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733 15th Street, N.W., Suite 432, Washington, DC 20005
202/347-3020, fax: 202/347-2522
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PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE By Frances GemmillThis December Voter is to be mailed November 19 because the following Friday is the day after Thanksgiving, so we hope you'll receive it no later than early December. I'm writing as an intensive week gets underway, with Unit discussions on Affordable Housing, to cover the progress of the Comprehensive Housing Strategy, proposals for lnclusionary Zoning, and other problems, including the rejection by HUD of tenant renovations of housing under Section 8. Your November VOTER included background on these, and you can find further coverage of housing beginning on page 77 of your Know the District of Columbia. Our DC League Board enjoyed returning to the new Board Room of LWVUS for our November 3 Board meeting; thanks to the Board and staff of LWVUS for this hospitality. The new Board Room is somewhat smaller than the old one, but we find it large enough, and its windows along one wall are most welcome. December will begin with two important meetings on December 1. The long-standing custom is for our Board to meet on the first Wednesday of each month, which happens to be December 1 this year. The Board and the Education Fund Trustees will meet in the Board Room at 1730 M St. from, 10 am to 12:30, and our Health Committee will meet in the same room from 12:30 to 2 pm. The Health Committee is reaching out to work with other community groups, including AARP, so new potential members of their committee are expected to attend this meeting. Each member is encouraged to provide his/her own lunch, to munch during the meeting. If you missed the October 29 Healthcare Forum, catch up by reading the report on it in this VOTER. Units Choice is the traditional focus for December Units, and this year is no exception. Our new Capitol Hill Unit is considering returning to the "League 1.01 discussion, which was the topic for last year's Units. Enclosed is the background for that discussion for use by other Units if they choose-seems like a good time to review traditional League purposes and values. Wishing all League Members and their families Happy Holidays!This Year, Consider Giving "Know The District of Columbia As A Holiday Gift!Send $7.00 to the League office with the recipient's name and address and your personal note. The League will enclose your personal note and send the book for you. DECEMBER UNIT MEETINGSDiscussion topic for December Units is traditionally the Units Choice. As the newest unit, the Capitol Hill Unit has chosen "Refresher LWVDC 101." All members are welcome to attend. Call the Unit chairs listed below for the location of these December Unit meetings. Tuesday. December 14 Wednesday December 15 Thursday, December 16 GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY BOATHOUSE PROPOSAL - UPDATEOn October 14, the National Park Service (NPS) announced that it will prepare an Environmental Assessment (EA) to analyze the impacts associated with the construction of a proposed Georgetown University (GU) Boathouse. As part of the EA, NPS will conduct a "scoping meeting", during which the public will be invited to list their concerns about the impact of the proposal. If the impacts are determined to be significant, a full Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) - a more rigorous study - will be conducted. In preparation for the scoping meeting, those who appreciate the Park - including users of the Capital Crescent Trail, the Towpath, and the River - will want to consider the following:
The proposed GU boathouse is based on old waterfront plans dating from 1987, 1989, and 1995, which NPS has modified in recent years without proper public scrutiny. In almost 20 years, circumstances along the GeorgetownPalisades waterfront have changed, including an increase in traffic along the popular route. A full review of this boathouse proposal and others is warranted. We can have boathouses along the waterfront and protect the Park, too. [This article is based on an Update written by Sally Strain, a member of Defenders of Potomac Parklands. Editor's Note: At the November 3 Board meeting, the LWVDC Board approved in concept the proposal to re-affirm its letter and statement of May 2003 urging that an EIS be undertaken before approval of the plans for the proposed boathouse.] — Frances Gemmill HEALTH COMMITTEE TO MEET DEC. 1The Healthcare Committee will meet December 1, from 12:30 to 2 pm (immediately following the monthly LWVDC Board meeting) in the Board Room of the League of Women Voters of the United States, 1730 M St. NW, 10th floor. Possible plans for a forum about the responsibility to the community of nonprofit health care providers, which include organizations such as Care First as well as hospitals. The discussion will be more complete than the one held following the annual meeting of the DC Primary Care Association on October 29th. For a report on that meeting, see page 3. DC Appleseed Center for Law and Justice is, completing a study on the subject, preliminary results of which were given on the 29 . The Health Committee will plan a forum at which DC Appleseed and others will discuss the complete report. Also on the committee's agenda will be a discussion of other health care activities the committee might be undertaking. Bring your ideas - AND YOUR LUNCH. — Goody Braun (723-2477) & Rene Wallis (638-0252 w), Co-chairs CONGRESSIONAL
REPRESENTATION
|
Registered Voters | Ballots Cast | % |
20 04 |
||
383,919 | 207,901 | 54.15 |
2002 |
||
363,211 | 133,302 | 36.70 |
2000 |
||
354,410 | 205,748 | 58.10 |
Join the League or renew your membership. Questions concerning League membership can be directed to the League Office at 347-3020.
