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Forward to April 2000 DC Voter — Back to League of Women Voters home page — Back to March 2000 DC Voter
Celebrating Our 80th Year of Service, 1920–2000
733 15th Street, N.W., Suite 432, Washington, DC 20005
202/347-3020, fax: 202/347-2522
Website: http://www.dcwatch.com/lwvdc, E-mail: LWVDC@erols.com
President’s CornerIt's a new century and we're trying a new Annual Meeting format. The Board has planned a breakfast meeting on Saturday, April 29 (see flyer). It's a time for substance and fellowship. Superintendent of Schools, Arlene Ackerman, is our speaker. Could we have picked a timelier subject or speaker? After two tumultuous years, she will give herself a "Report Card" after which there will time for questions. It's also our 80th birthday. We'll have a birthday hake, a "parade of past presidents" and Luci Murphy. will sing "Simple Justice" written by League member Barbara Luchs. Our business meeting follows (see enclosed nomination slate and budget). We have a strong slate of nominees and our financial situation is improving. However, our membership is dropping and we must change the way we've been doing business. The last two months we have held noon general meetings and our turnout has been stronger. The combination of intellectual stimulation and sharing lunch seems to be successful. We look for your ideas as we adjust to the digital age. And speaking of digital, "getting wired" has new meaning. We're excited about the potential of the League's new Democracy Network web site ( www.DNet.org ) where you can get information on any candidate anywhere in the United States. Many people are going to the web to find information on voting registration, precinct location, candidates, ballot issues, and legislative and action issues and we are now in the game. And we are moving to improve the look and content of our own web site: ( www.dcwatch.com/lwvdc. ) We need your help and ideas. We could also talk remuneration for knowledgeable help in producing a quality web site. See you on the 29th. — Elizabeth M. Martin, President Celebrating Our 80th AnniversaryLWVDC Annual Meeting "DCPS: From Crises to
Promise" Marriott at Metro Center $25.00 Members & Guests APRIL ANNUAL MEETING: CELEBRATING OUR 80TH ANNIVERSARYMake plans to join other Leaguers for breakfast at Metro Center (Metro Red Line — 12th St. (Hecht's exit) to celebrate our 80th year of service to the District of Columbia. The cost is $25.00/members & guests and $27.00/non-members (See reservation form.) We are honored to have Ms. Arlene Ackerman, Superintendent, DC Public Schools as our guest speaker. The annual business meeting will begin at 11:00 A. M. following breakfast and our guest speaker. Among the items of business will be the approval of the 2000-01 budget, and the election of new board members. Included as inserts in this issue of the DC VOTER is the proposed 2000-01 budget and biographies of persons the nominating committee will submit to the members for approval, and a reservation form to attend this event. An annual report will be available at the business meeting. ACTION ALERT: LEAGUE URGES EARLY SCHOOL BOARD REFERENDUM VOTEThe DC League wrote to all concerned parties urging an early summer date for the proposed referendum on the make-up on the Board of Education. Praising Mayor Williams for his new initiatives in education, the League noted that it is crucial to resolve the school board issue as soon as possible. President, Elizabeth M. Martin stated, "District citizens have been in limbo far too long. It's time to put the issue to a vote so that citizens can elect a school board in November." Letters were sent to Mayor Williams, Council Chair Linda Cropp and all members of the DC Council, as well as Alice Rivlen, chair, Financial Control Board, Benjamin West, chair, Board of Election and Ethics, and Eleanor Holmes Norton. We urge League members to also write to these officials expanding the League's voice. MEMBER NEWSJosephine Wade is currently in a nursing home. Her new address is c/o Charter House #1112, 1316 Fenwick Lane, Silver Spring, MD 20710. With deep sorrow we report the passing of two of our members: Ruth Mosley who was active in the Northwest Day Unit and long-time volunteer in the Northwest Day Unit and long-time volunteer in the Irving Panzer, a member since 1970 and surviving spouse of Sue Burnett Panzer, past DC League President (1981-85). Memorial services will be held at the Cosmos Club on April 2nd at 4:00 p.m. Many thanks to the following members who sent in additional contributions to support the DC League: Elsie M. Carper, Jean E. Mammen, Etta Marshall, Dr. Betty W. Nyangoni, Jane K. Schwartz, Frances P. Wilkinson. Additional gifts to the League in the memory of Louise Perry were received from Ruby L. Jones, Sheila Keeny, Constance Tate, and Barbara Yeomans. NEWS FROM THE UNITS: NO UNIT MEETINGS IN APRILThe LWVDC Annual Meeting will replace Unit Meetings in April — Unit regulars are particularly encouraged to come and celebrate our durability, diversity, and relevance. The next Unit Meetings are scheduled for the third week in May when we will try to reach agreement on an elected vs. an appointed School Board for DC. Also in May, there