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A guy who loves his job as a Legislative Director!

Our speaker for Mon., Aug. 19, All Member Meeting

NEW DATE! NEW LOCATION!

Next on our list of dynamic speakers is Matt Smith, Legislative Director for the AFL-CIO Ohio. He’ll share the latest on legislation making its way through the Ohio General Assembly and what’s on the horizon.


DAY/DATE: Monday, Aug. 19

TIME: 7 p.m., appetizers and beverages

LOCATION: North Water Brewing, 101 Crain Ave., Kent

FREE and open to the public.


Matthew Smith was born in Pikeville, Kentucky in 1985 into a strong Labor family. Matt comes from 4 generations of coal miners and has been walking picket lines since he was 2 years old. He graduated from the University of Louisville in 2007 with a bachelor’s degree in Political Science. Shortly thereafter, he moved to Columbus, Ohio to work on campaigns for Labor friendly candidates.


In 2008, Matt was hired as a Legislative Aide to State Senator Sue Morano, a union member. He continued to work in the Senate jobs until the introduction of Senate Bill 5. Within weeks he had been hired by the Ohio AFL-CIO as a legislative coordinator and soon became Legislative Director at the state federation where he still serves.


As chief lobbyist, Matt builds relationships with elected officials at every level from both sides of the aisle to make sure the rights of all workers are respected and to try and move a worker friendly agenda.


When the legislature is not in session, Matt works on labor-backed campaigns in various capacities. Most recently, he led the Union Strong campaign against Issue 1 in August, 2023. Matt lives in Pataskala with his wife Sarah and two daughters, Margot and Madeline.


Invite famlly, friends and neighbors to our All Member Meetings. 

David Pepper, Ohio voting rights activist, to speak at Fall meeting, Sept. 18

Our speaker for the Fall 2024 Kick-Off Meeting is David Pepper. Pepper is a lawyer, writer, political activist, former elected official, adjunct professor and voting rights advocate. He is and has been an ardent supporter of redistricting and the League of Women Voters. He’ll be sharing perspectives on voting rights, voting access and the state of voting in Ohio.


DAY/DATE: Thursday, Sept. 18

TIME: 5:30 p.m., appetizers and beverages

LOCATION: Hobbs Hall, 217 N. Mantua St., Kent

FREE and open to the public.


Pepper has been engaged in numerous fights and extensive litigation over voter suppression and election laws in the Buckeye State. He has written two books about voting issues, Laboratories of Autocracy and Saving Democracy, plus four novels that bridge real-world politics and fiction.


Born and raised in Cincinnati, Pepper is a fifth-generation Cincinnatian. Pepper earned his B.A. magna cum laude from Yale University, where he was Phi Beta Kappa, and later earned his J.D. from Yale Law School. He has served in elected positions on the Cincinnati City Council and Hamilton County Board of Commissioners.



Invite famlly, friends and neighbors to our All Member Meetings. 

Read Maureen O'Connor's response to Gov. Mike DeWine's recent press conference criticizing the Citizens Not Politicians' proposed state constitutional amendment here. Here is a link to Gov. DeWine's remarks.

Can we count on you?

Help LWV Kent meet the challenge!

Several LWV Kent members have pooled their donations to the Citizens Not Politicians Amendment campaign early to challenge Kent League members to help them raise at least $7,000 to $8,000. So far, $5,900 has been raised. Can you help with a donation?


Jen Miller, LWVO director, wrote recently, “The only way we can continue our fight for fair representation is to raise at least $157, 910 (link to online pay portal) immediately to be placed into this brand new bank account. Without these funds, our work on Citizens Not Politicians will have to stop completely. We will also be unable to pay our indispensable campaign staff who work tirelessly to support local Leagues, organize volunteers, and urge voters to VOTE YES through earned media.”


In June, the Ohio legislature changed campaign finance laws. We now have to start from scratch with a whole new financial system to meet the complicated new regulations. 


To donate, you can write a check or pay online. In either case, send an email here letting us know what amount you have donated as we work to this challenge. 


We will be collecting checks and paperwork at the Monday, Aug. 19 All Member Meeting at North Water Brewing, 101 Crain Ave., Kent, 7 p.m.