SUN | MON | TUES | WED | THURS | FRI | SAT |
1 10 am-12:30 pm, LWVDC Board Mtg | 2 | 3 10:00 am, NCA Board Mtg. | 4 | |||
5 | 6 | 7 9:45-11:00 am, Voter
registration at Naturalization Ceremony for new US citizens January DC Voter deadline |
8 Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments annual membership and awards luncheon | 9 | 10 | 11 |
12 | 13 | 14 Unit Meetings 9:45 am Southwest Day 12:45 pm Northwest Day |
15 Unit Meetings 9:45 am Upper 16th St. Day 7:00 pm Capital Hill Eve |
16 Unit Meetings 9:45 am Chevy Chase/Ingleside Day 7:30 pm Northwest Eve |
17 January DC Voter mailed | 18 12-4:00 pm, Child Care for All Campaign. Call 347-3020 for more info. |
19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 |
26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 |
The purpose of the League of Women Voters shall be to promote political responsibility through informed and active participation of citizens in government. Policy: The League may take action on governmental measures and policies in the public interest. It shall not support or oppose any political party or candidate.
As shown above, the League was founded for the purpose of informing ourselves and others on the issues which affect all citizens and then taking action to influence the political process on behalf of the public interest on these issues. Historically, it grew out of the Woman Suffrage -movement, and had as its first objective in 1920 to train newly enfranchised women voters following the passage of the 19th Amendment.
Some LWVUS achievements:
1921 Helped win passage of the Sheppard-Towner Act providing federal money for maternal and children's program, stepping stone for the Social Security Act of 1935.
1928 Sponsored the first national radio broadcast of a candidate forum.
1955 Testified against Sen. Joseph McCarthy's abuse of congressional investigative powers.
1976 Received an Emmy Award for the presidential debates between Carter and Ford.
2000 Launched Democracy Network (DNet): Interactive election information on the Internet providing local, county, state, and national candidate positions on many issues across the nation.
Local, regional and state Leagues claim other achievements and continue to work on issues of election reform, voting rights, protection of the environment, education and world peace and justice.
Structure - The League is organized so that those who join are simultaneously members of a local League, a state League, the national League and an inter-League organization (ILO), if one exists in the particular area. Members are invited to be active on any or all levels. The DC League is regarded as both a state and a local League and it is a member of the National Capital Area League, an ILO. Some local Leagues are organized in the unit system, which began during WW II, when gas was rationed and women started meeting in their neighborhoods. Each unit has a chairperson; a representative of the unit chairs is often on the local Board. As a grassroots organization, members suggest topics to be studied and take those suggestions to their local League Board. The Board reviews and recommends the issues to the membership at the next annual meeting or convention, which then selects the topics for the next biennium. Local Boards fill out additional monthly program topics. A general membership meeting will be held Tuesday, January 18, 2005 to discuss and select the 2005-2007 program issues to be presented for adoption at the DC Annual Meeting (April 28, 2005) and the NCA Annual Meeting (May 14, 2005).
The DC League offers six Unit groups that meet monthly to discuss League program: Southwest, Upper 16th St., Chevy Chase/Ingleside, Capitol Hill Evening and Northwest Day and Evening. Longtime League members will remember Units that formerly met in Georgetown, SE Anacostia, Cleveland Park, Connecticut Ave., and Northeast. The present Unit configuration reflects changes over time in Unit leadership and women's working lives. The DC League welcomes additional Units started. Contact DC League President Frances Gemmill if you wish to explore starting a new Unit.
The national, state, ILO and local Leagues are governed by a volunteer board of directors, elected by the membership to serve two years, with staggered terms. The current Board of the DC League is composed of president, 3 vice presidents (administrative, local issues & national issues), secretary, treasurer, 6 elected directors and 3 appointed directors (serving for one year). Directors have a portfolio, assuming responsibility for a specific area. LWVDC also has 12 committees including a nominating committee. The Member Handbook and Directory / Program Calendar 2004-2005 lists the officers, board members and committee chairs.
While individuals are urged to work in the political party of their choice, the political activities of all Board members are restricted.
Funding support for activities come from members, non-members and the community at large, foundations, corporations, and businesses.
The League can take action only on those governmental issues on which it has positions. These positions are arrived at after study and group discussion, either by consensus or concurrence.
Summarized and edited from a Fairfax LWV document by LWVDC Board (Dec 2002), Revised December 2004.
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