Join the Discussion!

August 8, 2016

iT’s An eLeCtioN!

Come join the Darien LWV on Thursday Evening, September 22, 2016 to hear WNPR’s Colin McEnroe discuss the upcoming Presidential Election.

 Weeburn Beach Club

6 Anchor Rd, Rowayton, CT 06853

Cash bar will be available at 6:30 pm

Dinner will be served promptly at 7:00 pm with lecture to follow

$50 members

$55 non-members

RSVP by September 19

with check in advance to: 

Arlene Tulacro, 78 Goodwives River Rd, Darien, CT 06820

tulacro@att.net

Or pay online:

Please click on the secure link below to make your payment with a debit, credit card or your Paypal account. Once you have reviewed the ticket amount, you can ‘continue shopping’ to return to this screen to Join the League or to make a contribution. You can then proceed to checkout.

Please select membership type and click on “Add to Cart”.


Ticket Holder



Darien LWV May 4th 2016 Meeting Agenda

May 2, 2016
Darien League of Women Voters
Agenda for Wednesday, May 4, 2016
Open to All Members
LOCATION:  ATRIA 50 Ledge Road
Coffee and Conversation 9:10AM
Business Meeting Begins 9:30 AM

 

Call to order and approval of April 6, 2016 meeting minutes. (Enid Oresman)
Thank you Laurie Williamson for April Minutes
Treasurers Report (Kate Larson)
  • Year to Date Financials
  • Membership Update
  • Preliminary presentation of 2016-17 Budget (will be voted at Annual Meeting)
Membership (Molly Myers)
  • Thank you to Molly Myers, Priscilla Wong, Carolyn Bayne and Valerie Dodge for volunteering to coordinate the Membership Committee for 2016-17.
    • THANK YOU to our members who worked on April Events (Oresman)
  • Thank you to Adele Conniff and Enid Oresman for assisting qualified Atria residents submit requests for absentee ballots for the April 26th Presidential Primary
  • Thank you to all our League members who volunteer to work the polls or otherwise assist the Registrars on our election days.
Darien LWV Honorary Life Member (Oresman as presenter)
  • Congratulations to Katharin Baker on over 50 years as a League member!  The State League recognizes her dedication to our organization and so do we. Katharin is now a life member and entitled to complimentary dues.
LWV Volunteer of the Year (Oresman as presenter)
  • Congratulations to Clara Sartori as the Darien LWV Volunteer of the Year.  Clara not only served as the very effective VP-Program Chair this year but stepped up to run several of the monthly meetings during the Spring session, which was not part of her assigned responsibilities.  She will be honored at the Community Fund of Darien’s Volunteer Recognition Luncheon.
  • The Programs she coordinated include:
    • Fall Kick Off Luncheon “Messages That Work – Tips and Tales from the White House to the Board Room.” featuring speaker Katie Burke.
    • LWVCT Education Fund Fall Conference “Voting Fraud, Voting Suppression: Myths and Realities” held at the Darien Library. The State League was very happy with the outcome.
    • Clara helped with the January State Legislators Coffee led by Joyce Critelli (always a Darien LWV Team Effort)
    • February movie public screening of “Suffragette” at the Darien Library
    • March panel discussion program on the Darien Town Plan of Conservation and Development (POCD)
    • March Town Officials Breakfast bringing in CDSP (Council of Darien School Parents) as attendees for the first time
    • Darien League co-sponsor for Greenwich LWV program “Money in Politics”
While it takes a village to pull off these events (and we thank all of our members who helped out).  Clara’s leadership helped make everything run smoothly and seemingly effortlessly.
Government Guide Update (Martha Banks)
  • YAY – after a long haul, all information has been posted to our website lwv.darien.org and the print version should be mailed to you shortly (and available free at Town Hall, the Library and various other sites around town thanks to Enid Oresman).
  • THANK YOU to Deepika Saksena for designing the comprehensive information we provide into a printable copy. It’s not an easy task.
Annual Meeting, Potluck Luncheon Wednesday, June 8th, Time TBD (Oresman) 
  • Hosted by Sue Okie, 10 Raiders Lane
    • Required votes on Nominating Slate, Budget and By-Law Changes
    • Intent to have State legislators attend and give a legislative session update
      • Senators Bob Duff and Carlo Leone
      • Representatives William Tong and Terrie Wood
    • Open to members and guests (invite a prospective member) – Invitation to follow
Darien LWV By-Law Amendments to be voted at Annual Meeting
  • Amend Article VI Section 2 to make dues payable as of July 1st. Dues cover 7/1 – 6/30 in accordance with our fiscal year end and conforming to state requirements.
    • Fall 2016 is a transition period where we convert from a Spring membership drive to a Fall combined Membership and Finance drive going forward.
      • Dues paid from 2/1/16 through 6/30/16 are counted as pre-paid for 2016-17. We are not doing a Spring solicitation so this primarily applies to new members.
        • The Feb 1st cutoff relates to reporting deadlines which determine our required state and national dues payments
  • Clarify Article VII Section 2(a) requirement to approve Programs at the Annual Meeting by adding the words “if proposed”?
    • In League language,”Programs” in the by-laws refers to the LWV process of study, concurrence and possible action related to a specific topic. The related by-law requirements are important to safeguard this process but do not apply to educational programs. (What language is best to make this distinction clear to current and future members?)
      • Under the by-laws we always have the ability to convene a mini program at any time with a 3/5ths vote of the total board
Election of Delegates to LWCT Annual Convention, Saturday June 4th (Oresman)
  • Darien League is entitled to 4 voting delates as approved by the local league. Voting delegates should be pre-registered.
    • Nominations for convention attendees
    • Membership Vote
  • Any LWV member can participate as a non-voting convention attendee

