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Date: 7/22/2024
Subject: Summer 2024 Voter Newsletter Supplement
From: League of Women Voters of Tacoma-Pierce County



Voter Newsletter - Summer 2024 Supplement


All Member League Picnic

Saturday, August 17, 4:00 pm

picnic 2024
LWVTPC Summer Potluck Picnic 
4:00 pm, Saturday, August 17
at the home of Anita and Chris Staeheli
2909 N. 25th Street, Tacoma, WA 98406


Join other League members at the LWVTPC summer potluck picnic. Hamburgers and hot dogs, plus basic condiments will be provided as well as water, plates, napkins, etc. Please bring your favorite add-ons for the hamburgers/hot dogs (like caramelized onions), or an appetizer, salad, or dessert.

There is a pickleball court which you are welcome to enjoy. If you have a portable lawn chair please bring it. Enter through the uphill side gate to get to the back yard.

Please RSVP by August 9 to staeheli4@yahoo.com or 253-606-8333 and call if you have any questions.

Welcome, New Members!

Virginia Anderson               Sharon Scott

Thank You Generous Donors!

Patricia Berger
Bobbie Fletcher
Jean Gillmer
Deborah Hammond
Mary Kohli
Lyz Kurnitz-Thurlow
Marceline Lazzari
Dorris Martin
Patricia Olney
Tamara Saarinen
Kathy Sommers

Report on the LWVUS Convention

Washington, DC- June 27-30, 2024

Big News about Local News Position

By Joanne M. Lisosky, LWVWA Local News and Democracy Committee & LWVTPC Member

Members of LWVWA Local News and Democracy Committee waited nervously as the more than 900 League of Women Voters members from across the country filled the ballroom at the Washington Hilton Saturday July 29. Part of the day’s agenda was to vote on the Washington state position.
The Local News Committee worked for nearly 3 years on this position that states the LWV “believes it is the responsibility of the government to provide support for conditions under which credible local journalism can survive and thrive.” The committee, made up of LWV members from across the state (Joanne M. Lisosky, Sharon Wilhelm and Carol Rickerd from LWVTPC) saw the position passed at the state League convention in 2023. The committee then brought the position to the national convention for concurrence this year. 

Raucous cheers could be heard all the way to Washington state when the final vote was read on the floor of the national league convention. The position passed 859 to 63, which was more than the two-thirds needed for the League of Woman Voters US to concur with the position that local news was essential to democracy. “We got it done,” was the apt response from Local News and Democracy Committee member from LWVTPC, Sharon Wilhelm. See the position below.
 
Photos below: Motion (left; by Susan Daniel); vote count (right; by Joanne Lisosky)
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Convention 2024 3
In the photo at right, WA State League members who met with Rep. Derek Kilmer (center, at left) included LWVTPC members Sharon Wilhelm, far left; and Alison McCaffree, second from right. Dee Anne Finken, from Clark County LWV, on the far right, is the Committee Chair. Photo by Susan Daniel, LWVWA Director.
 

During the three day convention, the Local News and Democracy Committee from Washington state hosted a booth that included material to encourage delegates to vote to concur with the position on Local News being essential to democracy.

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Convention 2024 4
 “We met so many people from around the country who were in favor of our position and that was encouraging,” said Dee Anne Finken, Chair of the Local News and Democracy Committee from Clark County. Many of these same people spoke up at the convention in favor of the Local News position when it was introduced on the floor of the convention. Shown in photo at left is Joanne Lisosky, LWVTPC member, at the boothPhoto by Dee Anne Finken.

