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A Voice for Citizens, a Force for Change
e-bulletin
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Message from the Steering Committee |
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A Message From Chair of the Month, Deanna Pearlstein |
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Hello Everyone,
The League has begun the year with our first in-person meeting since the Pandemic began. We met at the Amherst Women’s Club, on the lawn, for conversation and refreshments. We had a beautiful afternoon under the huge shade trees. Everyone seemed to enjoy visiting with friends. Our second half of Opening Meeting will be held via Zoom on Sept. 29th. At 7 p.m. Our speaker will be Pattye Comfort from the State League. Please join us.
The League is beginning a new endeavor to register voters, on a regular basis, at the Amherst Survival Center beginning on Sept. 20th. We also are planning ways to inform voters on the ballot questions for the November 8th elections. We have added one new member to the Steering Committee this month. Rebecca Fricke will be At Large, we welcome the expertise she will bring to the League.
Sadly, two of our longtime members passed away this past month. Dona Motts was a Past President. Betty Romer was an active member of the League for a number of years. Their wisdom and work on the League’s behalf will long be remembered.
We are excited to begin this Fall season and look forward to seeing each of you at one of our meetings.
~ Deanna Pearlstein, SC Chair of the Month
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OPENING MEETING
Join us for Opening Meeting on September 29 at 7 p.m. The speaker will be the Executive Director of the State League, Patricia Comfort. Her topic is “LWVMA and Local Leagues: Their Work Together.” There’ll be ample time for questions.
Pattye joined LWVMA in 2019, after seven years as Executive Director of the Women’s Bar Association and the Women’s Bar Foundation of Massachusetts. Her earlier work includes a stint as in-house counsel to the National Association of State Public Interest Research Groups (PIRGs) where, among other things, she was responsible for maintaining First Amendment access for the PIRG's political canvassers throughout the U.S. Pattye is a graduate of Boston College and Northeastern University School of Law.
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BALLOT AND CANDIDATE FORUMS
The State League is preparing three individual educational forums, organized by three different local leagues, to present the pros and cons of Questions 1, 2, and 3, on which LWVMA has no position. Because the State has taken no position, while we as individuals may support or oppose as we choose, as our local League or as members of the League (identified or identifiable as a League member) we cannot take a position for or against any one of these three questions. We can and should, however, educate the voter about the issues.
However, the newest question, Question 4, asks whether the voter supports The Work and Family Mobility Act, passed in 2022. LWVMA supported this bill in the legislature, lobbying actively for it, and the State Board has voted to continue to support the Act. Therefore, LWVMA is planning a forum to advocate for Question 4.
Candidate Forums: LWVMA together with MAWOCC (Massachusetts Women of Color Coalition) is planning candidate forums for the offices of governor, attorney general, and secretary of state.
Information about dates and times as well as registration links will be available soon. You will receive an announcement when LWV Amherst gets the information. You can also check lwvamherst.org, lwvma.org, and the Mass League Action newsletter, due out in early October.
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Dear Amherst LWV Member,
Once again it is time to renew your membership in the League of Women Voters of Amherst. Your support is needed in order to continue our mission to encourage active citizen participation in government.
Here are some things planned for the fall.
● The opening meeting will be held via Zoom on Sept. 29 at 7 p.m. Pattye Comfort of LWVMA will speak. Register here.
● The state election will be held Nov. 8 for offices. There are ballot questions as well. Go to Vote411.org for voting and ballot information.
● We will register voters and hold information meetings to educate voters on the issues.
● The Racial Justice Committee continues its Judy Brooks Conversation Series. The next in the series will feature Amherst Media on September 27, 7–8 p.m. go to www.lwvamherst.org for info.
● We are forming a Committee to review Amherst’s charter form of government in anticipation of the town’s self evaluation in two years.
