Here’s to celebrating April, everyone! As we look forward to our LWVOR 2023 Convention in Eugene, May 19-21, I am also looking back to my first April as President, in 2020, when we were just beginning to face COVID’s public health implications for the League. We met with LWVUS to advise on “social distancing” with Oregon Vote-by-Mail and we were writing ZOOM how-tos. We were using our new Privacy and Cybersecurity position in the Legislature and wondering how COVID might affect our 100th Anniversary plans for events all around the state, the issue forums, the suffrage quilt competitions, the parades, and all of our general operations.
Now we have our work cut out for us to defend legislation accomplishments, newly resurfacing repression, pushing us to reach for reinforcements. Our membership and YO! Youth Outreach efforts are truly promising. Let’s welcome and mentor them!
The League is all about citizen engagement and civic education. As Thos Paine said, “Lead, Follow, or Get Out of the Way!” Now it is time to prepare for your own Certified League Member status, renewable for free, every April 1st. To prepare, you can you can use this Legislative Glossary to study, thanks to the Oregon State Legislature website. We recommend you Review Our History: What makes the League Special? For extra credit, read this newsletter and find more ways you can help! Your help as a committee member can make a board member’s work realistically manageable.
See you at Convention? I hope so!
Thank you for being part of the team by reading and helping as you are able!
Yours In League,
Becky Gladstone
LWVOR President
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Here’s an overview:
The biennial State Meeting of the League of Women Voters of Oregon is held on alternate years to the State Council. First Call is issued so that local Leagues can begin to plan and discuss matters that will be presented at the convention.
TIME & PLACE
The 2023 State Convention will be held Friday through Sunday, May 19-21, 2023, in Eugene, OR at The Graduate Hotel.
HOSTS
League of Women Voters of Lane County
PURPOSE
The convention shall consider changes to Bylaws; shall consider and authorize for action a program; shall elect the president, first vice-president, secretary, three directors (two-year terms), and a chair and two members of the nominating committee; shall adopt a budget for the ensuing year; and shall transact such other business as may be presented.
DELEGATES
The convention shall consist of the LWVOR Board of Directors and delegates chosen by members through the local Leagues. Each local League shall be entitled to two delegates for the first 40 members or fewer. If possible, one delegate should be the President. An additional delegate is allowed for every 20 additional members or major fraction (10 or more) thereof belonging to the local League as of January 31, 2023. Each approved State Unit of members-at-large (MALs) shall be entitled to one delegate. For those MAL’s not in an approved unit, MAL representation at convention shall be one delegate for every 20 MALs or major fraction (10 or more) thereof. If there are fewer than 10 MALs, the interest of the MALs shall be represented by the LWVOR Membership Chair.
OBSERVERS
Any member of the LWVOR (in a local League, a State Unit, or as a general MAL) may attend as an observer. Observers may not vote, but may, upon recognition of the Chair, have the privilege of the floor. All League members are urged to exercise this privilege, and members are encouraged to register as observers.
Make your Hotel reservations: Call 844-888-4723. Use BOOKING CODE: 0519WV.
Use this booking link: League of Women Voters of Oregon – Guestrooms
The cutoff date to book rooms at the discounted group rate is April 28th. Act quickly to book yours!
NOMINATING COMMITTEE
NO NOMINEES? MLD coaching to the rescue!
THE MLD RECIPE FOR SUCCESS: Identify your strengths, evaluate your assets, focus on our League values: What is it that only the League can do?
Membership and Leadership Development (MLD) was introduced to our LWVOR by the LWVUS at the Oregon State Coaches’ Training in 2012. One of our MLD state coaches just happens to be a co-chair of our nominating committee, and her training led to the solution: apply an intentional combination of our LWVOR leadership’s willingness to serve with our bylaws to meet the challenge.
