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Forward to May 2005 DC Voter — Back to League of Women Voters home page — Back to March 2005 DC Voter
Making Our Voices Heard — Making Our Votes Count
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@aol.com
HELP THE LEAGUE REGISTER HIGH SCHOOL SENIORSApril is Voter Registration Month for DC High Schools.
Please plan to spend an hour or two registering seniors at a high
school and come to PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE by Frances GemmillOur 85th Annual Meeting on Thursday, April 28th will provide an appropriate occasion for the DC League to join LWVUS in celebrating our 85th birthday. I hope you can come. The LWVUS has prepared a possible press release outlining League achievements over the decades, and I've added some that are unique to D.C., which has enjoyed many benefits deriving from our D.C. neighbor on M Street. For example, we enjoy the privilege of holding Board meetings in their offices (except when the National Board is in town), and we can reach LWVUS via a local phone call; and we are close enough to confer with LWVUS staff when we need to. See the Milestones Each Decade In the League for some League contributions to democracy since 1920. Milestones Each Decade in the League
PLAN TO ATTEND LWVDC's85th Annual Dinner Meeting Phillips Seafood Restaurant Guest Speaker TO VOTE OR NOT TO VOTE?On March 9, three D.C. League members, Jamie Rose, Kathy Schmidt, and Frances Gemmill, joined a representative of the Montgomery League at Howard University's Blackburn Center to participate in an event featuring a political literacy forum "To Vote or Not to Vote? That is the question!" followed by an expo in which several organizations (including the DC League of Women Voters) displayed registration forms and provided advice as to how and where to vote. The event, co-sponsored by The Washington Post and Howard University, began with a panel discussion among: Kevin Merida, Associate Editor of The Washington Post, Michael Fletcher, White House Correspondent, Adrian Fenty of the DC Council, Page Gardner, CoProject Director, Women's Voices, Women's Vote, Adam Hunter, Chair of HU College Republicans, Brent MacMillan, Political Director, Green Party, Brandon Neal, National Youth and College Director, NAACP, Irene Schwoeffermann, Director, Student of Color Campus Diversity Project. Some highlights of the panel discussion, which was followed by questions, were (a) the report from Women's Voices of the findings of a study as to why single women don't vote that most single women are single parents, and many must work two jobs to support their children. (The conclusion, we need to make it easier for them to vote.) (b) Another finding of interest (especially to a League person) was the report from Brandon Neal, NAACP that simply voting isn't enough-people need civic education to follow up on the performance of the candidates they voted for. Following is an Executive Summary of a research finding by the Washington Post Team, presented by Mark King of the Washington Post Team of the HU School of Communications: Executive SummaryIn previous presidential elections, the 18-25 year-old demographic demonstrated a serious lack of political participation. In the November 2000 presidential election, only 15% of 18-25 year olds voted. The Washington Post, as part of its ongoing partnership with Howard University, retained the Capstone Communications (CapComm) firm to research political participation among Howard University students and propose a forum to discuss the findings and encourage other students to get involved in the political process. The goal of the study was to determine why Howard University students did or did not vote. The study used a 17-question intercept survey to assess statistically reliable and valid information on the voting habits of Howard University students 18-25 years old. The survey was formulated by CapComm and The Washington Post, and was composed of pertinent questions that would convey the voting behavior of the targeted demographic. The survey was administered on Wednesday, November 3, 2004 on the campus of Howard University. The survey was completed by 400 students, about 4% of the total student population, with a margin of error of +/- 3%. The participants were from all over the United States, with the majority hailing from the eastern and southern regions. The vast majority of the students stated that they identified with the Democratic Party. The survey results were analyzed using the Statistical Package of Social Sciences (SPSS). The CapComm/Washington Post team ran frequencies on each of the questionnaire answers and ran statistics to reveal the central tendencies for certain questions. More of the key findings were
