Proposed Constitutional Amendments
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The November 2018 ballot will contain 13 proposed constitutional amendments, but
voters will face more than 13 questions when they fill out their ballots. That’s because the Constitutional Revision Commission has bundled more than one issue into several of the amendments.
This is where our work comes into play. Our education arm will speak to members of the public to inform them about the amendments and the impact of a “yes” or a “no” vote, while our advocacy arm will get to work supporting the League’s positions on each of the amendments.
The state League has provided an
in-depth resource to help us learn more about the amendments and the League’s position on each of them.
Read up and get informed so you can better help your community understand what’ll be on the ballot come November.
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Primary Election 2018:
Voter Guide & Important Dates
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We're less than a month away from the start of the Primary Election season, and our volunteers are busy putting the finishing touches on our new and improved nonpartisan Pinellas County Voter Guide.
Completely redesigned and optimized for mobile, this is one of the most powerful voter guides we’ve built to date -- and it’ll be ready soon!
Sign up here
to be notified by email so you can be among the first to see it when it launches.
If you haven’t registered to vote in Pinellas County yet, you still have a couple of weeks, as
voter registration
closes on July 30. You can also
request a vote-by-mail ballot
until Aug. 22 – the first vote-by-mail ballots will be mailed July 24.
And if you’re already registered to vote, then make sure everyone else in your life is registered as well. And if you want to do even more to make democracy work, you can
sign up to be a poll worker
and help Election Day run smoothly.
Finally, we’re encouraging everyone who is already registered as a voter to
update their signatures on file
with the Supervisor of Elections as part of our Signature Saturday campaign. If you haven’t updated the signature on file with the SOE in the last three years, we strongly encourage you to do so now.
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Forget the lazy days of summer – the LWVSPA is
seriously
busy this month. We’ve got a lot of major events coming up this month; mark your calendars now so you don’t miss a thing.
March for Our Lives: Road to Change Rally & Voter Registration Party
July 12 @ 11 a.m. - 2 p.m., Williams Park, 350 2nd Ave. N., St. Petersburg
Students from March for Our Lives are embarking on a
bus tour across Florida
to register young voters and get them motivated to stand up against gun violence. Our LWVSPA voter registration team will be there to register new voters!
Make sure to RSVP
if you plan to attend.
Pinellas County School Board Candidate Forums
July 12 @ 5:15-8 p.m., Pinellas Technical College – South Campus
With NAACP
July 24 @ 5-8 p.m., St. Petersburg College – Clearwater Campus, ES 104
July 30 @ 5-8 p.m., St. Petersburg College – Gibbs Campus, Music Center
Aug. 2 @ 5-8 p.m., St. Petersburg College – Seminole Campus, Digitorium
With
Pinellas County Council of PTAs, Pinellas Education Foundation, SPC Institute for Strategic Policy Solutions, and the League of Women Voters of North Pinellas County
6th Circuit Judicial Candidate Forums
Aug. 7 @ 4:30-7:30 p.m., Enoch Davis Center
With National Council of Negro Women
Judicial races are often mystifying to even the most informed voters, so this is a great chance to hear what the candidates themselves have to say.
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We Want to Hear From You!
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We want to better understand how to serve your needs and how to get you engaged with League activities, which is why we're asking all current and prospective members to fill out this
Membership Engagement Survey
.
The survey will take about 10 minutes and will provide us with the information we need to know how to engage you in ways that are meaningful and convenient for you. Thanks in advance for taking the time to fill this survey out! Your feedback will help make the League better for all of us.
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What's Happening Around LWVSPA?
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The LWVSPA action teams and committees are hard at work on several issues that are of critical importance to our community. Check out the updates below;
if you see something you're interested in, don't hesitate to reach out. The action teams and committees can use all the help they can get.
Sustainability
The Sustainability Action Team is currently working to support a city-wide ban on single-use plastic straws, which have received national attention lately for polluting waterways and beaches.
Learn more about the issue as well as how you can get involved. The team is also continuing its work to bring solar co-ops to St. Petersburg.
The team meets monthly on the 3rd Monday @ 6:30 p.m. at Allendale UMC, 3803 Haines Rd, St. Petersburg. Email
Lisa Vanover for more information.
Reproductive Rights & Justice
The Reproductive Rights Action Team has been working to raise awareness about so-called "crisis pregnancy centers," which offer biased counseling services aimed at talking women out of access abortion services. They're researching the tactics used by these clinics and participating in visibility events. We have
more information about the issue and how to get involved.
This team meets Monthly on the 2nd Tuesday @ 7 p.m. at the LWVSPA Office, 233 3rd St. N., St. Petersburg. Email Team Lead
Stacey Kroto for more information.
Education
The Education Action Team is working with other state leaders to develop an education equity plan that can be used when talking to candidates and engaging community stakeholders in the 2019 legislative session. They're also mobilizing to defeat
Amendment 8 on the November ballot. Here's more information about
a recent summit they attended in Orlando.
Email Team Leads
Robin Jones or
Iris Yetter for more information about getting involved with this action group.
