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The Voter
League of Women Voters of the Midland Area
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Happy 96th birthday to the League of Women Voters on February 14! The LWV has been Making Democracy Work since 1920, and we're still going strong!
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Feb 17, 2-4pm All Program Planning Library Conf Room C
Mar 3, 9:30-11:30am Board of Directors Library Conf Rm A
Mar 8, 7am-8pm MI Presidential Primary
Mar 14-18 Radio Days Broadcasts on WMPX for Sunshine Week
May 18, 6pm Annual Meeting Midland Holiday Inn details to follow
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Karol Walker Sandra S. Haughton |
MICHIGAN CANDIDATE INFORMATION WILL BE AVAILABLE ON VOTE411.ORG BEFORE PRIMARY
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Educational booklet for new voters
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Wednesday, February 17,
2-4 pm
Grace A. Dow Library Conference Room C
We will cover national and local program planning. All members are welcome.
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Board of Directors
President
VP Membership
VP Program
Secretary
Treasurer
Directors
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We wrapped up the Money in Politics study! |
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Our consensus results are now in the hands of the national committee, which is tasked with considering the results from all the participating Leagues across the country to update the national position on campaign finance. There was good discussion among the 13 league members participating in the consensus meetings. Thanks to the participants for working on this challenging task, with special appreciation to Judy McDowell, Katherine Redwine, Kim Steinke and Carole Swinehart, who gave overviews of the information for our discussion.
Sue McCollister, President
League of Women Voters of the Midland Area
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Is our public information less than transparent?
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The importance of open government and freedom of information is a high-priority issue with the LWV. Our League focuses on transparency in government with our annual Radio Days fundraiser currently in progress, concluding with the broadcast of public service announcements and ads by WMPX during Sunshine Week ,
March 14-18, promoting
transparency and openness in our government.
One of numerous issues that have arisen out of the Flint water crisis is the lack of transparency in information from our state government. In a recent article in the Midland Daily News
, the writer reported that:
Michigan is one of two states to wholly exempt the governor's office from public-records requests. He (the governor) said a broader analysis of better government transparency is underway because of Michigan's low ranking nationally, including a look at best practices elsewhere.
The low ranking referred to is from the State Integrity Ranking,
in which Michigan is dead last in the Rankings overall and gets an F grade for public access to information. It is at least encouraging that such an abysmal report might spur some changes regarding transparency in public information, although very sad that it is taking a public health tragedy to add incentive for action. As always, we'll await signs of progress.
We're so grateful to our local businesses and individuals who sponsor the PSAs and ads, and to Radio station WMPX for broadcasting them during Sunshine Week while allowing the League to keep the money we raise. However, our state government has a long ways to go before reaching an acceptable level of transparency.
Sue McCollister |
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Lake Michigan Interleague
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Our League is a member of the Lake Michigan Interleague. Carol Swinehart
is our contact person.
WHAT IS THE LAKE MICHIGAN INTERLEAGUE?
Did you know that your League along with all the other Leagues in Michigan are members of the LWV Lake Michigan Region? This Inter-League organization is
made up of 48 local Leagues within the Lake Michigan watershed and regional planning areas. In addition, the four state Leagues of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and
Wisconsin pay dues, entitling all of their individual Leagues to receive information and to take part in LWVLMR events. Each state League also appoints two
delegates and two alternates to serve on the LWVLMR Board that meets quarterly.
WHO REPRESENTS MICHIGAN ON THE LWVLMR BOARD?
RUTH CAPUTO, delegate from Kalamazoo, has a PhD in Physical Chemistry. She
currently chairs the City of Portage's Environmental Board and the Programs Committee
for the Kalamazoo Area Wild Ones, a group that promotes the use of native plants. A Master Gardner, Ruth enjoys giving tours of her backyard which contains different types of gardens.
VINA MIKESELL, delegate from Leelanau County, joined the League in Crawfordsville, IN and served as its President and on the LWVIN Board. Vina was instrumental in forming a new League in Leelanau County. She is past president and current editor of the Leelanau VOTER. She is also president of ShareCare of Leelanau, an organization that keeps seniors in their own homes as long as possible.
SUZANNE DIXON, alternate from Holland, served as past Treasurer and Board member for LWVLMR. Currently in her third term as LWVMI Director of Natural Resources and a Board member, she also holds the same offices in the Holland League. Suzanne is a founding board member of the Allegan County Brownfield Authority and is president of a helping agency for the needy.
CHRIS ZILKE, alternate from Berrien and Cass Counties, lived outside of the country for 8 ½ years during her children's early years. Chris participated in three "Global Volunteers" vacations in Viet Nam, Ecuador and Hawaii. Passionate about education, she served on the Bridgman Board of Education for 8 years, 2 of them as President. Currently Chris is President of the Berrien/Cass League.
LWV Lake Michigan Region is an integral part of and operates under the Natural Resources position of the LWVUS. The mission of LWVLMR is to promote political responsibility through informed and active participation of citizens in government and acts on selected governmental issues affecting the Lake Michigan watershed. The group is happy to provide speakers on a variety of topics affecting Lake Michigan. Contact us at
lwvlakemichigan@gmail.com and like us on
facebook.
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2016 Presidential Elections
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The
Michigan Presidential Primary is
March 8.
Information should be available at Vote411 two weeks before the primary. (Feb 23)
You can use the MI Secretary of State to
find your ballot. You will need to enter your personal information, then the system will tell you if you are registered and where to find your polling place . Click on
"View My Sample Ballot" to see the list of candidates for each party.
February 8 is the last day to register for the primary election.
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Membership
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If you are interested in joining, please fill out the form below, and send it in. If you have questions, please email Judy McDowell, VP Membership.
mail to: LWV - Midland Area
P.O. Box 1203
Midland, MI 48641-1203
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