GOOD NEWS DEPARTMENT: KATHY SCHMIDT HONOREDThe DC League of Women Voters nominated Kathy Schmidt to be honored for her volunteer services to the community and the DC League. On Thursday, March 31St lona's 22"d Annual Super Senior Award Ceremony will be held at the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament. Kathy will receive a certificate along with the following praise:
PRAISE FOR DC PUBLICATIONKnow the District of Columbia earns praise. Cheryl Tennille visited the office last week to seek our permission to quote from the 2004 KDC in an article she wrote to be published in April by SAGE publications, a national academic publisher. She was highly complimentary as to the quality of KDC, which she says was given to her by her new ANC Commissioner (in Cleveland Park), and she especially praised the DC Government organizational chart, a cut & paste job by Sheila Willet. We'll run to our Cleveland Park Library to look for this article. — Frances Gemmill WE GRATEFULLY ACKNOWLEDGEWe gratefully thank the following members for their recent financial contributions to support the DC League: Dorothy Armstrong, June Bashkin, Virginia Gorman, Audrey Hatry, Cecilie Jones, Barbara Luchs, Betty Nyangoni, Cereta Perry, Kathryn Ray, Marilou Righini, Lillian Rubin, Joann Scott, Elaine Simons, Nancy Sloss, Anne Marie Smoke. LWV NATIONAL CAPITAL AREANOMINATING COMMITTEE REPORT: Annual Convention May 14, 2005On May 14, 2005 League delegates to the NCA Annual Convention will vote-in new NCA officers from the slate prepared by the Nominating Committee. The 2005-2007 Slate consists of: President -
Melpi Jeffries (LWVMC) Information about the Convention will be provided in the May DC Voter. See the insert for 2005-2007 Proposed Slate of Officers from the LWVDC Nominating Committee. LWVUS NEWSLWVUS MEMO TO MEMBERS OF THE U.S. CONGRESSOn February 17, 2005, Kay J. Maxwell, President, LWVUS sent the following memo to members of Congress concerning Social Security:
VINCENT SCHIRALDI TO LEAD YOUTH REHABILITATION SERVICESGuest Speaker at League's Annual MeetingVincent Schiraldi, a respected advocate for national juvenile justice reform has accepted the Mayor's nomination to lead Youth Rehabilitation Services. Activists and officials lined up to support his nomination, which will go before the DC Council in April. Schiraldi has also accepted the DC League's invitation to speak at our Annual Meeting Dinner on April 28. Meanwhile, Schiraldi has joined Deputy Mayor Neil Albert to bring community activist Amoretta Morris Executive Director of Justice4DC Youth into the government fold. Morris, a community organizer since she was 16, will use her relationships with community-based groups in her work as the youth policy expert in Albert's office on Children, Youth, family, and elders. If you came to our January 24 Brown Bag Dialogue, you learned about some of the problems in our juvenile justice system. — Frances Gemmill UNIT NEWSUnits will not meet in April. All members are encouraged to attend the Annual Business Meeting and Dinner Thursday evening, April 28. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA ISSUESTESTIMONY PRESENTED TO THE COMMITTEE ON FINANCE AND REVENUEThe DC Council Committee on Finance and Revenue (Jack Evans, Chair) held a public hearing on March 14, 2005 on Bill 16-35, To amend sections 47-1801.04(26) and 471806.02(i) of the DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA OFFICIAL CODE to couple the District of Columbia standard deduction and deductions for personal exemptions to that permitted by the Internal Revenue Code. The following is the Testimony of the DC League presented by Frances Gemmill, President (condensed):
MEMBERSHIP FORM TO JOIN OR RENEW:Questions concerning League membership can be directed to the League office at 347-3020. CALENDAR — APRIL 2005
"Celebrating 85 Years of Active Participation in Government''President's Message, March 25, 2005 Dear League Members, The League celebrates its 85th Anniversary with joy. Here in D.C, we have modeled good citizenship in our Election 2004 activities and gave our voice to the issues of congressional representation, affordable housing, environment, children at risk, juvenile justice, healthcare. We continue our ongoing commitment to civic education as we register high school seniors to vote and assist in school elections. We have joined coalitions that have strengthened our understanding of and advocacy for issues we care about, and educated our members and the public. I invite you to attend our 85th Annual Meeting Dinner to celebrate our accomplishments. Please use the reservation form. Frances Gemmill 11th Month Treasurer's Report
Assets as of February 28, 2005
Proposed 2005-2006 Budget
Nominating Committee ReportDATE: March 25, 2005 MEMO TO: LWVDC Members FROM: Nominating Committee:
SUBJECT: 2005-2006 Nomination Slate The slate of nominations for officers, board members, and nominating committee members, with accompanying biographic information, is provided below for your approval at the 85th Annual business meeting to be held on Thursday evening, April 28, 2005 at Phillips Seafood Restaurant, Washington, DC.