LWVWA Local News Position

Adopted by LWVWA in 2023 and LWVUS in June 2024 

Position in Brief

The League of Women Voters of Washington believes it is the responsibility of the government to provide support for conditions under which credible local journalism can survive and thrive.
The League of Women Voters of Washington defines local news as accurate, in-depth coverage of government entities, including but not limited to, city councils, county councils, county boards of commissioners, health departments, schools, and school boards.
Position
LN-1: The League supports credible and ethical local journalism, in whatever format it is published, as essential to our democracy.
LN-2: The League of Women Voters of Washington supports efforts to ensure everyone has access to information necessary for casting an informed ballot and that credible local news sources are integral to this pursuit.
LN-3: The League of Women Voters of Washington believes that support for the viability of local news may take a variety of forms. Control of the content must remain exclusively with the news organizations.
LN-4: The League of Women Voters of Washington also believes media literacy and news education, including support for journalism students, is essential. These opportunities should be expanded in schools and throughout communities.
LN-5: The League of Women Voters of Washington believes that everyone should have access to comprehensive, credible local news and that barriers to access should be removed. These barriers include, but are not limited to, geography, economic status, and education.


Other Resolutions Voted on at Convention

1. LWV District of Columbia submitted a resolution, titled “Supporting Statehood for the People of D.C.” The recommended resolution statement reads, “Therefore, be it resolved that the League of Women Voters of the United States strongly supports legislation that will establish statehood for the people of the District of Columbia.”
 
2. LWV Missouri submitted a resolution, titled "Reproductive Rights.” The recommended resolution statement reads, "Therefore, be it resolved that the League of Women Voters reaffirms its commitment to fight for reproductive rights and justice, including bodily autonomy, privacy, reproductive health, and access to contraception and abortion, and against disinformation on this issue.” 
 
3. LWV Maryland submitted a resolution, titled “Electronic Voting.” The recommended resolution statement reads, “Therefore, be it resolved that the League should reaffirm its support of voting systems that are secure, accurate, recountable, accessible, and transparent, and that internet voting — the return of a completed ballot electronically — should not be allowed until it is shown to not only improve accessibility, but also is secure, accurate, recountable, and transparent.”  This resolution failed.
 
4. LWV Louisiana submitted a resolution, titled “Public Libraries.” The recommended resolution statement reads, “Therefore, be it resolved that public libraries are essential institutions for strong, viable, and sustainable democracies and that access to materials, resources, and programming provided by public libraries is a civil right, access to which should be distributed equitably in our communities.”
 
5. LWV New Mexico, LWV Pasadena, LWV San Diego, LWV Houston, LWV San Juan Islands, and LWV Greater Princeton co-submitted a resolution, titled "Immigration.” The recommended resolution statement reads, “Therefore, be it resolved that LWVUS reaffirm its long-standing position calling for fair and humane immigration reform, including safe, orderly, and legal pathways to admission to the United States that promote reunification of immediate families; meet the economic, business, employment, and educational/training needs of the United States; and are responsive to those facing human rights abuses or humanitarian crises; and that LWVUS reaffirm the 2008 position calling for due process for all persons, including the right to a fair and timely hearing, right to counsel, right of appeal, and right to humane treatment.” 
 
6. LWV Chicago submitted a resolution, titled “The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).” The recommended resolution statement reads, “Therefore, be it resolved that the LWVUS commits continuing support for the CEDAW framework at the local, state, and national levels to protect and promote the fundamental and inalienable human rights of women and girls.” 
 
7. LWV Oregon and LWV West Virginia co-submitted a resolution, titled “Ethics in Government.” The recommended resolution statement reads, “Therefore, be it resolved that the League of Women Voters recognizes the importance of ethics in government policies that:

• Apply broadly to elected and appointed officials, employees, and lobbyists at all levels of government (federal, state, local) and for all branches (executive, legislative, judicial); 
• Prohibit conflicts of interest, use of position for personal gain, corruption, nepotism, and favoritism; 
• Foster transparency through financial disclosure by all elected and appointed officials; 
• Support effective enforcement mechanisms; and 
• Encourage ethical conduct through transparency.


League of Women Voters of Tacoma-Pierce County
621 Tacoma Ave. S.
Tacoma, WA  98402
253-272-1495          lwvtpc.org