By Janice Garry
Dear Communications Chair,
At our November 28 Board Meeting, 20 people participated in a brainstorming session on how to get out the vote (GOTV) during the upcoming election season. Wow! The ideas flowed and cascaded. I’ve coalesced all the ideas from the meeting and other sources into a single document that you can read here.
So far, seven people have volunteered to be on the GOTV Action Team to review, prioritize, and implement the ideas throughout the 2024 election season. We are meeting in person at my home on Martin Luther King Day, January 15, at 5:30 p.m. Don’t feel left out! Attend our meeting! We will celebrate and honor the life and achievements of Dr. King by planning activities to inform voters and defend democracy in 2024. Taking action is good for the soul and good for morale. Send me an email if you can join us.
In the meantime, I hope you are enjoying the music, decorations, and sharing of goodwill with family and friends this holiday season. The warmth of League friends will be shared at Jon Reiskind’s home on December 16 from 5-7 p.m. Scroll down for details. This was a real highlight in the holiday season for many of us last year. Share the love.
In League,
Janice
[email protected]
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December 16 from 5:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.
at Jon Reiskind's Home
213 SW 41st Street
Gainesville, FL 32607
As a reminder, the LWV of Alachua County Annual Holiday Party is TOMORROW. The party is an hors d'oeuvre potluck, so please bring a dish to share. The LWVAC Board will provide beverages.
We are very excited to celebrate the 2023 holidays with this in-person event and are grateful to Jon Reiskind for his hospitality.
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Lobby Days
January 23-24 in Tallahassee
LWVFL has opened registration for Lobby Days, a unique opportunity to humanize our legislative priorities with our state lawmakers. The League's reach has continued to grow over the past year and we're excited to show that off in the halls of our state capitol.
Funds to help defray the cost of attending Lobby Days have been budgeted. Contact Jean Robinson if you would like to attend.
Click here to learn more and register for the event.
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The Gun Violence Prevention Committee was formed to coordinate the League of Women Voters of Alachua County (LWVAC) efforts to reduce gun violence in our community.
Gun safety and gun violence prevention are a legislative priority of the League of Women Voters of Florida (LWVFL). LWVAC supports the LWVFL’s efforts to enact legislation to improve gun safety and reduce gun violence. LWVAC also supports the City of Gainesville and Alachua County governments in their efforts to reduce gun violence in our community.
The first meeting was held on December 12 with guest speaker Barbara Markley, Esquire, gun safety advocate and Co-chair of the Gun Violence Prevention Committee at the LWV of Broward County. Barbara discussed the "Lock it Up!" gun safety program that has distributed 30,000 free gun locks in Broward County. A recording of the meeting is available here.
The Committee will meet at 6:30 p.m. on the third Tuesday of each month. If you are interested in joining these efforts, please contact Gwendolyn Saffo.
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Speakers Bureau Chair
The LWVAC Speakers Bureau is a team of trained presenters prepared to speak at area events. This is a free service that we offer to the community. Candy has stepped up to represent LWVAC and lead this important effort. Join us in welcoming her.
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Candy Birch
In 2007, as a high school administrator, I joined the Johnson County KS League to help people know about the important role an informed voter plays in democracy. My husband and I joined LWVAC when we moved to Gainesville in 2019.
I have made presentations on voter registration, the voting process, healthcare, diversity in the judiciary, the environment, and education.
A former League president, I am now on Voter Services and Health Care committees and continue my advocacy on issues like VOTE411.org.
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If you're interested in joining our team representing the LWVAC and speaking on LWVAC topics at community events, please contact Candy. | |
Did you see us at the Gainesville Downtown Festival and Art Show? Not only did we debut our new photo booth frame, we collected a total of 139 Clean Water petitions and 63 Abortion Rights petitions in addition to assisting 7 people with registration and vote-by-mail forms. It was a great time! | |
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In addition, we partnered with the Alachua County Labor Coalition for a postcard writing party completing at least 100 postcards to returning citizens for the Returning Citizens Postcard initiative. Pictured from the left are ACLC Outreach Coordinator Marilyn Eisenberg and Coordinator Bobby Mermer, LWVAC Members Diane Dimperio and Candy Birch with ACLC Co-chair Melissa Hawthorne on the right.
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There's still a lot happening and room for more volunteers. Read on to learn how you can get involved today! | |
GOTV Action Team
As Janice mentioned above, LWVAC is gearing up for an important and busy election year in 2024. We have created an Action Team focusing on Get Out The Vote (GOTV) efforts. Please contact Janice if you would like to get involved.
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Petitioning
LWV of Alachua County joined LWVFL in supporting two constitutional amendment campaigns:
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The Florida Right to Clean Water petition drive has concluded. Out of 67 counties, Alachua County was consistently in the top two spots throughout the campaign for the highest proportion of voters who signed petitions. Thanks to the many people who faithfully collected signatures from friends, family, and organizations. Unfortunately, the very high bar of nearly one million petitions signed was not met. The RTCW leadership is already working on a 2026 campaign with increased support from professionals and organizations. Stay tuned.
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The Amendment to Limit Government Interference with Abortion which establishes an explicit right to abortion and ensure that Floridians’ reproductive freedom is codified into law and no longer subject to the whims of extremist politicians and judges. We are close to our goal for Abortion petitions with a deadline of December 31. You are encouraged to make a concerted effort to make sure your friends, family, and neighbors sign a petition properly. Please contact Shayna Rich to participate in the last push for petitions.
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ONE is enough to do something!
We hope that joining the League gives you the feeling of at least "doing" something during a time when so much feels overwhelming.
It is easy to feel as though we don't know “enough” to contribute meaningfully. However, while we cannot truly quantify what “enough” is, joining the League allows you to continuously learn. League members work together to share information, help each other access information, and grow in the process.
