Dear LWVOR Members and friends,
We may aspire to a December of rest and rejuvenation from the busy elections, fall activities, and calm preparation for the 2023 legislative session. This would be like watching a Duck (or a Beaver 😊) serenely crossing a pond, not seeing the effort beneath the surface. We are busy in every committee, in every networking group, still looking for a better name for “lateral communication”! Given that, I want to encourage us all to take the time we need to replenish this month, to enjoy ourselves, our families and our friends. Many will be busy with League work, basically non-stop, and thank you for that. I’m probably addressing you most of all. Honestly, this is a large group! Please take care. You are making important differences in so many ways, Thank You!
A big Thank You to outgoing VOTER Editor Terry Styner for her leadership this past year in setting an annual schedule, soliciting articles, and keeping us on track. Our quarterly edition of The VOTER is coming out shortly, with in-depth news on the 2023 LWVOR Convention, May 19-21, the Oregon Student Mock Election results, COP27 in Egypt, an In Memoriam for Merilyn Reeves, and a volunteer discussion from our new Nominating Committee Task Force.
The board is looking for a volunteer to take the reins for this now well-organized process! We have a schedule, writers, a production team, and proofreaders. please let us know if you’re interested in this quarterly position, ask at: lwvor@lwvor.org.
Have a lovely December, sharing virtual holiday cookies!
Yours In League!
Becky Gladstone
LWVOR President
THIS MONTH…
VOTER SERVICE
The Vote411.org usage analytics are just in from LWVUS, so watch for more on that in the new year.
Hats’ Off to our strong Voter Service network, with comprehensive coverage serving all of Oregon with Oregon candidate and ballot measure information, all the way down the ballots!*
See our November newsletter for a full round of thanks to Voter Service Chair Peggy Bengry and her full network of subcommittees and local League VS Reps, for events, Vote411 data collection and management, the full portfolio of Voters’ Guides, including ballot measure analysis, and more!
*About that down ballot Vote 411 coverage. We do not cover PCP (Precinct Committee Person) candidates. They run for political party positions and that part of our ballots is closed to party member votes only. Our coverage might arguably serve as an advantage to individual parties, not equally serving our minor parties and non-affiliated voters, who don’t have access. Watch for more on this in our upcoming state study proposals.
STUDIES, UPCOMING AND ONGOING!
In case you missed it, Annie Goldner is adeptly shepherding our study process. Now is the time to be reaching out to local Leagues to build support for strong study proposals to the LWVOR Board, due the week before our February board meeting. We have two proposals building steam, both for Governance, one to look at elected official recall processes and the other looking at the open primary process alluded to earlier, above. Our completed Biocides and Pesticides study awaits a member agreement committee to craft a position based on our member feedback already collated. Our Child Care and Election Methods study updates are both on final production steps, both informative and neither making position changes. For news on our studies, contact Annie Goldner, a.goldner@lwvor.org.
YOUTH OUTREACH
Congratulations to our team for successful LWVOR 2022 Oregon Student Mock Elections!
As part of our invigorated youth outreach program, our Civics Education curriculum supporting the Mock Election is now ongoing year-round, currently looking at the May 2023 Multnomah Special Election and establishing strong relationships across Oregon with our schools. The committee is establishing a local League network of liaisons.
To learn more, contact Diana DeMaria, youthoutreach@lwvor.org. See Diana’s full report in our November newsletter!
LWV, CLIMATE CHANGE, AND THE U.N.!
Our deepest gratitude this year to our Climate workers, persisting in the face of worsening global conditions. We ran daily LWVOR Newsroom reports from Robin Tokmakian, LWVOR 1st VP and LWVUS UN Observer for Climate at COP27. She reported heavy global industrial resistance to accepting the immediately necessary remediation actions. Read the latest UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports including LWVUS participation with Observer Status (IPCC roster).
Thanks to Claudia Keith for ongoing Climate Immigration and Emergency status action, both in Oregon and nationally. Please contact us at lwvor@lwvor.org for more information and to help.
ACTION
Our action committee is ramping up for the 2023 session with December “legislative days” next week. Legislative packets have gone out to local Leagues for post-election outreach to Legislators with suggested interview guidelines and questions. We want to develop and reinforce working relationships. We hope the 2023 Session “Priorities” will help connect those working on specific issues.
This powerful and energetic group of issue advocates needs support from organizers who can help with committee logistics. We continue to welcome volunteers who want to learn our process to observe and learn to cover additional specific topics. Subscribe for the really useful email Legislative Report summaries and see the comprehensive reports online. If you can help, please contact our staff, lwvor@lwvor.org.
RECOMMENDED READING
Very hot off the press, releasing on December 1st! A Question of Respect, from the Powell’s site, “ a political resource that depicts a compelling case for how the nation reached this moment and, more importantly, where it needs to go and what it might take. Though Ed is a Republican and Celinda is a Democrat, they have reached across the great divide to make the case that the only way for America to claw its way out of this mess is through mutual respect. They posit that respect is the foundation upon which we can again trust one another as Americans."
Note, I could not have been more thrilled to hear this month’s author, Celinda Lake, President of Lake Research Partners, as keynote speaker at the 2016 LWV Convention!
Thank You for reading! My warmest wishes to all of you this December! With 14 major international holidays this month, I hope we can all celebrate and have some fun! Here’s to managing COVID, taking stock of this year, and regaining our energy to vigorously address the 2023 tasks at hand!
Happy New Year, almost!
Becky Gladstone
President, LWVOR
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