Gun Safety
The Gun Safety Action Team has started going door-to-door in south St. Petersburg as part of the City's Not My Son initiative, which aims to fight gun violence among young black men by promoting positive achievements and anti-crime awareness in their communities. They're also holding community conversations to discuss concrete ways we can work together to limit gun violence in our neighborhoods. We have more info - as well as
how you can get involved - on our site.
The next Gun Safety Action Team meeting will be held Aug. 27 at 7 p.m. at Allendale United Methodist Church. Contact Team Lead
Sharon Winters for more information.
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Immigration
The Immigration Action Team co-sponsored - along with the ACLU - the recent Families Belong Together rally in Gulfport, where more than 500 people showed up despite rain to protest the Trump administration's "zero tolerance" immigration policies, which have split up scores of refugee families. The team also
issued an action alert urging members to contact their congressional representatives to speak out against these policies.
If you'd like to get involved, email Team Lead
Karen Coale for more information.
Membership Services
The Membership Committee has recently conducted a member engagement survey (see above) for new and current members. They got a lot of feedback but need help sorting it and making sense of the results. If you like analyzing data and learning more about people, get in touch - they'd love your help! They're also working to identify outreach opportunities and creating an Action Team Lead manual to make intra-League operations more consistent across teams.
Media/Publicity
The Media & Publicity team is working to keep the public informed about what's going on with the League. Recent campaigns include the newly-redesigned Voter Guide, and they work with all forms of media, from social media to newspapers and TV stations, to get the word out about the League's activities.
This committee meets monthly on the 1st Thursday @ 5:30 p.m. at the LWVSPA Office, 233 3rd St. N., St. Petersburg. (However, this month they are meeting July 12.) Email Team Lead
Amy Weintraub for more information.
Voter Service
The Voter Service team is registering voters all over Pinellas County and organizing candidate forums ahead of the 2018 elections.
This committee meets monthly on the 4th Tuesday @ 6:30 p.m. at the LWVSPA Office, 233 3rd St. N., St. Petersburg. Email Team Lead
Raechel Garafalo for more information.
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We're on Instagram & Pinterest!
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You probably already know we’re on
Facebook
and
Twitter
, which we use to tell you about all of the great League-related events taking place, and to share news stories and articles that will help inform you about some key League issues.
Now you have even more ways to stay connected with us, thanks to our new accounts on
Instagram
and
Pinterest
! Follow us on both platforms and see what your fellow League members are up to. See you on the internet!
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July 18: Cocktails & Conversation
6-8 p.m. @ SubCentral at the Iberian Rooster, 475 Central Avenue, St. Petersburg
July 19: Solar Co-op Info Session #3
6-7:30 p.m. @
Campbell Park Recreation Center, St. Petersburg
Also, don't miss your chance to travel with the LWVFL! Early rates are still available for both the Seneca Falls trip from Sept. 26-30 and the Civil Rights Immersion tour from Nov. 8-13.
Sign up now for this opportunity to travel, learn and engage with LWVFL!
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For Other Upcoming Events
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Membership: Are You Up for Renewal?
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Join us. Renew your membership. We make a difference.
We need your support to continue our work in the community and at state and national levels. Whether you want to be an active member or a supporting member, your dues help advance the League's mission.
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We offer five levels of membership
:
Carrie Chapman Catt (Gold) for $250*
Susan B. Anthony (Silver) for $125*
Household for $78*
Individual for $52
Student for $26
*Includes two members residing at the same address.
Only $6 of your basic membership goes to the support the activities of the local league; a large percentage of what you pay for an individual membership goes to support our state and national Leagues. By selecting the Gold or Silver membership level, most of your dues will help support the work of our local League.
You can also offer your financial support by upgrading your membership, offering an additional monthly, quarterly or annual donation, and encouraging others to do the same.
Please also consider including the League in your estate planning.
Your gifts allow us to continue our education, advocacy and leadership programs to forward our mission in Making Democracy Work in the St Petersburg area. If you would like to discuss an estate planning contribution or other gift, please
contact our office
.
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2017-2018 League Leadership
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OFFICERS
President: Julie Kessel
Second Vice President: Lisa Vanover
Secretary: Susan Mayer
Treasurer: Caroline Bloodworth
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Caitlin Constantine
Amanda Dodge
Raechel Garafalo
Linsey Grove
Ken Wrede
Click here
for more information about our education and advocacy groups.
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EDUCATION AND ADVOCACY LEADS
Gun Safety: Sharon Winters
Immigration: Karen Coale, Lydia Castle
Health Care: Julie Kessel
Reproductive Rights: Stacey Kroto
Campaign Finance Reform/Social Justice: Julie Kessel, Karen Lieberman
Education: Robin Jones, Iris Yetter
Voter Service: Raechel Garafalo
Sustainability: Lisa Vanover
International Relations: Judy McSwine
Media/Publicity Lead: Amy Weintraub
Office Administrator: Julia Sharp
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League of Women Voters of the St. Petersburg Area
Telephone: 727-896-5197
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The League of Women Voters, a nonpartisan political organization,
encourages informed and active participation in government, works to increase
understanding of major public policy issues, and influences public policy through education and advocacy
.
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