will be a bridge party sponsored by the Chevy Chase Unit, a fundraiser for LWVDC. Look for the announcement in the May DC VOTER and invite your friends. Unit Council will next meet at noon Monday, May 8, 2000 at 733 15th St. NW. Sheila Keeny, Unit Director DC REPRESENTATION IN CONGRESSThe Coalition for DC Representation in Congress has produced a short video in support of full voting rights for DC citizens. It is available prepaid for $5 (packaging and mailing included) from DC Vote, Suite 907, 1730 M Street, NW, Washington, DC 20036. Tell your neighbors and any groups with which you have an affiliation. The Coalition needs volunteers to distribute information at primary election polling places on May 2. Call DCVote at 872-8683 or Kathy Schmidt 232-6460. The Coalition will sponsor with the DC League a workshop at the national convention on full voting representation in Congress for DC citizens. Kathy Schmidt INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS COMMITTEE REPORTThe IR Committee met on Mar. 8'" to begin its Great Decisions series for 2000. We had a very interesting meeting with our guest speaker, retired Ambassador Owen W. Roberts. The topic was "The Middle East at the Millennium." Ambassador Roberts explained the difference between "peacekeeping" and "peacemaking" and described the Sinai peacekeeping operation in which he served. We had an excellent discussion about peacekeeping efforts around the world. Attendance was good, too! Future dates, topics, and discussion leaders are: April 12 US Foreign Policy and the. American Political System - Hope Marindin; May 10 The Euro's Challenge to the Dollar - Janet Burmester; June 14 Humanitarianism - Sheila Keeny, July 12 Africa Guest speaker-World Bank. Great Decisions books may be obtained from the World Affairs Council at 1800 K St. NW. All League members and friends are invited to these meetings held each month at the LWVUS offices, 1730 M St. NW, from 1-3 PM. The IR Committee sponsored a very informative general meeting on the World Trade Organization attended by some fifty League members and friends on Feb. 16. IR Committee member Janet Burmester prepared a comprehensive summary of speaker Marcus Noland's presentation. It is easily available on the DC League's web site at dcwatch.com/lwvdc. Those who are not online can also call the office for a copy or pick one up at the annual meeting. — Susan Rao Co-chair. LWV/NCA NEWSUpdate on the NCA's Annual Meeting on June 10, 2000: Amy Liu, Assistant Director at Brookings Institute's Center on Urban and Metropolitan Policy, will speak on the recently completed "A Region Divided." The study includes consideration of transportation/land-use concerns in the national capital area. What could be more appropriate for us? Save the date; join us for brunch at the Arlington Hilton. As part of an effort to understand the LWVUS budget format and thus improve effectiveness at the LWVUS Convention, a group of us had a really informative meeting with LWVUS staff member, Greg Leatherwood. We summarized the points raised at the meeting in a letter to the LWVUS Budget Committee Chair. The points are: 1) It is not possible to track from budget documents how much is budgeted for a particular program such as Campaign Finance Reform, or what it would cost to fund a specified proposal. 2) Actual expenditures are not displayed as part of the budget proposal documents, making it difficult to evaluate the proposals. 3) Investment interest is substantial but totally excluded from the budget. — Naomi Glass, President HELP!!!Can you provide a room for League members coming to DC from out of town for the National Convention June 16-20 or other times throughout the year? We are getting more requests than we have homes!!! Call Chris Matthews at 269-3890 or ChrisMatt@igc.org NATIONAL PROGRAMThis reporter is running out of nails to chew on awaiting the decision from the U.S. District Court on the suits concerning voting representation in Congress. What can I say but "hang in there." At the January meeting of the LWVUS Board of Directors, the Board decided on the legislative agenda for 2000 (second session of the 106th Congress.) See the LWVUS web site ( www.LWVUS.org ) as well as the next issue of the National Voter for the agenda. The agenda priorities are on two levels: Priority one (considered "essential to making Democracy Work" and where LWVUS will seek to play a leadership role to advance these priorities): Campaign Finance Reform and Voting Representation in Congress for the DC Citizens. Priority two (issues which will "receive significant lobbying and grassroots activity"): The Patients' Bill of Rights, Global Warming/Clean Air, Gun Violence, and National Missile Defense. In January, the LWVUS and LWVEF Boards
endorsed the following statement concerning the South Carolina Boycott. "The League
of Women Voters of the United States and The League of Women Voters Education Fund vows to
hold no meetings in the State of South Carolina as long as the Confederate flag flies over
the state house. We applaud the efforts to remove this symbol, which stands as a painful CALENDAR: APRIL 2000
Brochure: A new membership
brochure is available at the LWVDC office and will be made available at all League events.
