOCIAL POLICY UPDATE
LEAGUE ACTIVITIES
This year, in addition to the annual visits to Nipomo, San Luis Obispo, Paso Robles and Morro Bay High Schools, under the direction of recently appointed committee chair Betsy Gaudette-Cross, the team added visits to Mission Prep, New Tech, Pacific Beach, Coast Union, and the Grizzly Academy.They registered or pre-registered more than 420 students. Seventy of these students were eligible to vote in the March 5th primary and were among the 840 student contacts who received emailed reminders to vote from the League. Special recognition goes to Ethan Barnes, an Arroyo Grande High School student who reached out to the League for training and then organized visits to classrooms for voter registration at Arroyo Grande High School. He later took the show on the road to both Nipomo and Lopez High Schools. It is so encouraging to see young people taking their participation in democracy seriously and spreading the word to their peers. Read the entire articlehere.
More than 40 League members joined the League’s Adopt a Poll efforts and staffed 4 precincts on Election Day March 5. Members worked one precinct in Morro Bay, one precinct in Pismo Beach and two precincts in San Luis Obispo. Many thanks to Patti Dale, Janet George, Shelly Higginbotham and Julie Rodewald for serving as inspectors and to Joanne Schultz for shadowing Shelly at the Pismo Beach precinct so she will be ready to take over the inspector duties in November. Many other League members signed up to serve on their own or with other organizations. All in all, election day went smoothly. Voters routinely thanked the workers, and while the actual number of people voting at the polls was low, enthusiasm was high as numerous people turned in their vote-by-mail ballots.
The League of Women Voters of San Luis Obispo County was featured on the KCBX program “Central Coast Voices” on February 29. Host Kris Kington-Barker welcomed Co-President Ann Havlik, Vice-President Ed Cabrera and Voter Service Director Julie Rodewald to discuss the League’s history and purpose and our recent Voter Service and advocacy work. Ann Havlik shared the primary purpose and key elements of the League while reminding listeners that we are an organization with a long history, including in SLO County where we recently celebrated our 60th anniversary. Julie Rodewald cited the League’s instrumental involvement in the redistricting issue and also explained the workings of the five subcommittees that make up the Voter Service Committee. These subcommittees are particularly active in an election year like this one. Ed Cabrera, also the Membership Chair, shared the many reasons the local League’s membership has grown so much in the past few years. He was also asked to give a review of the pros and cons of Proposition 1 on the March 5 ballot. A recording of the show may be accessed on the show’s home pagehere.
The League of Women Voters is committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion in our education and advocacy work. In keeping with this commitment, the LWV SLOCO board recently held two equity workshops to enhance our personal understanding of DEI issues and strengthen our team commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. The workshops were aimed at familiarizing the board with the concepts of DEI, assessing the board’s commitment to DEI, and providing strategies for further understanding and implementation of DEI principles. The enduring lesson learned in the workshops is that we can only achieve a more diverse, equitable and inclusive organization with continuous commitment.
Read the entire article here.
UPCOMING LEAGUE EVENTS
UPCOMING EVENTS & WEBINARS
Email: info@lwvslo.org
Phone 805-242-6990
League of Women Voters of San Luis Obispo County
P.O. Box 4210
San Luis Obispo, CA 93403