February 2, 2026

Co-President's Message

Miriam Tellechea, LWVT Co-President 

Advocacy Alert

The following action alert comes from the Florida Voter. The State League has reached out to us specifically to turn out for this critical meeting. We need to pack the room with LWV members, spouses, and friends! You may speak if you'd like or leave a comment card. (On your comment card, please select that you are speaking/commenting as an individual, not for the League of Women Voters.)

Please join the LWVT's Advocacy Group on WhatsApp so we can stay in touch as we gather at the Capitol. You may also email info@lwvtallahassee.org and include your phone number if you prefer. We had a lot of success with WhatsApp during Lobby Days, so please try it out!

Action Alert:

The Florida Senate scheduled Senate Bill 1334 to be heard in the Senate Ethics and Elections Committee on Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026. The Senate Ethics and Elections meets at 10:30 a.m. at Mallory Horne Committee Room, 37 Senate Building.

SB 1334 makes it highly likely that eligible U.S. citizens will be removed from the voter rolls purely due to red tape. By requiring that U.S. citizens seeking to exercise their right to vote have to produce documentation that is expensive and hard to get, this legislation violates Floridians’ right to vote.

We are urging League members to contact the members of the Ethics and Elections Committee to oppose this egregious policy that can make it harder for Floridians to exercise their constitutional right to vote. League members can contact the senators on the committee via the committee page. To access and reference the approved LWVFL talking points, click here.

Annual Meeting Announcement

Mark your calendars for the LWVT annual meeting at 10:30 am Saturday April 25 at the Capital City Country Club. Our featured speaker is our own Jessica Lowe Minor, president of the League of Women Voters of Florida. Jessica will share with us recent actions of the state league and her vision for the next few years. As you know, 2026 is an election year and a pivotal one for both local and state leagues.

At the annual meeting the membership will vote on recommendations from the bylaws

committee, nominating committee, program committee, and the budget committee. There will also be an update on the activities of the board of directors.

Following the business meeting, everyone can enjoy a lovely brunch followed by Jessica’s

presentation.

Come for the information, inspiration from Jessica, food, or yes, the mimosas. It is an important meeting for all. Tickets will be made available to purchase online soon.

Carol Weissert, LWVT Co-President 

February Hot Topic- Property Taxes

Mark your calendars for the February Hot Topic on property taxes with the Leon County Clerk of Courts Gwen Marshall and Leon County's Property Appraiser Akin Akinyemi:

Friday, February 27th at the American Legion Hall at Lake Ella. Doors open at 11:30, program starts at 12. A light lunch will be provided. Tickets will be available soon and a link to purchase will be sent via email.

Natural Resources Committee

Six hardworking members of the LWVT Natural Resources and Clean Energy Committee participated in our quarterly street clean-up project on January 24. We collected 1 large bag of recyclables, and 6 bags of trash along Martin Luther King Boulevard, and we also received positive shout-outs of "Thank you for what you're doing!" from a couple of passersby. Thank you Kris Ellington, Meta Calder, Susan McLeod, Claudia Holland, Jan McPherson, and Fred Calder to supporting this cleanup day after our December one was cancelled due to rain.  

The local League is committed to cleaning MLK Blvd and the All-Saints area 4 times a year. We are planning on participating in the city-wide "Super Clean Sweep Tallahassee" on March 7. We also are in the process of creating "LWV Tallahassee" logos for our safety vests to increase visibility of the work that the League does around town. If you are interested in the Super Clean Sweep event in March or other quarterly street clean-ups, email Susan McLeod at mcleodks801@gmail.com.

Call for Program Proposals

The Program of the LWVT consists of state and local governmental issues chosen by the LWVT Membership for concerted study and action. Priorities are advanced through the work of our local Study and Action Committees. Members may also participate in state committee work.

Current local program priorities include:

• Provide voter education and registration services
• Promote and support an open local government and school board that are responsive to the community and environment
• Promote protection of natural resources for future generations and support for solar energy initiatives
• Promote affordable healthcare for all
• Educate and advocate for League positions with local agencies, associations, coalitions, and public officials, including the Leon County state delegation in furtherance of League mission, vision, values, and this Program.

The Program Committee will receive additional proposals from the membership through February 28th for discussion at the March 18th Board Meeting. Please send proposals to info@lwvtallahassee.org.

Program Committee

Nominations for LWVT Leaders

The Nominating Committee is currently accepting nominations through February 15th for the following LWVT leadership positions:

• 1-year Term Officers: President (or Co-Presidents), 1st and 2nd Vice-Presidents, Treasurer, and Secretary

• 2-year Term Directors: 3 director positions available



• 1-year Term 2027 Nominating Committee: The committee is made up of two or three non-Board members and two Board members.