If you choose to write a check, print and complete this form and include it with your check payable to League of Women Voters of Ohio


Print “CNP911” on the memo line. If you do not include the required form, LWVO cannot deposit your check.


You can also mail the form and your check to:

LWVO, 471 E. Broad St., Suite 1630, Columbus, OH 43215


To donate online, click hereTHANK YOU!

Want to keep up with what is happening with the Citizens Not Politicians constitutional amendment campaign? Click HERE to see CNP's latest news.

Voter registration volunteers needed

in August and September

Please help us register voters this summer. Choose one or more dates from the options below. Click on the image to sign up.

Have extra paper shopping bags? Empty paper towel rolls? Donate them, other items to VOTER Girl Project

Dear members! The eighth VOTER Girl Project is set for Saturday, Nov. 9, at Ledgewood Girl Scout Camp in Summit County. Last year 130 girls attended and we expect more this year. So that means more supplies! Can you help us with donations to our supply list?


Please bring to the Aug. 19 or Sept. 18 All Member Meetings or contact us at lwvkent@gmail.com. Thank you!


We need: 

  • 100 hardback composition books
  • Purell wipes
  • Paper shopping bags (as many as we can get)
  • Empty Paper towel roll (as many as we can get)
  • 25 packs of magic markers
  • 5 packs of glue dots 

Book Club is closing out summer with book from local author

The LWV Kent Book Club is now meeting on the third Wednesday of the month, though the time and location are the same: 1:30 p.m., at Hudson Grande Senior Living, 5400 Darrow Road, Hudson. All are welcome to join. Email Jane Preston Rose for details about the meetings. 


Here is the selection for August:



August 21 Scold’s Bridle

by Ronna Russell

The author lives in Kent and will be joining us for our discussion.

70th birthday party was a blast!

It was a great night of reminiscing the past and recommiting ourselves to a future of "making democracy work." About 75 members gathered at Hobbs Hall in Kent on July 22 for a celebration of seven decades of public service.


We thanked our good friends who supported our efforts to collect signatures for the Citizens Not Politicians Amendment on the fall ballot: Kent United Church of Christ, Brimfield Bread Oven and the Kent Unitarian Unversalist Church.


Craig of Kent State Votes and a new member received the first Defender of Democracy Award!


We honored all past presidents and heard from: Jane, Nena, Barb, Stacy, Terrie, Debbie, Roberta and Amie. Jan, Gail and Kady, we thank you too! Current President Sherry brought our mission into sharp focus as we go forward.


We were so glad to have League of Women Voters of Northern Portage in the house!


Congratulations to the winners of gift certificates from the Brimfield Bread Oven: very new member Judy, LWV Northern Portage member Janice and Ann.


Stacy, Jill and Amie created a signature drink for the event. Guests voted by rank choice voting (sooo League!) to name it "Suffrage 70 Purple Fizz."


Thanks to the Membership Committee led by board member Karen Carmany who put on a wonderful and meaningful event. Thank you Karen, Mary, Chris, Jane, Roberta, Barb W, Vera, Barb D, Sara, Donna, Carolyn and Fay Ann. Thanks to board member Renee for all of her help at Hobbs Hall, especially set up and clean up.

SAVE THE DATE . . . All events are free except where noted


Aug 19 | Monday | 7 p.m. | All Member Meeting, Speaker: Matt Smith, Legislative Director for AFL-CIO Ohio | North Water Brewing, 101 Crain Ave., Kent | Open to the public.


Aug 21 | Wednesday | 1:30 p.m. | LWV Kent Book Club |Click here to email for details.

 

Sep 18 | Wednesday | 1:30 p.m. | LWV Kent Book Club |Click here to email for details.

 

Sep 18 | Wednesday | 5:30 p.m. | All Member Meeting/Fall Kick-Off | Hobbs Hall, 217 N. Mantua St., Kent | Open to the public.


Oct 2 | Wednesday | Time to be announced | Drive-up Voter registration | Details to come. 

 

Oct 16 | Wednesday | 1:30 p.m. | LWV Kent Book Club |Click here to email for details. 


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