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Happy New Year to all Tallahassee Leaguers. And what a year it will be.
On January 20, your Tallahassee League of Women Voters will begin a year-long celebration of its 70th anniversary. On a December night in 1956, a group of Tallahassee women met with a past state league president to discuss the steps for becoming a recognized league. At that meeting, they named three committees: nominating, by-laws, and membership. And they agreed to an organizational meeting the following month that was attended by 52 charter LWVT members. The league was provisional for 18 months and became a recognized league in July 1958. Gloria Colvin, Trish Neely, and I have spent time perusing old Tallahassee Democrat archives, examining records stored at the FSU Pepper library, and following leads in the Florida archives and elsewhere.
What we can say is that the Tallahassee league started with great energy and early success. Its first publicly sponsored event was a panel of four city officials in January 1958 and its first forum for city commission candidates was in 1959. The first publication was a Know Your City booklet in 1959 which was distributed widely and made available to all in the Leon County Library. The 1960 election saw LWVT forums for county, judge, and school board candidates. We first spoke before the city commission in 1959 and a state house committee in 1961.
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They also had fun. There was a LWVT play in 1962 titled “The Voter in Wonderland,” and there was a 1964 skit titled “Turn Around Christmas Carol in the Other America.” A 1963 election-day handout called a “Griper’s Permit” was so popular that it was handed out every election for many years. The permit said that “as an informed voter, I am privileged to gripe about government.” It is not clear how long the permit was distributed, but we know that Gov. Claude Kirk wore one to a cabinet meeting in 1970.
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My favorite early Tallahassee Leaguer is Mrs. Lois B. Wood, who spent six months as an observer of the Florida cabinet for the Tallahassee League and was the focus of an October 23, 1968, story in the Tallahassee Democrat titled “LWV Wants Cabinet to Quit Mumbling.” She said in her report to the league, also sent to the cabinet, that poor acoustics defeat the purpose of “government in the sunshine.” She blamed the situation on an ‘outmoded tradition’ requiring agency directors to sit across the table from cabinet members and recommended that instead, all speakers stand at a lectern and talk into a microphone. Since today’s agency heads (and others) do this, it is clearly another LWVT win.
We plan to highlight stories and especially the successes of our League throughout 2026.
Please read this Voter for other upcoming 2026 events including LWVF Lobby Days and upcoming legislative session, the February Tallahassee Marathon, and lots and lots of voter engagement opportunities. 2026 is an election year, and we will be there. Hope you will too.
| | Carol Weissert, LWVT Co-President | | 2026 Lobby Days and Legislative Session | | |
It is time for the January 2026 legislative session and the League of Women Voters of Florida Lobby Days events. Both are especially important to the Tallahassee League.
The State League’s annual Lobby Days will take place January 19-21. The Tallahassee League is host for this event so we need to make sure we have great attendance. The first day is training and the second day has Leaguers meeting with members. LWVT is staffing a table at the capitol Monday, January 19 and Tuesday, January 20. If you can volunteer to help with tabling on those days, please contact Carol Weissert at cweissert@fsu.edu.
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Mary Ellen Klas is the speaker for our 70th anniversary celebration dinner at the Woman’s Club of Tallahassee January 20th. It is not too late to buy tickets or to become a Tribute supporter of the event. Please check out information here:
https://www.lwvtallahassee.org/70th-anniversary
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The Legislature convenes on January 13 and will take up its usual full plate of issues along with proposed mid-decade redistricting. The House Select Committee on Redistricting has held two committee hearings at which no public testimony was allowed. The Senate has not named a committee. If no action is taken, the governor has promised to call a special session to redraw congressional lines to benefit his party. The League’s position is that the redistricting process should serve the people of Florida, not its politicians or political parties. Our state constitution clearly bans drawing lines based on political party or incumbency.
There are real problems facing the citizens of Florida and redrawing Congressional lines is not one of them.
| Carol Weissert, LWVT Co-President | | 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.
| | Holiday Brunch Highlights First Amendment | | |
LWVT members considered the important issue of the First Amendment along with holiday cheer and camaraderie at the December 13 holiday brunch at the Capital City Country Club.
Bobby Block, executive director of the First Amendment Foundation, talked about difficulties with obtaining freedom of information requests, reporters arrested for doing their jobs, and the importance of grass roots in his presentation to the League. He described how the First Amendment Foundation was founded by newspapers in the state to protect public records laws forty years ago. The Foundation also protects Floridians’ rights to freely express themselves, regardless of party affiliation.
You can view a recording of the talk here.
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Decorations Committee
From left: Linda Davis, Kris Ellington, Janet McPherson & Jan RuBino
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Speaker and Weissert
Bobby Block and Carol Weissert
| | Holiday Cheer and Camaraderie | | Nominations for LWVT Leaders | | The Nominating Committee is currently accepting nominations through February 15th for the following LWVT leadership positions: |
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1-year Term Officers: President (or Co-Presidents), 1st and 2nd Vice-Presidents, Treasurer, and Secretary
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2-year Term Directors: 3 director positions available
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1-year Term 2027 Nominating Committee: The committee is made up of two or three non-Board members and two Board members.
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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.
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2026 Nominating Committee
Emma Guilarte, Susan Lunin, Trish Neely, Janet McPherson, Edrene Johnson
| | Join us for the LWVT Water Station | |
2026 Bank of America Tallahassee Marathon & Half Marathon
Sunday, February 8, 2026
Join us at Mile 8, Myers Park Playground, for our annual Tallahassee Marathon and Half Marathon Water Station event! Each year since 2014, the League of Women Voters has cheered on and provided refreshment for some 2,000 runners. It’s a fun and inspiring way to spread the League’s message and to raise funds. The runners vote for their favorite water station, and we have won first or second place every year, winning up to $500!
| 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.
| | Isabella J. Miletic, LWVT Board Member | | 2026 Justice-Impacted Voter Registration Project | | The LWVT has been awarded a $1,000 grant from the League of Women Voters Education Fund for our Justice-Impacted Voter Registration Project and begins January 2026. | | |
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 sincere thank you to longtime members Barbara and Mark Licht and Carol Weissert for their generous year-end donations; as well as to new member Lisa Rubin and renewing members Marianne Arbulu and Danielle Irwin for donations to the general fund.
And finally we thank John E. Findling for a donation in remembrance of our former president Janet Findling.
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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!
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Anne Newman, Treasurer
Trish Neely, Membership Chair
| | Welcome New Members! You make our work possible. | | |
Julie Harrington
Lisa Rubin
| | Local government calendars: | | | | |