BIOGRAPHIES OF NOMINEESOfficers 2005-2007GRACE MALAKOFF - PresidentGrace joined the League in Little Rock AR in 1958. She was LWVDC President 1988 - 1991 and serves both the National Capital Area League and on the DC Board (1960) dealing with transportation, with prior work on committees on housing and planning, education and environment. She attended North Dakota State University in Fargo and received an M.A. "three-year" in political science from the University of Chicago, with later courses in computer programming and systems. She has worked as a university instructor in state and local government and, in Washington, in social science survey research. She was also a columnist for the American Association of University Women. She has been a member of the board of the DC Public Library, and now serves as a board member of the Cacapon Institute, a river protection group, and as a DC representative to the Citizens Advisory Committee of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments Transportation Planning Board. A resident of the Adams Morgan community since 1960, Grace has been president of the PTA, active in home rule pursuits, chairperson and treasurer of Advisory Neighborhood Commission 1 C during the Reed-Cooke rezoning, and on the planning and zoning committee of the Kalorama Citizens Association. She and her husband, Robert, have three adult children and four grandchildren. Vacant - 1st Vice PresidentJOAN R. WILSON - 2nd Vice President for Local ProgramsJoan R. Wilson moved to D.C. and transferred her League membership to LWVDC from the Montgomery County League in the year 2000. She is currently chair of the Chevy Chase-Ingleside Unit, as well as an active member of the Children-At-Risk Task Force, and she has organized tours for League members to observe various neighborhoods in our city. Her extensive experience working with children includes serving as Chair of the Montgomery County Council of Cooperative Nursery Schools, co-authoring a manual on how to create a cooperative pre-school, and founding and directing a summer day camp for 150 US children in Manila, RP. She was Director of the wives' program of the Foreign Service Institute. Her employment history includes four years at the USIA as an Information Officer, and eight years at the State Department. She has served as a home care volunteer for the Montgomery Hospice for 20 years. She is married to a retired Foreign Service officer whose assignments took the family (five children who have since produced sixteen of their own) to Paris, Madrid, Bangkok and Manila. Vacant - SecretaryNominations from the floor for this position will be accepted at the annual business meeting. Board of Directors 2005-2007BARBARA LUCHS - DC Voter MailingBarbara Luchs has served as an elected Director for the past two years. She has served on the D.C. Transportation, Recreation, Government Representation, and Public Affairs Committees. She currently serves on the Education Committee and organizes the monthly mailing of the DC Voter. She worked on the Widening Horizons Career Orientation Project for D.C. Public Junior High Schools and the Neighborhood Planning Council for Children and Youth for over 30 years. She served on the Mayor's Committee for Food, Nutrition and Youth, the Mayor's Recreation Advisory Committee, the Interagency Staff Committee for Children and Youth, her Neighborhood Planning Council, Citizens Association, and was an ANC Commissioner. She currently works for the National Conservatory of Dramatic Arts and National Public Radio Station WAMU-FM, and as a Ballot Clerk for the DC Board of Elections and Ethics. JOHN T. MATHISONJohn T. Mathison received his undergraduate degree in Business Administration from the University of Wisconsin. After five years as a Sales Engineer with the United States Gypsum Company he entered Union Theological Seminary where he received a Master of Divinity Degree. He served churches in Topeka, Kansas, Evanston, Illinois and