CORRECTIONS to February 2025 | Check out these special events for Black History month.
Also know that in the face of the President's attack on DEI, the League stands firm on its DEI positions. | Please Note: Corrections
The Immigration Study consensus meeting noted below will be on Sunday, March 16, 1:30 - 3:00 pm.
In addition, please SAVE THE DATE for a LWVTPC lunch fundraiser, noon -1:30 pm, Saturday, March 22.
Details will be in the March Voter. | February Unit Meetings
The February Unit Meetings provide an opportunity to participate in the all-member consideration of a potential new LWVWA position on Elder Caregiving.
Over the past two years, research teams composed of League members from various Local Leagues have conducted an in-depth study on Elder Caregiving. With State Board approval to move forward, they are now ready to engage all members of LWVWA in reviewing the study and participating in our consensus process.
| | | Consensus is member agreement reached after study prior to the meeting and discussion at the meeting. For you to fully participate in the consensus process it is necessary to read the study and review the consensus questions. Both can be found here. There will NOT be time to review the study at the meeting.
The February Unit Meetings will be held at the following dates and times: | Puyallup/East Pierce Area
Sat., February 8, 10:00 am – 11:30 am
United Methodist Church Puyallup
1919 W Pioneer
Puyallup, WA 98371
Gig Harbor Area
Saturday, February 8, 1:00-2:30 pm.
This meeting has been canceled. Members are encouraged to attend the virtual meeting or one of the other units.
| | | LWVTPC Board Nominations Wanted
Attention all members:
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Are you concerned about the future of democracy?
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Worried about a specific public issue in our local community?
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Enjoy volunteering but need it to be meaningful?
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Or are you focused on growing your career? Recently retired but at loose ends?
Do you know another member who could answer ‘’yes’ to any of those questions?
The LWVTPC nominating committee is currently seeking members who might like to use or develop leadership skills while advancing the mission of the League by serving on our board of directors. As a fully grassroots organization, local Leagues each year elect several officers and directors for two-year staggered terms. We invite all members to contribute names to our pool of potential candidates for nominations. Or you may submit your own.
If there are questions about a board position, contact any member of the nominating committee listed below:
Nancy Pearson, Chair npearson8@gmail.com | President's Message
Vade Mecum
By Rosemary Powers
As a young adult, I joined the Sisters of St. Dominic, a Catholic women’s community with origins in the 13th century. As a religious group it is unsurprising that there was a strong emphasis on prayer, community, and service. But what set the Dominicans apart was a further commitment to rigorous study. I remember my delight at learning that a vow of poverty for Dominicans did not extend to books. | | | For the 13th century wandering monks, this meant that while they relied on local communities for daily needs, they were permitted to collect and keep writings. They called this “vade mecum”—literally what “goes with me;” and in times prior to the printing press, such possessions would not have been extensive.
I was impressed that intellectual work was seen as essential to faithfulness, and I soon learned that faithfulness can be challenged as well by rigorous study. Discovering and studying feminism led me directly to questioning patriarchy in the Church, and I embarked on a new road –the academic study of sociology. More recently, I found the League of Women Voters, another group convinced that good policy requires rigorous examination of conditions and openness to new options. I treasure the League’s commitment.
I tell this story in the midst of a national crisis of community, belief, facts and truth telling, where rigorous study is too often treated as just another opinion. Over the next months, we will all need to find ways to engage in difficult conversations and act in support of just and compassionate practices—informing our actions with careful study.
For February and March, our local League joins others in our state to consider recently completed state League studies on Elder Caregiving and Welcoming New Immigrants. So that we bring our best thinking to the planned consensus discussions, I remind all of us to read the studies carefully and come to the scheduled meetings with responses to the provided discussion and policy questions. You’ll find specific information elsewhere in The Voter. Both of these studies offer important challenges to the politics of fear and exclusion. Welcome to the conversation. | Also see many other of Rosemary's writings at her blog, here. | 2025 TRY Now Available
Don't miss the new TRY (They Represent You) Directory of Elected Officials - and pass the word to those you know that it is now available on our website here.
Thanks to Susan Eidenschink for organizing the 2025 update and to all who helped review and fact-check the contents. | | | President Trump's Attack on Clean Energy | | | As he promised on the campaign trail, Trump in his first week has signed over 300 Executive Orders, many of them rolling back programs related to the development of projects reducing pollution and green house gases. That has included rescinding federal rebates for electric vehicles, charging infrastructure, battery research and production, wind and solar energy -- much of that by stopping funding thru the federal Inflation Reduction Act.
However, here in Washington state, our voters have spoken to continue the funding of the Climate Commitment Act of 2021. Trump can not determine or influence state policy so we can look forward to continued progress on those many state-wide projects. So, while the national situation looks grim, we here in the northwest corner of the country have reasons to appreciate our situation. | Federal Attacks on Immigrants
Did you know...??
- WA State has specific statutes that establish state policy as “Welcoming Immigrants”
- How complicated the Immigration System is. There are 30 different categories of immigrants, each with different rights and benefits - and these may differ even within the same family
- How much immigrants contribute to the state economy
- Most immigrants in WA have been here since before 2010
The LWVWA study on Welcoming Immigrants has a great deal of information that most people do not know. | | | SAVE THE DATE: Please prepare for the upcoming consensus meeting on March 16, 1:30-3:30 pm by reading the study and examining the consensus questions found here. There will be more information about this meeting in the March Voter.
Washington State officials are trying to determine how to best protect immigrants from federal attacks and deportations, given the very specific supportive statutes here. | Affordable Housing
By Terri Baker
LWVTPC belongs to the Tacoma-Pierce County Affordable Housing Consortium. At their meeting in January, the policy committee discussed the AHC legislative agenda. It was noted that there were more than 50 bills related to housing (there are many more now). The AHC legislative agenda includes these items:
- Increase operating funding for affordable housing services and operations
- Reduce insurance rates for affordable housing. (See study here)
- Provide tax incentives for development of affordable housing
- Invest in housing infrastructure
- Support a statewide housing research center in partnership with the University of Washington
League members can support these positions (they are consistent with the League of Women Voters of WA) at the Legislature. Another bill supported by LWVWA is the rent stabilization bill, which would put parameters around rent increases and notices thereof. AHC feels it is likely to pass. Get more information about this bill in the weekly LWVWA Legislative Action Newsletter.
Additionally, at the state level, there is a push to set up a new WA State office of Housing separate from the Department of Commerce. The League is also supporting this. The State Housing Trust Fund has funding requests from 12 entities in Pierce County. The Tacoma Housing Authority received $1.2B from the state.
Other news in Tacoma is that the City is struggling with a budget deficit but may still be able to provide about $6 million for affordable housing. In Pierce County, there is about $19 million in the affordable housing fund, which may allow funding for all applications.
Please contact me for more information at tbaker52@sprynet.com.
For information about the League's legislative work, please see the Legislative Action Newsletter here. |  | Observer Reports
As a result of temporary technical issues, we regret to say that the 2025 Observer reports have not yet been posted. Watch for them in the March issue of the Voter. | League of Women Voters of Tacoma-Pierce County
621 Tacoma Ave. S.
Tacoma, WA 98402
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