Details about our programs can be found on the Amherst League website (www.lwvamherst.org). The League produces a monthly electronic bulletin with a calendar of events and information about topics related to the League, as well as announcements between bulletins. Please be sure that we have an e-mail address for you so that you can receive these announcements. You may opt to have your email omitted from the published membership list.
We are moving to electronic membership renewals; please try this as it makes things much more efficient. Go to tiny.one/lwvaMember to submit all the necessary information including interests and activities and make payment (allows mailing in a check as well as credit card). You can also mail in payment with the paper forms.
The dues structure for 2022–2023 remains unchanged. We offer a basic membership rate of $35 and $55 for a household membership. The book sale was successful so we are able to cover the difference of the state and National required per member payments.
Please consider an additional gift to the LWVA or to the League of Women Voters Education Fund. Contributions to the Education Fund are tax deductible.
To receive the full benefits of membership and be included in the 2022–2023 Membership Directory and email list, please renew your membership by Dec. 31. Members who joined for the first time after April 30 do not have to renew.
Thank you for continuing to be a member of the Amherst League of Women Voters.
~ Phyllis Lehrer
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Greetings from the Racial Justice Committee (RJC) September, 2022
Judy Brooks Conversation Series
The next Judy Brooks Conversation Series will be with Amherst Media Board President, Artie McCollum, and Director, Jim Lescault on September 27, 7–8 p.m. Zoom link at lwvamherst.org.
Conversations about Reparations: “The Stolen Beam” Series*
Would you welcome the opportunity to better understand the different perspectives about reparations for African-Americans? A 5-week course of readings and discussion, “The Stolen Beam” begins September 22 at the Jones Library (via Zoom), co-sponsored by the African Heritage Reparations Assembly. The class will focus on the legacy of African enslavement, what was stolen, what may be owed and historical examples of reparations. The series was developed by members of the Reparations Committee of the Jewish Community of Amherst and will be co-facilitated by members of that committee.
If you are interested, but would prefer a less-intensive course, RJC member, Jeff Gold, co-creator of “The Stolen Beam” curriculum, has offered to lead a similar series, just for Amherst LWV members, that would meet perhaps once a month. Andrea Battle (RJC) will be co-facilitator. If interested, or you would like more information, please contact Jeff Gold or Martha Hanner, so that we can assess the level of interest.
*The name "Stolen Beam" is a reference to a Talmudic debate about the right thing to do when we discover that the house in which we live was built with stolen materials, "a stolen beam."
Sojourner Truth School Classes
The Sojourner Truth School for Social Change Leadership offers many excellent classes, mostly via Zoom, on topics related to racism. Detailed class and trainer descriptions are online at www.truthschool.org
~ Martha Hanner, for the Racial Justice Committee
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VOTER ENGAGEMENT COMMITTEE |
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Meet the Candidates for Sheriff of Hampshire County Update
Looks like there will be a race after all. Candidate Yvonne Gittelson will run a write-in campaign against incumbent, Patrick Cahillane. So our forum may still be of some use to those undecided or not-yet-paying-attention-to-the-election friends. Please share videos to all that are interested at these links: in English or with Spanish translation as no other forums are planned for this race. Great job and many thanks to all that were involved in this event!
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Don't forget Vote411.org for all your election needs: voting sites, candidate information, ballot information, registration verification, and more.
An excellent LWV resource!
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SUSTAINABILITY & CLIMATE ACTION COMMITTEE |
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LWVUS Acknowledges the Importance of Forests
LWVUS has signed a letter of support on protection of mature and old-growth forests. You can read the letter here, and see the groups who signed it in the letter attached to it. From the point of view of Forest Protection, this may be a baby step, but at least it is an important acknowledgement (not found in Impact on Issues) of forests’ contributions to, among other essential services, meeting the climate crisis by sequestering carbon.