We continue to encourage members to see themselves as leaders, to see themselves as members of the board, and to realize that "not knowing enough” is exactly the reason to leap into a leadership position. Educating yourself provides you with the necessary tools to help educate others about why voting and understanding how the government works is crucial to protecting our democracy.
In the meantime: if you want to know a little more about what is happening in our local government and how it works, below are some helpful links to a few City of Gainesville and Alachua County websites that might get you started on your quest to know more. Although some of these links are Gainesville-specific, every municipality has a website that should contain similar information. Before you know it, members will be asking you to teach them about government. That's the League of Women Voters at its best.
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In this section, we bring you updates from your LWV of Alachua County committees. Committees are the best way to get involved in LWV of Alachua County and your local community. Feel free to reach out to the Committee Chairs to express interest, join their meetings, and get involved. | |
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Contact: Barbara Frentzen or Kim Walsh-Childers
The Health Care Committee met on December 11. Two new members joined us and 11 others have expressed interest in the Committee. Topics included 1) a last-minute push for obtaining petitions to place access to abortion on the ballot, and 2) how to best provide assistance to notify the community about Medicaid unwinding and getting health insurance from the federal Health Insurance Marketplace if needed.
Our next meeting will be on January 8 in Conference Room A at Oak Hammock at 4 pm. Thank you to Karen Miller for arranging the space to meet.
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We are still encouraging Alachua County residents to complete the 15-minute Florida Department of Health in Alachua County survey about their views regarding health and health care in the county. Your participation in this important survey will help to identify key health priorities in Alachua County, the best way to address those issues, and provide a better understanding of the needs of Alachua County residents regarding health and health care. Read more here or scan the QR code to take the survey. The survey is available until January 1, 2024.
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Contact: Roberta Gastmeyer or Jay Rosenbek
NR Committee leadership and committee members have spent the Fall concentrating primarily on three issues:
- GRU’s Integrated Resources Plan preparation,
- The new GRU Authority, and
- The Lee property development.
Roberta, League President Janice Garry, and Jay Rosenbek joined representatives of other local organizations and groups in providing input to GRU as they plan the city’s energy future. That effort continues.
Roberta has closely followed Authority meetings and the progress of lawsuits brought in response to HB1645’s passage. HB1645 is the special bill introduced in the last legislative session that cleared the way for the Governor to appoint the five members of the new Authority. She prepares summaries of Authority monthly meetings and proposes possible actions.
Jay monitors the Lee property development process which has now entered the so-called Special Area Planning phase which will begin with the planning of the University golf course.
We still encourage residents to complete the City of Gainesville's Climate Action Plan Survey. If you have not already, please take a few moments now to complete the survey. Let the City know that climate change action is important to you!
The December committee meeting is canceled; the January 24 meeting will be an open discussion of a plan of action for 2024 and all are invited to suggest issues for committee consideration.
Happy Holidays!
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Contact: Mary White
Oak Hammock did not meet in December but will kick off 2024 with their January meeting on Tuesday, January 9 at 7:00 p.m. in the Oak Room at Oak Hammock.
The topic is "Politics and Infant and Maternal Health" presented by Dr Nancy Hardt, MD. Dr. Hardt is a professor emerita at the UF College of Medicine. She now collaborates with community leaders to address local health equity issues, especially early childhood brain development. Everyone is invited to attend. Contact Mary White for further information.
We wish everyone a happy and safe holiday season!
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Contact: Diana Boxer or Gwen Wagner
Voter Services had a great time at Gainesville's Downtown Festival and Art Show in November. We collected a total of 139 Clean Water petitions and 63 Abortion Rights petitions in addition to assisting 7 people with registration and VBM forms. There are pictures from the event in the Volunteers in Action section above.
We will be tabling at The Village of Gainesville on Thursday, January 30 and are recruiting volunteers for two time blocks:
- 10:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. or
- 12:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Email Gwen if you would like to help out at this very popular event.
Petitioning efforts are coming to a close. There’s a final push for 3,500 more Abortion Rights petitions signed by December 31. Contact Shayna Rich to help.
Save the dates: LWVAC is partnering with The Bob Graham Center for a primary candidate forum on June 23, 2024, and a general election candidate forum on September 22, 2024. Contact Diana if you would like to help with these events.
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Follow the 2024 Legislative Session
Our colleagues at LWV of the St. Pete Area brought to our attention an app to help Floridians engage civically, and we thought you might find it interesting as well.
Using the Voatz app by the Digital Democracy Project, you can track the legislation being considered and let your legislators know which bills you support from the comfort of your phone. Polling is anonymous, and you get to see your legislators' alignment with their constituents in real-time. With the 2024 Florida Legislative Session right around the corner and Interim Committee Meetings already in progress, your legislators need to know what you think about the bills passing through the Legislature. Interacting with your representatives does not have to be daunting. Download the Voatz app and start engaging today!
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Re-Request Your Vote by Mail Ballot
Please be aware that ALL Vote by Mail applications expired last December because the law changed. Now everyone must re-enroll in Vote by Mail every two years. To vote by mail in an election, the request must be in the Supervisor of Elections office no later than 12 days before the election. If you have not already done so, you can learn more and re-request your Vote by Mail ballot on the Alachua County Supervisor of Elections website.
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LWV of Alachua County Leadership Team
President: Janice Garry
Vice-President: Gwendolyn Saffo
Secretary: Eileen Roy
Treasurer: Anne D’Amico
A full list of LWV of Alachua County Board Members and Committee Chairs can be found here.
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To avoid missing future LWV of Alachua County email, please add our email address to your Safe Senders List or add the From address ([email protected]) to your Address Book or Contacts. | | | | |