Alice Bartelt, 2nd VP, stepped up and accepted responsibility to be President, recognizing the bylaws provision for an executive committee to guide the board through this challenge. Lisa Bentson, our Board Director in charge of Membership, volunteered to become 1st VP and add Events to her portfolio while retaining Membership. Becky Gladstone, who had dreams for the LWVOR during her terms as President, but was confronted with the impact of Covid, found a way to stay for one more year, filling Alice’s second year of her position as 2nd VP and providing a means to maintain the Action portfolio with the needed strong leadership until June 2024.
The current board vacancies are an extraordinary opportunity FOR YOU as a member to experience working with dedicated and inspirational leaders to complete the leadership team for the coming year!
Don’t hesitate – join Alice in the Adventure and experience what Wonderland is really like!
PROPOSED SLATE OF NOMINEES for two-year terms:
President: Alice Bartelt (Washington Co. Unit)
First Vice President: Lisa Bentson (Lincoln Co.) Events, Membership, and HR
Secretary: Mimi Alkire (Portland)
Members of the Board of Directors:
Annie Goldner (Deschutes Co.) Program
Jackie Clary (Coos Co.) Development Chair
Freddi Weishahn (Lane Co.) Development
Nominating Committee Chair (off-board) Betty Coe De Broekert (Lane Co.)
Nominating Committee Members (off-board) Judy Froemke (Portland), Jeanne Taylor (Lane Co.)
Officers continuing or changing position on Board through 2024 to complete a second year of term:
Second Vice President: Becky Gladstone (Lane Co.) Action
Treasurer: Kermit Yensen (Deschutes Co.)
Board of Directors: Filling 3 vacancies through 2024 to complete second year of term:
Voter Editor: Jim Buck (Rogue Valley)
Vacant: Two additional Board Directors are needed now to complete the 2023-24 slate
Off-Board chairs:
Budget Chair: Kathleen Hersh (Washington Co. unit)
MLD Chair: Kathleen Hersh (Washington Co. unit)
Youth Outreach: Diana DeMaria (Clackamas Co.)
Youth Liaison: Chris Walker (MAL)
BOARD VACANCIES:
Board of Director Portfolios represent areas of work that need to be covered, sometimes with an off- board chair. Portfolios currently vacant are: Voter Education/Voter Service Chair.
Also needed are assistance with Events, Membership, Action, Voter Education/Voter Service and TBD.
If you or someone you know would be a good fit for one of these vacant positions please let the LWVOR nominating committee know:
Libby Medley (Clackamas Co.) medleylj@gmail.com
Diana Bodtker (Marion & Polk Counties/Lane Co.) diana.bodtker@gmail.com
Doreen Binder (Portland) doreenbinder4@gmail.com
Jackie Clary (Rogue Valley/Coos Co.) jackieclary@gmail.com
Freddi Weishahn (Lane Co.) freddiweis@gmail.com
VOTER SERVICE
Thanks to our strong local League network and Chair Peggy Bengry, Voter Service is gathering candidate and local ballot measure information for the May 16, 2023 primary election! Next we look forward to gearing up for the So Important 2024 Elections! We need your help and now is the time to learn the ropes! Contact Peggy to help now, contact the Nominating Committee (above), or ask our staff, lwvor@lwvor.org.
YOUTH OUTREACH
The Youth Outreach Committee meets weekly and is running a Student Mock Election this spring, focusing on the Portland area. The new Youth Council is establishing parameters and adding members. See details for the LWVOR Youth Liaison, Chris Walker, and Youth Council supporting the Student Mock Election, led by Celine Ioffe, in the March newsletter and in the VOTER, both in our Newsroom.
⭐ To help develop an active Student Mock Election presence in your local schools, contact:
LWV of OREGON YOUTH OUTREACH | youthoutreach@lwvor.org
OREGON STUDENT MOCK ELECTION (OSME) | mockelection@lwvor.org
ACTION
We have completed week 11 (out of 24) of the 2023 long Legislative session. Limited bill introductions are still being seen, to Rules and Ways and Means Committees. Watch for Action Alerts by email, on relatively short notice, please! We have reviewed and approved almost 130 testimonies submitted so far. Subscribe for the weekly briefs linking to full Legislative Reports in our Newsroom!