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Book Sale Children's Days
Make a Book, Take a Book: On July 19th and 20th, Adele Gladstone-Gilbert spent the mornings at the Summer Achievement Academy, directed by Dwayne Chamble at Crocker Farm School, making books with the 70–75 children in the program. The activity took place in the library, where the school librarian, Ms. Santiago, attractively arranged approximately 200 like-new books donated by the Amherst League. Ann Kieser offered some of her beautifully marbled papers for book covers and joined Adele on the busier second day to help out. Her assistance was much appreciated!
Adele offered a brief demonstration of how hardcover book pages are printed, folded, sewn, and split either by hand or in a factory. Each class arrived for a half-hour lesson, with several grown-ups to assist the children, Every student made their own little 16 page book; folding 1 sheet of paper for the pages, choosing a patterned cover, stitching it together, and spliting the pages apart. Some got right to work, filling up their pages with words and pictures. When ready, each child picked out one League donated book to take home. The remaining books were distributed to the children's families. This was the 4th year Adele offered this program in conjunction with the Amherst League's Book Sale.
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Student Membership Drive
LWVMA is launching a student membership drive starting September 16 through October 31. All high school (grade 9 and up) and college students who enroll in a free student membership using this form, will be entered into a free drawing to win a new Apple iPad Air—a $600 value! All Leagues are invited to participate in the drive. This is a great opportunity to recruit more members during National Voter Registration Day and other election related events.
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LWVMA Legislative Victories in 2021–2022
Read the Legislative Action Committee (LAC)’s report here
Watch “Impact of the VOTES Act” Presentation
You can view the presentation by Michelle Tassinari, Director of Elections in the Secretary of State's office, here. Michelle offered a lot of great information and suggestions for how League members might help during this election season.
Tune into Voting Rights – The Struggle to be Counted
Each Sunday evening at 7:00 p.m., Phil Portlock, a Washington D.C.-based photographer, film producer and voting rights activist, screens his 25-minute documentary about the history of African American voting rights in the United States and the continuing threats to those rights. Click here for the zoom link, and here to a Washington Post article about the film maker and the film.
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New Rights and Responsibilities Policy
LWVUS is developing new policies of the rights and responsibilities of Leagues and their members. If you’re interested in commenting, comments are due by October 11. You can find the draft policies here and here. Comment sheets are at the end of each document.
Guidance Memo: Understanding the LWVUS DEI Policy
The 2020–22 LWVUS DEI Committee, which was comprised of national board members as well as state and local leaders, prepared a memorandum to share guidance more broadly on some of the most common questions and requests for help that committee members received regarding the DEI Policy. Read the memorandum here.
Increasing the Power of State Legislatures over Election Matters?
Moore v. Harper is a case set to be heard by the US Supreme Court this fall. This case could have wide-ranging implications for state election laws nationwide. Check out LWVUS's helpful blog explaining the case. LWVUS is watching the case and determining how best to support the power of state courts to review election laws. Be on the lookout for more messaging guidance from LWVUS in the coming weeks.
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"A Woman Living Here Has Registered to Vote" 1920 sign from St. Louis, Missouri. This work is in the public domain. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:%22A_Woman_Living_Here_Has_Registered_to_Vote%22_1920_sign_from_St._Louis,_Missouri.jpg
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FORWARD THIS MESSAGE!
This monthly message is for anyone interested in the League, not just members. If you know someone who might be interested, forward this message and invite them to subscribe themselves, using the link below.
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e-BULLETIN STAFF AND CONTRIBUTORS IN SEPTEMBER
The Editor of the LWVAmherst e-Bulletin, Jessica Ryan can be contacted here. The Associate Editors are Trish Farrington and Susan Millinger; Assistant Editors are Janice Ratner, Phyllis Lehrer, and Kay Fite who checks the links. Contributors to this month's e-Bulletin include LWVA members, Adele Gladstone-Gilbert, Phyllis Lehrer, Susan Millinger, Deanna Pearlstein, and Martha Hanner. Material on LWVMA and LWVUS comes from Mass League Action newsletter and lwvma.org; League Update and lwvus.org, respectively, selected by Susan Millinger.
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