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Date: 8/5/2022
Subject: August 2022 LWVNAZ League Lookout
From: LWVNAZ




 
August 2022 League Lookout - LWVNAZ News/Events Northern Arizona and Greater Verde Valley
 
 

LWVNAZ Members and Supporters:

 

Our goal with the monthly newsletter is to provide you with a quick snapshot of our monthly events and activities all in one place.  Hope you enjoy it!

 

We are providing information that the League is sponsoring as well as information about events that you might find of interest. Feel free to share this information with anyone you think would benefit from this information!

 
To get information about other league activities, see our website.

Message from the President

Hello fellow Leaguers,

 

As we pass through the hot, and not so rainy days of summer, democracy is not on vacation.  Our primary and local elections this August illustrate our commitment to empowering voters.  Thanks to the wonderful efforts of our Candidate forum and Vote411 teams we have provided a great service to our communities, with well attended forums highlighting civil discourse at work and detailed online resources to learn more about the candidates.  Kudos to all!

 

We are out in our communities promoting the League message and helping voters at our Voter Services tables.  Our very successful high school efforts will start again in August as schools return to session.

Our Voter Ed team is preparing programs for the Fall, and our board just completed a retreat to generate ideas to better engage our members.  You will see one of these in this newsletter – a new feature that will let you better understand the LWV role in developing and supporting our positions. 

Despite the tide of daily news, we have hope and we have energy.

 

Maryann Kenney

President LWV Northern Arizona

 

 


 

LWVNAZ Hosted Candidate Forums Ahead of August 2, 2022 Primary Election

A wonderful team of League members organized 5 candidate forums for Verde Valley primary elections. Forums were held for candidates running for office in Sedona (Council and Mayor), Camp Verde (Council and Mayor), and Jerome (Council). All of the forums (with or without live audience) were video-taped for viewing on YouTube, Facebook, Suddenlink Channel 2 and Sparklight Channel 1056. Most forums had about 185 views online and the Sedona Mayoral Forum had 1,370 views online.  Both of the Sedona forums had a live audience with 150-200 people in attendance at each forum.

 

Each forum was moderated by a League member -- THANK YOU to League moderators -  Mary Chicoine, Kevin Cook, Gail Digate, and Robyn Prud'homme-Bauer.  Other League members doing timekeeping and questions gathering included Carol Johnson, Marie Helt, Ruth Greenwood, and Mary Gassaway. The candidates forum team was led by Robin Low.  Other members of the team included Marianne Schafer, Mary Gassaway, Robyn Prud'homme-Bauer, and Maryann Kenney.  Sally Caruso and Angela LeFevre staffed League tables at both Sedona Forums.

 


Voter Services - Upcoming Events

Voter Services will be staffing a table at the St Andrew’s Episcopal Church Annual Rummage Sale on September 23rd and 24th .  They are located at 100 Arroyo Pinon Drive in Sedona.  We will have 2- 2 hour shifts on Friday and 1- 2 hour shift on Saturday morning.  If you are interested in volunteering, please email Diane Troianello at sedonagirldt@gmail.com

We are also continuing to offer Voter Services at Sedona and Cottonwood libraries.  At the Sedona library, we will be there on Tuesday, August 9th and August 23rd from 10:30 to 12:30.  At Cottonwood Public Library, we will be there on August 11th and August 25th.     

 


Taking a Position
The League of Women Voters is not just about ensuring fair elections and voting rights. There is another side to the League involved in education and advocacy on positions which are adopted at the national or state levels.  We will be taking a look at some of the League’s positions to make us more aware of the complexity of these issues and to inspire us to consider local action.
 

These official public policy positions range from those on representative government to international relations to natural resources and social policy.  Our positions are established by studying an issue, drafting a formal position and submitting this for a majority vote. Once a position is adopted, League chapters can advocate generally and lobby specifically for agendas which further the League position.  All positions can be found in “Impact on Issues, A Guide to Public Policy Positions”, issued by the League of Women Voters of the United States, 2020-2022.  See  https://www.lwv.org/sites/default/files/2020-12/LWV-impact-2020.pdf

                           

 Public Participation regarding Climate Change

 

The first League position we are examining is Public Participation regarding Climate Change.  (See p.107  of Impact on Issues.) The League’s Climate Change position was amended at the recent national conference held in July and will be presented in a future article.  However the League’s position on Public Participation, which relies heavily on public knowledge and participation, remains unchanged. The position is as follows:

 

The League believes that public understanding and cooperation are essential to the responsible and responsive management of our nation’s natural resources. The public has a right to know about pollution levels, dangers to health and the environment, and proposed resource management policies and options. The public has a right to participate in decision-making at each phase in the process and at each level of government involvement. Officials should make a special effort to develop readily understandable procedures for public involvement and to ensure that the public has adequate information to participate effectively. Public records should be readily accessible at all governmental levels. Adequate funding is needed to ensure opportunities for public education and effective public participation in all aspects of the decision-making process.