Maryville, Tennessee. During WWII he was a navigator on a B-24 and was shot down over Bertchesgaden, Germany and interned as a Prisoner Of War at Stalag Luft I in Barth, Germany on the Baltic Coast, and was liberated by the Russians. He married Elaine Sauerwein in 1954 and they had three children, Sarah Jane, Paul James and Thomas Walter. John and Elaine retired to Kennebunkport, Maine and after 14 years Elaine died. Later, John moved to Ingleside at Rock Creek in NW Washington. John served as an appointed LWVDC Board Member this past year. He also is a member of the Board of the Funeral Consumers Alliance of Metropolitan DC, Council of Churches of Greater DC, and a Parish Associate at New York Avenue Presbyterian Church. He is the immediate past president of the Ingleside Residents Association. JAMIE ROSE - Voter Service Outreach to StudentsI am originally from Kent, Ohio and was a League member there since I was 18-years-old. My stepmother, Jane, registered me to vote on my 18th birthday and also bought me a League membership on the same day. I attended American University for undergraduate and Syracuse University for a graduate degree in photojournalism. I returned to Washington a year and a half ago to begin my own business as a freelance photographer. After the exceptionally low turnout of youth voters this past Presidential election, I decided I wanted to make Youth Voting Issues my number ambition politically for 2005. Therefore, I transferred my League membership to the DC chapter, started attending Unit and Board meeting and finally started the campaign to register high school voters with Elinor and Judy. Now, I am excited to have the opportunity to voice my opinion on the Board and hope I can help give back to the League. Thank you very much. Nominating Committee 2004-2005JUDITH A. SMITH, ChairJudith A. Smith joined LWVDC in 2000 and has been co-chair of the Voters Services committee for the last two years, as well as an elected board member. She also does volunteer work with a Liberian refugee family and her church. She has taught English in high schools and universities in Washington DC (8 years), Pakistan, Liberia, Botswana, Sudan, Guinea, and Senegal. As wife of the Ambassador to Guinea, Dane F. Smith, she started a literacy/employment project for street kids, and in Senegal founded a shelter for homeless and abused girls. Both projects are still functioning. While teaching at Coolidge and McKinley High Schools, she started, found funding for, and directed a paid peer-tutoring program. She has three children and seven grandchildren. NATALIE HOWARDNatalie is a native Washingtonian and former teacher in the DC Public Schools. A member of LWVDC since 1964, she attends the Upper 16th Street Unit. As a former member of the Board, she has served as chairs for the following committees: Arrangements, Education, Health, and Membership. Natalie also served as Chair of the Bottle Bill Committee and Comprehensive Plan Committee as well as the Nominating Committee. She is a former member of the LWVUS Lobby Corps and served on the Local Planning Committee for the 2000 LWVUS Convention. She is a widow with two adult sons. KATHRYN SCHMIDTKathy Schmidt has been a member of the DC League and an active member of the Upper 16th Street unit since 1991. She served for four years as secretary of the LWVDC Board. She was part of the education committee for six years, for four of which she served as chair. Kathy is a graduate of DePauw University. Her MLS degree is from Southern Connecticut State College. She also holds a 6th year certificate in education from the University of Bridgeport in Connecticut. She is currently appointed to the DC Board where she holds the portfolio on Congressional Representation in Congress. She also is the League's liaison to DC Vote. 85TH ANNUAL MEETINGReservation form and biography of keynote speaker, Vincent Schiraldi, Director, Youth Rehabilitation Services |
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