To obtain one to give to a friend, or to have the office mail to a prospective new member,
call 347-3020. The DC Voter is published by the League of Women Voters of the District
of Columbia. Memo
to: LWVDC Members The slate of nominations for officers, board members, and nominating committee members with accompanying biography information is provided below for your approval at the 80th Annual Business Meeting on April 29, 2000. OFFICERSFirst Vice President - Elaine Melmed is currently Executive Director of the Fund for Education and Human Services and Projects in Education. Past positions include: Executive Director of the Metropolitan Educational Council for Staff Development (a consortium of 12 Schools of Education and the DC Public Schools); Co-Director of Special Projects at the Washington School of Psychiatry; Commissioner of the DC Educational Institution Licenser Commission and chair for two years; and, a member of the DC Mayor's Advisory Committee on Education. As a long time League member, Elaine served as LWVDC Education Chair (196771). She earned her BS degree from College of the City of New York and two MS degrees from Queens College of New York. Third Vice President - Barbara Yeomans has been a member of the League since the late 1960's. . She has served as a unit chair and as 3rd Vice President. She has been a member of the International Relations and the DC Affairs Committee. Barbara was an active participant with the LWVDC in gathering support for DC Home Rule and helped to coordinate the earlier League's drive for voting representation in Congress. She retired from government service in 1995 having worked for the US Atomic Energy Commission, US Energy Research and Development Administration, US Nuclear Regulatory Commission in the Safeguards and Waste Management Programs, and the Department of Energy. She has a BA from Connecticut College for Women and an MA from the University of Pennsylvania. Secretary - (from interim to elect) - Audrey "Duggee" Hatry has been a member of League and the Southwest Unit since 1984. She earned a BS from University of Maryland in Institutional Management. Audrey worked from 1950 to 1968 mostly overseas and mostly for CIA (office work, not espionage). Then, from 1968-1983 she worked as staff in U.S. Senate (clerical-administrative, not legislative work). She has resided in Southwest DC since 1968 and strongly favors full voting representation for all DC residents. Treasurer - Christine Matthews does library consulting and has done library and volunteer work with a number of organizations including Bread for the World, the Alliance for the Mentally Ill, and the Foundry UMC Peace with Justice Mission. She works with neighborhood groups, including Families United of Brookland and Brookland & Neighbors. She worked as part time office manager for LWVDC (1996-99). Raised in Michigan, she obtained her undergraduate and graduate degrees at Western Michigan University. She and her husband have lived in Northeast DC for twelve years. MEMBERS OF THE BOARDGuy Coriden retired from 37 years of government service (CIA, State Department, and the Congressional Joint Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe). Since his retirement, Guy has been an active volunteer for Food for the World, DC Small Claims Court, AARP, and LWVDC. For the League, he has CO-chaired the Voter Service Committee and has been diligent in efforts to register newly naturalized citizens. Guy was born in Syracuse, NY and was raised in Hammond, 1N. He earned his BS degree from Indiana University in Dec. 1942, served in the US Army 1943-45, earned MS degrees from Marquette University (1950) and The Fletcher School (1951). Jeanette Miller, an Idaho native, came to Washington as a State Department Foreign Service employee. After several years in Europe, Jeanette worked as a secretary in a local law firm. She joined the DC League in 1967 when her children were young. She served as League chair of the Urban Planning and Land Use Committee and was active for many years in the production and sales of the League's Community Calendar. She oversaw the last revision of the League publication, "Know Your District of Columbia " as well as performed various editorial assignments including revision of KYDC and the 1998 "Wise Guide." Jeanette has been a docent at the National Archives, continues to work at the precinct level in DC elections, tutored intermittently in the DC public schools, assists with Meals on Wheels, and is currently chair of the Northwest Day Unit. NOMINATING COMMITTEEJoan Domike, Chair. joined the League in Minneapolis, MN when she first voted in the 1948 presidential election. She moved to RI in 1955 and joined the LWV of South Kingstown, where U of RI is located. She was president when she and her husband moved to Washington in September 1961, joining the LWV of Alexandria, then Fairfax County. She was only "activated" when she moved to the District of Columbia in February 1981 and Mar Ann Guyol got her interested in the Campaign for the DC Voting Rights Amendment. In 1985, she joined with Sue Panzer to study and consider Statehood for DC. From there, she served on the Board and worked on Campaign Finance Reform and Children At Risk. She has been chair of the Northwest Evening Unit for about three years. June Duke has been a member of the League in Iowa, Texas, Wyoming and Colorado before moving to Washington, DC in 1989. At present she is a volunteer in the League office. She has an MA from the University of Illinois. June is a widow and has six children, 13 grandchildren, and two great grandchildren. Natalie Howard is a native Washingtonian and a former teacher in the DC Public Schools. She is married and has two adult sons. She joined the DC League in 1964 and is a member of the Upper 16th Street Unit as well as membership and calendar chairs. As a former member of the Board, she served as chair of arrangements, education, and membership. She was chair of the Bottle Bill and the Comprehensive Plan committees. She was a member of the Lobby Corps of LWVUS. LEAGUE
OF WOMEN VOTERS OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
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