The Voter

By Lynn Frazier

Hello Alachua County,, 

Summer is quickly moving along. I hope all of you are relaxing a bit but also keeping up with League issues. 

Redistricting is an issue we must watch carefully. League is a member of and sits on the executive board of “The Fair Districts Coalition.” Sadly, as pointed out in the State Voter which came out July 12th, only 16 state lawmakers were willing to publicly pledge that they will follow the Florida Constitution’s requirements for fairness when they draw state legislative and Congressional districts in the coming months. Others ignored requests to publicly sign the pledge but they are required to uphold the Florida Constitution. Locally, we will be following redistricting carefully, and Diane Dimperio will lead our efforts in watchdogging the issue.  

Another critical issue is voter registration. With the passage of SB90 and the mandatory compliance with the law, all League members who wish to register voters under the League’s purview must retake an updated version of the League voter registration quiz. There is more information below and on our website. Please take the quiz and be ready to be active in our voter registration efforts.

Our Natural Resources, Local Issues, Climate Action teams have completed study and action on “Eliminating GRU’s Reliance on Natural (Fossil) Gas and Accelerating the Transition to 100% Renewable Energy”. Congratulations to the committees for the completion of this study and action. This study is in keeping with the Local Program approved by our membership at our Annual Meeting in May.  In addition, the plan for supporting our local government’s movement away from natural gas is consistent with positions on the environment of LWVFL and LWVUS. If interested, you may want to review the Climate Change toolkit developed by LWVUS.

If you have not done so yet, you may want to check out all the Local Program passed at the Annual Meeting. The Local Program guides our activities throughout the year. 

Stay cool and find ways to become active in your League because we need you!

Lynn

elgfrazier@gmail.com

Elected Director: Arlene Brummer

After decades as League members in Miami, my husband, Bennett, and I moved to Gainesville in 2013.  I had retired from practicing environmental law. We immediately joined the LWVAC. I was asked to become a Board member and later served as Secretary for 4 years. I am an active participant in the Natural Resources Committee primarily due to my concerns about climate change, renewable energy, and electrification.

Elected Director: Gwendolyn Saffo

I joined the League in 2019, starting with Voter Services. I have always appreciated the work of the league and the role it plays on a local, state, and national level. It is my hope to continue to work with voter services as well get involved with local issues and social justice. I have a passion for community activism and public service. I am a graduate of Shaw University with a BA in Criminal Justice/Public Administration and UF with a MA in Political Science. I retired from the City of Gainesville Office of Equity & Inclusion in 2019 and I currently work for ITM Group and Associates.

Elected Director: Gigi Simmons

For over two decades I have worked tirelessly on behalf of the citizens of Gainesville. I have served the City of Gainesville in Planning and Development, Parks Recreation and Cultural Affairs and also as City Commissioner for District 1. I enjoy working alongside amazing individuals and look forward to serving on the LWVAC board.