Call to LWVCT Annual Convention 2016

Join Us for League Business, Networking and
A Closer Look at Campaign Finance
and Community Engagement
Saturday, June 4th
Courtyard by Marriott
780 Bridgeport Avenue, Shelton, CT 06484
8:30 a.m. registration and coffee; 9:00a.m.-1:30 p.m. Convention
Different location, different flow for the day!
After a brief business meeting in which we will pass a budget, revise the bylaws, elect new Board members and hear about the work of the strategic planning committee, there will be two opportunities to join in conversation on Campaign Finance and Community Engagement.
League delegate counts are proportional to the number of League members.  Any League or MAL Unit may send as many observers is it would like.  Leagues that have not filled their delegate count may authorize such observers to act as their delegates.
Convention, including plenary sessions, morning coffee and lunch:
$40 until and including May 30, $45 after May 30.
Questions?  Please phone 203-288-7996.  Checks should be made out to LWVCT, Inc.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – — – – – – – – – – – – – –
Yes! I’d like to attend:
□ as a delegate and have received approval from the board of LWV ___________________________ to serve as their delegate:
□ as a non-voting participant/observer
My luncheon choice is:           □ chicken piccata                   □  pasta primavera
Name _____________________________________   League ____________________________
Amount Enclosed   $________
□ No one from my League can come, but we’ll permit a member in good standing of another League to represent us.

Report on the LWVCT-Ed Fund (SIR) Symposium on International Relations  (Jean Sweeney)

 
SB 422 – An Act Concerning Residential Water Rates, Public Drinking Water Supply Emergencies and Sellers of Bottled Water (Carolyn Bayne)
Background: some CT municipalities have negotiated terms to sell water to commercial bottlers at prices less than that charged residential water users and at reduced sewer fees. Proposed legislation includes:
  • During a declared public drinking water supply emergency (only) the sale of water to residential consumers must be prioritized over the sale of water to commercial entities
  • The holder of a license for the business of bottling water shall not charge commercial entities a rate less than any other consumer for the sale of such bottled water.
  • No municipality or entity shall charge the holder of a license for the business of bottling water that sells such bottled water for export out of the state a sewer rate less than the residential consumer sewer rate.
 Observer Corps Light (Oresman)
  • Thank you to First Selectwoman, Jayme Stevenson and Director of Planning and Zoning, Jeremy Ginsberg for a discussion about affordable housing issues and 8-30(g). We will continue to monitor mixed use (commercial/residential) redevelopment and senior housing redevelopment proposals in light of affordable housing requirements.
  • Welcome to Sarah Seelye – Representative Town Meeting (RTM) Moderator
    • RTM membership is one “gateway to government involvement”. Let’s hear more abut the RTM and get more residents involved!
Food For Thought (Karla Coe)
Next FFT (Thursday May 12th, 12:30 – 2:00 PM) Hosted by Ann Ferris, 30 Hale Lane
  • Recap April 20th Discussion topic and feedback
  • Continued discussion of March FFT discussion “What does the League mean?”
    • What is our “brand” (national, state and local)? How should we market it – locally?  i.e How to attract a younger membership?
As Background: Thoughts from the March Food for Thought Discussion Group: (Documented by Karla Coe)
 
We discussed what we thought of the LWV from the national level down to the local level or from the local level all the way to the national level.
Here are some thoughts, discussion points and questions that came up:
The LWV used to be a grassroots organization that fed from the local to the national.  The perception now is that the national level takes positions and the local levels decide whether or not to adopt the position.
Is the LWV still relevant or did it serve more of a purpose when it was one of the very few vehicles for women to have a voice?
Did the LWV change when they allowed male members?
Should the national league narrow its focus / should local leagues take on issues specific to them?
As a local level we don’t often do “studies” although we try to educate on subjects.
We are a nonpartisan group that isn’t always perceived that way.
(There was a discussion about some of the past studies such as the charter study and how it was received)
We had a nonmember guest in attendance who shared her view on what the LWV was to her including that she was not aware that there was a national or state organization.  She also said she thought of the league as a source for voter information such as candidates’ night.
Suggestions that came up:
Should we try to include our members more often?
      Invite them to board meetings
      Make board meetings more of an event:
Shorten the business portion, include a subject for discussion on the agenda, include a local guest speaker / issue each month
Should our approach to attracting new members be friendlier?
      A friendly and engaging newspaper ad (see attached)
Should we bring back observer-corps or some way of keeping on top of local issues?
Ann suggested running four weekly quarter page ads with copy to the effect of:
We have no party line but we are political.
We are non partisan but we vote.
We are full of information but we are civil.
Join a unique political organization.
The League of Women Voters
Its time
DHS Student Video Competition re: Importance of Voting (Oresman)
  • Gwen Mogenson met with DHS administrators to raise the possibility of sponsoring a cash prize video competition for high school students in late Sept/early Oct. Westport League is doing this in Spring 2016. Law and Government and Video Production teachers are interested.  Gwen will have follow up meeting in early June.
  • One minute student produced public service videos about the importance of voting (no political party and no individual candidate endorsements allowed)
    • Administration feedback is that if students don’t “own” the idea they don’t participate.
    • 1/2 of the Senior Class is a captive audience during a 1st Semester, Law and Gov’t class requirement. Other possible source is student run Community Council (they had to run for election).
  • LWV should run an additional DHS voter registration with Registrars in Fall related to increased interest in Presidential election.
The 411 – Other Information
 
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