Turnout was so big at the Cleveland Redistricting Commission public hearing on Monday, Aug. 23, that they had to open the venue wall to make room for more fair district attendees.
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President’s Message
As I write this column, I am about to go out of town for a few days and will miss several important League events. Perhaps the most pressing of these events is the Fair Districts fundraiser at The Battleground in Kent and the Fair Districts Commission Hearings in Akron. Many of you attended one of the community mapping sessions in July and got a sense of what defines our communities, what we feel is important, and how vital it is to “get it right” in the upcoming redistricting process.
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I want to thank all of you who responded to our survey. There were 65 respondents to the “seasoned” member survey; 17 new members participated. We received good information that will help guide our upcoming programming. I want to respond to a few of your comments.
For several years we have considered scheduling our League meetings on a consistent day/week each month, primarily for ease of planning for the members. The responses to this idea on the survey were mixed. Although many believe this would be a good idea, everyone realized how difficult it would be to do because of so many other commitments. So, we have decided to continue to schedule All Member Meetings on different days and weeks in order to provide opportunities for everyone to attend at least some of the time. We will be preparing an annual schedule with this information to allow you to plan in advance for our upcoming events.
Another comment from the survey asked about our focus on topics other than voting—after all, that is in our name. The League of Women Voters was founded more than 100 years ago with a key goal of encouraging women to vote and to educate them about the issues once they had the right. After the 70-year struggle to achieve that milestone, women became empowered to use that vote to define and support issues that are important to maintaining a responsible government—one that is “responsive to the will of the people . . . [,] promote[s] the conservation and development of natural resources in the public interest, share[s] in the solution of economic and social problems that affect the general welfare . . . and adopt[s] domestic policies that facilitate the solution of international problems” (Principles of the League of Women Voters of the United States). These are, in part, our principles that establish the foundation for our positions and advocacy. In the coming months, we will provide related programming that addresses voting in Portage County, immigration and resettlement, legislative updates from our state representative, and several other important and timely topics.
For now, please mark your calendars for our Fall Kick-Off Meeting on September 14. Our guest speaker will be Jen Miller, executive director of the Ohio League of Women Voters. As much as we had hoped to resume in-person meetings, we will follow CDC guidelines and continue to meet via Zoom.
I hope you all have a safe and productive September as we resume many of our fall activities. Don’t forget your mask.
In League and Unity,
Debbie
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LWV Kent fall kick-off meeting set
for Sept. 14 to feature Ohio League Executive Director Jen Miller
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The leaves may not be turning to autumn colors just yet, but it’s time to let you know about Kent League’s fall kick-off meeting. Join us virtually (yes, we’re back on Zoom) on Tuesday, Sept. 14, at 7 p.m. We had hoped to see everyone in person, but we want to follow CDC guidelines and be respectful of all our members with regard to COVID-19 and possible exposure.
We will start the evening with a brief business meeting and then hear brief updates from the League’s committee chairs about what their groups have been doing lately.
The program speaker will be Jen Miller, executive director of the Ohio LWV. She will update us on the status of redistricting in Ohio, LWV Ohio’s activities related to that process and summarize legislative activity that League’s throughout the state need to keep an eye on. A question-and-answer session will follow Miller’s presentation.
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Ohio NEEDS YOUR TESTIMONY at Redistricting Commission public hearings this week! The Akron hearing is set for Friday, Aug. 27, from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the University of Akron Quaker Station Ballroom, 1200 Mill St., Akron. To carpool to the hearing, click here. Can’t make it on Friday or any other dates? You can submit testimony via email here but be sure to read all of the instructions! Check the list at below for more dates, times and locations, or click here for printable list.
Now that you have decided to testify or submit written testimony. . .
5. Head to Akron on Aug. 27!
Head here to watch the commission hearings on The Ohio Channel.
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Fair Districts redistricting competition entries
due by Sept. 6! You could be a winner!
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The deadline is approaching, but there is still time to enter the Fair Districts Redistricting Competition. Try your hand at drawing Ohio House and Senate District maps and/or Ohio Congressional maps. Using the mapping software of your choice, create maps that follow the criteria in the Ohio Constitution and that do not rely on cracking or packing. Your goal is to draw representative districts for the people of Ohio.
House and senate maps are due by midnight on September 6. Congressional maps are due by midnight on Sept. 15. Winning entries will be awarded cash prizes. For details on rules, submitting your map and scoring, click here. For more information on prizes, click here.
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Looking for volunteers to register voters
at Art in the Park, Sept. 11-12
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We're back registering voters this fall. The Voter Services Committee has been busy at KSU the past week. Here is an upcoming familiar opportunity for members to help with this year's registration events.
