July 2026 President's Update

June was quite a month for LWVOR. 

We have been installing and orienting new Board members, adopted a new budget, are onboarding new staff, and had a number of very keen events (including a Communications Café with our Attorney General Dan Rayfield and the large contingent of 15 in-person delegates and observers at the 2026 National LWVUS Convention in Columbus, Ohio). 

Our Youth Council sent 4 delegate members to Convention.  Chloe, Arya, Elizaveta and Hai were outstanding contributors to the Convention.  At one point their impassioned, exuberant, and very detailed testimony on a resolution to call out federal video surveillance overreach received a standing ovation from the more than 900 participants from 49 states.  That resolution will now enable Leagues across the nation to sue to protect citizens privacy rights. They received mention from the LWVUS President as the youngest resolution proponents in US Leagues 107 year history. Then they all danced back to their seats. 

They went on to introduce amendments to another resolution considering the addition of Board Emergency Powers Bylaws.  Our youth delegates believe a majority of the Board is too low a bar to invoke emergency authority, that transparency and reporting to the membership is called for, and that there must be clear condition/criteria to cease such invoked powers.  They did not prevail even though their amendments echoed other interests.  Membership chose to leave those procedures to the board.  The way their position was explained to me by an 18 year old is that “government chaos is all I’ve ever known and it happened on your watch.”  She said, “I was eleven when Donald Trump first came into power. I’m not so sure I trust any of you.”  

They are furthering our legacy of defending democracy and empowering voters while maintaining integrity, transparency and alignment with our League Principles. We should be very proud.

In League,

Mark Kendall

LWVOR President