The appropriate level of government should publicize, in an extensive and timely manner and in readily available sources, information about pollution levels, pollution-abatement programs, and resource management policies and options. Hearings should be held in easily accessible locations, at convenient times and, when possible, in the area concerned. The hearing procedures and other opportunities for public comment should actively encourage citizen participation in decision-making. The League supports public education that provides a basic understanding of the environment and the social, economic, and environmental costs and benefits of environmental protection, pollution control, and conservation. Mechanisms for citizen appeal must be guaranteed, including access to the courts. Due process rights for the affected public and private parties must be assured.

 


 
 
 
Political Book Club
 


August 29 - Fight: How Gen Z Is Channeling Their Fear and Passion to Save America by John Della Vople (January 2022)

 
To join the Zoom meeting, click here and use passcode 220148.
 
The only requirement to join the discussion is that each participant has read the book. The standard format consists of each person giving a brief (1-2 minute) statement concerning the book’s overall impressions and implications. This segment is followed by group questions and discussions of the material.   If you would like to join the book club, or want to submit the title of books you are interested in reading and discussing, or if you would like any other information about the book club, please contact jananderson46@gmail.com.

 

September 26 - Up All Night: Ted Turner, CNN and the Birth of the 24-Hour News by Lisa Napoli (May 2020)

 
Update

You’ve no doubt heard about the League’s VOTE411 project so I just wanted to update you on what’s on the website for your local area.

 

When you enter your address on the site, you have access to an online voters’ guide to see the races and issues on your ballot. You can also review your upcoming election & registration dates!

Choose by party or view all if you’d like!! Select your primary language of English or Spanish! Learn about the responsibilities of the position—National level, State level or Local level and why it matters! Compare candidates side-by-side and read their views on the important issues in their own words! Links to candidate forums will refresh as new forums are held prior to the November election.

VOTE411 is truly your one-stop-shop for election information! And by all means, share the good news!!


VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY

Do you have some technical skills?  Are you a bit creative and would like to try your hand at helping our League?   We could really use extra help and backup with our technical efforts.  Have you done any graphic design?  Maybe managed email accounts?  Worked with websites?  We could use your skills.  We have some volunteers working now, but would like more hands and more skills.  Please consider joining us.  Reach out to lwvnaz@gmail.com if you think this might be a fit for you.


 

LWVNAZ Reaches Out to Register New, Young Voters in High School and College

 

It’s back to school and time to register age-eligible students to vote in the upcoming General Election November 8!  The registration deadline is October 10 so we are visiting high schools and Yavapai College in August and early October.

 

Last spring, LWVNAZ volunteers visited area high schools and spoke with approximately 1500 students resulting in registration of an estimated 900 students.  We will be returning to high schools in the Verde Valley and Flagstaff.

 

Verde Valley - Camp Verde, Mingus Union, Sedona Red Rock, Verde Valley School

 

Flagstaff -  Coconino, Flagstaff, Flagstaff Arts and Leadership Academy, and Northland Preparatory Academy

 

If you are interested in visiting an area high school to share information about the importance of voting and register students during the school day, please contact Gail A. Digate (602-421-0242; ggdigate@gmail.com).


Other items of interest
Citizens Water Advocacy Group (CWAG) is honored to host former Gov. Bruce Battitt vis Zoom August 13, 2022 10:00 - 12:00. This meeting is open to League of Women Voters, Osher Life Long Learning members and the public

Help for Rural Water: 

Governor Babbitt Explains Why Rural Management Areas Are Key 

Does recent Arizona water legislation protect the diminishing groundwater resources in rural Arizona? 

Former Governor Bruce Babbitt will explain how the new water augmentation bill will affect rural communities in a Citizens Water Advocacy Group Zoom presentation on Saturday, Aug. 13 from 10 a.m. to noon. A question and answer period will follow the presentation.

PLEASE REGISTER in advance.
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZErdemsqjouEtWwUy7JgrV_-q5ktA6Dy_BQ 


Although the legislature did appropriate funds for water augmentation that benefits central and southern Arizona, it did not approve legislation that would allow rural counties outside of Active Management Areas (AMAs) to determine their own groundwater management strategies based on their specific situations. Governor Babbitt will review the legislation and what the next bill might look like. He will also talk about how elected officials in Prescott and throughout Yavapai County can work together now to protect rural groundwater. Governor Babbitt will underscore why it is critical to get the next legislature to act, how voters can advocate for a new bill and what they should require from candidates in the upcoming elections to help assure passage of successful groundwater protection legislation. 

Governor Babbitt, who signed the Groundwater Management Act in 1980 and oversaw the creation of the Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR), has a deep knowledge of Arizona water issues, and will emphasize the importance of assisting rural communities that now lack groundwater use regulation. Many of these areas, such as Paulden, most of the Verde Valley, including Jerome, Cottonwood, Clarkdale, and parts of Sedona, have seen concerning and even dramatic reductions in groundwater levels.
 

Bruce Babbitt Bio

Bruce Babbitt served as Secretary of the Interior from 1993 to 2001, as Governor of Arizona from 1978 to 1987 and as Attorney General of Arizona from 1975 to 1978.




LWVNAZ Members in our Communities
One of our Board members, Crystal Cree, is Director of Legislative Affairs at Dine College.  Through the efforts of her office a Virtual Elections Town Hall webinar was presented by Dine College and Secretary of State Katie Hobbs for the Navajo nation on July 26.

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