Nominees must be current members of LWVT and willing to serve if elected. LWVT strongly encourages self-nomination.

Each nomination must include: 1) the nominee’s name and contact information and 2) a brief statement explaining the nominator’s reason for selecting the nominee. Inclusion of the nominee’s bio or resume is helpful.

The Nominating Committee will vet each candidate and present its recommended slate of officers, directors, and committee members to the Board of Directors at the Board’s March 18th meeting. The Nominating Committee will submit a report of its slate of candidates to all Members shortly thereafter, and before the end of March in accordance with the Bylaws.

You may submit nominations to info@lwvtallahassee.org. Please include Nominating Committee in the subject line. If you have questions or need additional information about position descriptions or expectations, please reach out via the email provided.

2026 Nominating Committee

Emma Guilarte, Susan Lunin, Trish Neely, Janet McPherson, Edrene Johnson

Join us for the LWVT Water Station

The 2025 Water Station included Suffragists, Rosie the Riveter, Teddy Roosevelt, Uncle Sam, and Lady Liberty.

Thanks to those who have already signed up. We need more volunteers to help set up, pour drinks into cups, hand cups to runners, clean up discarded cups, and cheer runners on. You do not need to dress up in a costume, though that can be fun. Bring a friend even if they’re not a member.

Please arrive by 7:30 to help set up the tables and pour water. The first racers should arrive by 8:00 a.m. and we expect about 2,000 runners in all. Plan to stay until about 10:00-10:30 a.m.



Contact Linda Davis at lgdavis75@gmail.com or Teri Cleeland tericleeland@gmail.com to volunteer. We’ll send you more detailed information, including the station’s exact location.

Forbidden Florida Reads

Isabella J. Miletic, LWVT Board Member

City/County Volunteer Opportunity

The City of Tallahassee and Leon County are recruiting volunteers to participate as a Citizen Review Team (CRT) volunteer for the Community Human Service Partnership (CHSP).  CRT members read and score grant applications, attend agency presentations and make group decisions about funding allocations. During the previous cycle, over $9 million was allocated through the CHSP process to support the delivery of local human services.

To participate as a new volunteer, please complete the volunteer registration form at https://www.chspportal.org. Grant reviewing will take place in April/May and agency presentations/deliberations meetings will occur in May/June. To participate as a CRT member, you must attend one of the mandatory trainings held on March 24 and April 1. Please register to attend one of the trainings by March 23. For more information about this volunteer opportunity and registration instructions please contact HumanServices@talgov.com or call E’jaaz Abdul-Musawwir at 850-815-0882.

Upcoming Events

2nd Thursday Cocktails and Conversations is taking a break for February and will resume in March at Casa Grande Midtown.

We hope changing up the location will allow more members to attend. We look forward to seeing you in March!

*****

Positive Posse- Feeling overwhelmed by the daily shock and awe? You’re not alone. Let’s meet it with something better—positive energy, love, and light.

Where: In front of Starbucks/Trader Joe’s on Thomasville Road

When: Saturday, February 21st, 12–2 pm (Weather permitting—our signs aren’t

waterproof)

I’ll have signs available for you to choose from. If you’d like to bring your own, please

keep the message focused on love and light—no angles, no politics, no platforms. There are other spaces for those messages; this one is purely about kindness. I truly hope you’ll join us. Most people who come once look forward to doing it again. See you on the corner!

Sabrina Hartley, Board of Directors

We Appreciate You

LWV educates and advocates for our Constitutional Democracy primarily through membership dues and donations. In other words, we could not do this work without you!

A special thanks to our $150 Tribute Sponsors of our 70th Anniversary Celebration Dinner:

Teri Cleeland, Past President, LWVT

Linda Davis, Past President, LWVT

Given in memory of Marilynn Wills, Past President of LWVT and LWVFL

Kris Ellington, Board of Directors, LWVT

Given in memory of Marilynn Wills

Jessica Lowe-Minor, President, LWVFL

Given in memory of Marilynn Wills

Laurie Marshall, Co-Chair of Voter Services, LWVT

Janet McPherson, Board of Directors, LWVT

Given in memory of Tom McPherson

Trish Neely, Past President, LWVT

Peggy Ramsey, Past President, LWVT

Synovus Bank

Miriam Tellechea, Co-President, LWVT

Given in honor of Trish Neely

Bill and Carol Weissert, Co-President, LWVT

If you are interested in donating to either our education or general fund, please visit our website and select the large DONATE button in the banner for additional information about the funds and how to donate.

And if you are not yet a member, join us!

Membership

Welcome New Members! You make our work possible.

Kim Field

Joy Dixon

Sharlene Hamilton 

Debbie Huey

Maria Young

Nancy Noonan

Local government calendars: