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League of Women Voters of Boulder County
Empowering Voters. Defending Democracy
Serving the People of Boulder County, Colorado
Date: 3/1/2021
Subject: LWVBC Voter March 2020
From: Jennifer L Bales




Voter Header
March 2021
Editor Jennifer Bales
communications@lwvbc.org
A PDF Version of this newsletter is available here.  Please allow a day or two from this mailing for the PDF to be uploaded.

90th birthday

PRESIDENTS' LETTER
March 2021
Elizabeth Crowe
Gaythia Weis

Presidents' Letter for March 2021

by Elizabeth Crowe

Ninety Never Looked So Good

2020 was a major milestone year for the League of Women Voters and for so many U.S. citizens and residents, as we celebrated the 100th Anniversary of our national organization and that of the 19th Amendment. But for our Boulder County League members the celebrations aren’t over yet: 2021 marks 90 years of local organizing for voting rights and democracy.  90 never looked so good!  

I’m pleased with the way in which our local League members work to improve with age. I get so excited when participating in our member coffees and other events, and see so many new members interested in getting involved. It’s also wonderful that so many of our active members have been so, for decades. What a gift to have such multi-generational collaboration and leadership! 

Hope to see you at the 90th Birthday party and thank you as always, for what you do to empower voters and defend democracy.
 

Come on DOWN! HELP Wanted
 
By Carolyn Elliot
 
Do you like to work with volunteers or with local business folks, or help lead projects, or research for particular information, or help with planning and training, or work with new members, or write or speak publicly, or engage in strategic thinking, or work behind the scenes? If yes, then you are our person!
 
The Nominating Committee is looking for people to fill three positions. Click the link below for descriptions of the positions.
 
1. Fund Development Director.
 
2. Membership Director (or coordinator, as your preference may be).

3. A Nominating Committee chairperson to replace me, Carolyn Elliott.

If these three positions do not suit your fancy, please, volunteer to help as needed! As an all-volunteer operation, we can use all the help we can get!

All those interested, please e-mail your interest to Carolyn Elliott, chairperson for the Nominating Committee, at…
     carolynelliott1515@gmail.com



Alphabet Soup: FPTP, RCV, IRV, STAR, RLA, C.R.S., LAC, UOCAVA, FRA, HAVA

By the Voting Methods Team

 

A Voting Methods Team member complained at her first meeting about all the TLAs (three-letter abbreviations) we use.  In response, we created the first edition of “A Guide to Voting Methods Abbreviations” and posted a link to it on our VM Team webpage. Each of the 36 abbreviations is listed 3 times:

 

1) in an alphabetical list,

2) in a list organized by category, and

3) with more information on the individual abbreviations, including our team members’ history of involvement with them.  Just click on the desired abbreviation and your cursor should jump to the more detailed entry.

 

Enjoy perusing our guide!

 


From Membership

By Debby Vink

membership@lwvbc.org

Membership count:281 

 
Welcome to Our Newest Members!

Welcome to New Members Jane Rubentstein, Francie Sinton, Kelly McGinnis and Kate Ward---and to   returning member Julie Zahniser.

 
Member Coffee
Join us for the next virtual Member Coffee on Saturday, March 13, 10-11:30.  We’ll chat with LWVBC student member Jackson Moody, and view his 10 minute award-winning video on Dr. Justina Ford, Denver’s first African-American, female physician.

Send in Your Nominations for LWVBC Merit Awards
It's time to send in your nominations for LWVBC Merit Awards to be announced at the Annual Meeting.   We want to honor those members who have made a difference in our work since July 1, 2020.  Think of actions and events that were important and who made them happen.  Send your nominations by email to Debby Vink at membership@lwvbc.org with the subject LWVBC Award Nominations.  The deadline for nominations is March 20, 2021. For more details, click the link at the bottom of this Membership article.
 
LWVBC Student Member Scholarship 
The deadline to apply for the 2020-21 LWVBC Student Member $500 Tuition Scholarship is April 15, 2021.  Please contact Debby Vink at Membership@lwvbc.org to receive an application form and description.   Rachael Willihganz received last year’s scholarship award towards her law school tuition at Denver University. Click the link at the bottom of this Membership article for qualifications and details. 

 

Website Quiz:
How well do you know our website lwvbc.org?  
Take the matching quiz below to see if you know where to find the following.  (There may be more than one correct answer.)