⭐ Action can use all kinds of help. If you can help, please contact our staff, lwvor@lwvor.org.
📣SAVE THE DATE FOR THE 2023 LEGISLATIVE ROADSHOW
The Oregon Legislature announced this session’s set of hearings away from the capital sponsored by the Ways and Means Committee. They will be asking for input on the budget and, except for the last one in the capital, they will be in person only. They would like to hear from everyone. Save the date for the one nearest you.
Saturday, April 8, 2023 o 10:00 AM Portland
Friday, April 14th o 5:00 PM Newport
Friday, April 21st o 5:00 PM, Roseburg
Friday, April 28th o 5:00 PM Ontario
Wednesday, May 3rd o 5:00 PM Salem at the capital
REDISTRICTING
The People Not Politicians campaign is back with Initiative Petition 14, which would create an independent commission to draw Oregon legislative districts. This effort is supported by a broad coalition including the League, Common Cause, Forward Oregon, business groups, and many everyday Oregonians.
This good governance effort needs our support! This effort is large, and every volunteer will be needed to collect signatures and to database those signatures. Sign up to help here, and donate here. Download the signature petition. Contact Betsy Schultz for further information.
Stay informed on League happenings at the state and local levels! You can sign up and manage your LWVOR newsletter subscriptions directly. Don't miss our event updates, Action Alerts, newsletters, and other important information. Questions? Contact our staff at lwvor@lwvor.org.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
📣 Caring For Oregon's Children
See Caring for Oregon’s Children, a webinar from March 22, 2023, with thanks to the LWVOR Study Committee for bringing experts together to discuss issues and answer questions.
📣 Spring Clean & Affordable Energy Conference, 2023
This information comes from the NorthWest Energy Coalition. LWVOR is a member and attends quarterly regional meetings.
We're excited to have Sonia Aggarwal as our keynote speaker! Sonia is the CEO of Energy Innovation and formerly with the Biden Administration, serving through the development, passage, and initial implementation of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act.
📣 Let’s Talk About: Digital Threats to Democracy
**This is the Reading Recommendation for this month, see below for the prep link!
To prepare for Dr. O’Neil’s talk, visit her blog, Mathbabe.
From LWV Maine, LWVME in partnership with LWVAK has been presenting this (mostly) monthly discussion series, and the one coming up for April promises to be one of the best ones yet. I hope you will share this invitation with friends and colleagues in your state. Best, Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine
📣 What are Algorithms? And are They Undermining Our Free Will?
Hosted on Zoom. Register now for this important conversation
Computer algorithms are manipulating us all the time, whether we know it or not. They determine what social media content and search results we see. They may impact our buying decisions, and they may also push us toward disinformation and conspiracy theories. Join us for a conversation with Cathy O’Neil, a leading expert on algorithms and the CEO of ORCAA, an algorithmic auditing company.
Please share this invitation with anyone you think might be interested. Register here.
RECOMMENDED READING
Weapons of Math Destruction: How big data increases inequality and threatens democracy
Cathy O’Neil earned a Ph.D. in math from Harvard and worked as a math professor at Barnard College before switching over to the private sector, working as a quant for the hedge fund D.E. Shaw and as a data scientist in the New York startup scene. She is a regular contributor to Bloomberg Opinion and in 2016 wrote the book Weapons of Math Destruction: how big data increases inequality and threatens democracy. She is the CEO of ORCAA, an algorithmic auditing company, and is a member of the Public Interest Tech Lab at the Harvard Kennedy School. She is the author of Weapons of Math Destruction: How big data increases inequality and threatens democracy. Her new book The Shame Machine: who profits in the new age of humiliation came out in March 2022.
My best to all of you. I look forward to seeing you at Convention! Step up, we welcome you! It is your turn. Thank You for reading and be sure to smell the flowers.
Becky Gladstone
President, LWVOR