ART IN THE PARK
Sat., Sept. 11, 2021, 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Sun., Sept. 12, 2021, 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Click here to sign up! More information about Art in the Park here.
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New LWV Kent Study Opportunity! |
We have some great parks in Portage County! But are they easily accessible to everyone? The scope of this study is to bring our attention to underserved communities in Portage, noting where people are living in relationship to where the parks are located. We will also examine which parks are served by public transportation. This study will inform updates to our Parks and Recreation position.
Are you new to the League or not currently involved? If you are interested in the environment and justice issues, this study may be a great opportunity for a short-term but impactful involvement! We will meet on the 4th Monday of the month at 7pm, starting September 27.
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Tune in to REAL TALK on Sept. 1 for the latest
on drawing fair district maps for Northeast Ohio
and how you can get involved
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It’s been six years since voters in all of Ohio’s 88 counties approved reforms that would end the practice of gerrymandering the state’s legislative districts and three years since voters did the same for Ohio’s Congressional districts. Now with the 2020 census completed, the map-drawing process has officially begun.
The work of redrawing district maps falls to the Ohio Redistricting Commission, which the state legislature created earlier this year. Unlike in years past, the ORC has specific rules to follow when drawing the state’s legislative and Congressional districts. These rules, one of which calls for public input during map-drawing process, stem from the reforms voters passed in 2015 and 2018.
To learn more about the redistricting process, what's ahead, and how you can help draw new—and most important, fair—district maps for Northeast Ohio, tune in to REAL TALK on Wednesday, Sept. 1, at 7 p.m. Registration is required.
The featured presenters are Carrie Davis, former executive director of the League of Women Voters of Ohio; Mia Lewis, associate director of Common Cause Ohio; Collin Marozzi, policy strategist the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio; and Greg Moore, co-chair of Ohio Citizen’s Redistricting Commission & Promise of Democracy Foundation. The moderator is Rick Jackson, a writer for Ideastream Public Media, WCPN/NPR, and WVIZ/PBS.
REAL TALK is a collaboration among the Akron, Greater Cleveland, Hudson, and Kent Leagues of Women Voters. The REAL TALK presentation on Sept. 1 is being produced in partnership with Fair Districts Ohio, the League of Women Voters of Ohio, Common Cause Ohio, the ACLU of Ohio, and Ideastream Public Media.
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Portage County NAACP sponsoring community
public-safety event Sun., Aug. 29
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The Portage County NAACP, in collaboration with local public safety forces, is sponsoring “Partnering for Public Safety” on Sun., Aug. 29, from 1 p.m.-9 p.m. This family friendly public community event is intended to promote unity and safety for everyone in the community.
There will be free food, emergency vehicles, visits from K9 dogs, tips on bike safety and child IDs, and information about public safety careers and current job openings. And prizes!
Co-sponsors include the Portage County Sheriff's Office, the Ravenna Post of the Ohio Highway Patrol, the Kent Fire Department, and the Kent Interfaith Alliance.
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Keep up with the energetic
Observer Corps via our website
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Can't make it to local government meetings but still want to be in the know about what your elected officials are doing? Check out the reports from our dedicated Observer Corps members to find out. Read the brief report on the most recent Kent Board of Education meeting where the mask mandate was discussed! Click here to go directly to the Observer Corps reports. You also can access the reports from our website's home page by clicking on “Observer Corp” in the left-side navigation menu.
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Thanks to members who have renewed their memberships! Still time to pay those dues! |
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Many of you have renewed your memberships and we are very appreciative. If you have yet to do that, here is the information about renewing. Visit our website at: https://my.lwv.org/ohio/kent/membership for information about membership renewals.
Writing a check?
Make your check payable to League of Women Voters of Kent. Mail to: Gail Pytel, 613 N. Willow St., Kent, Ohio, 44240.
Want to pay online?
Click here. Scroll to the bottom of the page to find the form to submit and then to pay via PayPal. Please select that you are renewing your membership! Thank you!
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Your hard-working board of directors takes a break at a summer planning meeting!
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First row, left to right: Environment Chair Renee Ruchotzke, Membership Management Admin and Friend and Fundraising Chair Jane Preston Rose, VP Janice Hutchison, President Debbie Barber. Second row, left to right: Health Equity Chair Michelle Chapman, VP Penny Graves, Secretary Jackie Peck, Voter Service Co-chair Jill Hazelton, Diversity/Equity/Inclusion Chair Sally Saltzman and Treasurer Gail Pytel. Also on board: Education Chair Deborah Austin Sanders, Voter Service Co-chair Stacy Yaniglos, Communications Chair Amie Cajka and Membership Chair Sherry Rose.
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Connect with us by email . . . and |
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