Looking For: Where/How to Find It:
1. A printable member list   A. Voting & LWV
2. Links to the Boulder County Voter B. Teams at Work
3. Interests you indicated C. News
4. LWVBC Leaders D. Member Info (must be logged in)
5. Your Elected Officials E. Get to Know Us
6. Info re the Voting Methods Team F. Your website member profile
  
For answers, click the link at the bottom of this Membership article. 

Help us design the next puzzle or quiz about using our website and earn a $10 gift card to Safeway.  Send your entries to membership@lwvbc.org with the email subject LWVBC.ORG PUZZLE.  How about a crossword, word find or word scramble?
 


New Member Profile and Climate Action Issue Team Announcement

 

By Lydia Linke

 

 Growing up, supporting land conservation or voting for stricter hunting laws earned you the name ‘Greenie’ or ‘Tree Hugger.’ These were unkind terms labeling you an outsider, or a person who was not knowledgeable or in touch with the community at large. My town also became infamous for its prior mayor who became a Vice Presidential running mate and coined the slogan, “Drill, Baby, Drill!” The large oil field in Prudhoe Bay nicknamed, “The North Slope,” employed much of my town and community. As an Alaskan resident I also understood that most families depend on the annual checks from the federal government from the surplus earnings created by the oil.  

 
Read the rest of Profile/Climate Action here
 
Please join me in the Climate Action Issue team as we learn about environmental needs as well as finding and exploring new areas for action in our government and communities. Our first meeting is March 6th, at 10am. Please register  through this link to the Climate Action Team Meeting Sign Up.
 
 The Climate Action Issue Team page is found here. If you have questions, please contact me, team leader Lydia Linke at lydiarlinke@gmail.com


 

Boulder County Voted!

     
The Election was on Tuesday, November 3, 2020. Voter turnout for Boulder County was 90.1% of all active voters.
 
Click on the turnout map to view the voter turnout for an individual precinct. 
 
A fun infographic is found here. Example: the grossest thing found in a ballot box was a dirty sock!
map BC voting
Voting Map
map legend BC voting
Legend

Positions for Action Report
 
A virtual Positions for Action meeting was held on Saturday, February 20. Among the highlights, several members are interested in a new Boulder County composting facility, and the Voting Methods team wants to discuss proportional representation at the LWVCO Convention.
 
Please fill out the Membership Interests Survey so we can connect you to other with the same interests.
 

The League of Women Voters of Colorado is Recruiting Too
 
In addition to the Boulder County LWV recruitment, the LWVCO is also looking for people to fill positions.  See the LWVCO page.
 

Goodbye to Marion Read
 
By Peggy Leech
 
We note with sadness the recent passing of Marion Read, after a long bout with cancer. She had moved to California last August to be with her 2 daughters, Laura and Diane, and their families. She died peacefully at her daughter’s home on February 6, 2021, at the age of 85.

Marion was very active in LWVBC, and seemingly everywhere. She was a co-leader for the Louisville Wednesday evening unit for several years, and she served a term on the board as Unit Meeting Coordinator. She often volunteered as an usher at candidate forums.
Marion 1 small
In recent years, she worked the sign-in table at countless events and meetings, always greeting attendees with her warm smile and friendly conversation. It was often said: “Everyone loves Marion!”.
 
Marion was also instrumental in behind-the-scenes work for LWVBC. She served for several years on the Events Team, working to find new locations for Drinks and Dialogue meetings (such as St Vrain Cidery and Samples in Longmont, and The Gondolier in Boulder). She arrived early at events and meetings to set up and help with refreshments and decorations, and she often provided her home-baked gluten-free cookies. After listening to people at the sign-in tables at events, she came up with the idea for our Action Cards, which have contact information for our national and state elected leaders for Boulder County.

At the state League level, Marion served as an MLD coach (Membership and Leadership Development) for the Montrose and Chaffee County Leagues. She loved working with these smaller Leagues, passing ideas on to them and generally offering encouragement.

Marion was a naturalized citizen, having arrived in the U.S. from Canada quite some time ago. The vote was very important to her, and that was one last way that LWVBC could help her. Before she moved to California, she expressed her desire to vote in the November 2020 election, and Jeanine Pow worked with her to make that happen.

A member of LWVBC since 2004, Marion made many friends, in the League and in other parts of her life. She will be missed.
 
See more photos of Marion here.