(Photo: The Chavez and Ogbebor families at the El Sobrante Library with our puppet friends, Perry the Peregrine and Barkley the dog, and Linda Whitmore of our sister League in West County.)
Out and About in the Community:
June was busy with a variety of activities. The Summer Exploration Stations in partnership with the CC County Library was a success. BIG applause to Joanne Supersad, Carol Boyd, Marion Morris, Susan Johnson, Linda Whitmore (LWVWCC), and Shawn Gilbert for giving our lovable puppet friends voices. It was a lot of fun sharing information about peregrines and their return to Mt. Diablo and then helping young ones experience the act of voting on a one-question ballot related to the peregrine information.
More BIG applause goes to the County Elections Office for lending an official rolling ballot box to the League so the kids could place their completed ballots into a real voting box. The County also provided fun “Future Voter” stickers for the little ones after they voted. The stickers were a big hit.
The Elections Office invited LWVDV to participate in the Candidate Workshops at the end of June. The focus of the workshops is to educate anyone considering running for an elected office. LWVDV presented information about VOTE411.org to those in attendance at the Lafayette and Antioch workshops.
During the last week of June, St. Mary’s College held its first NEW Leadership Conference, hosted by the Women’s and Gender Studies Department. Conference leaders invited the LWVDV to the conference breakfast and Diane Bianchi and Shawn Gilbert attended this amazing gathering. Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan, the keynote speaker, spoke about her journey to becoming a community leader and ultimately being elected to the Assembly.
Youth Vote – Videos and a Virtual Town Hall:
Check out the creative GOTV and VOTE411.org TikTok-style videos that are now on the LWVDV Facebook page and are being pushed out on Instagram and TikTok through the energetic work of McKenna Ingram, a St. Mary’s College senior. McKenna is our summer intern through a partnership with the college’s communication professor, Jason Jakaitis.
Recently, LWVDV and the County Elections Office set off on a new collaborative journey designed to explore a common goal: engaging more young adults in the election process. Thanks to the ideas of our intern, McKenna Ingram, and Carondelet student and LWVDV member Karlina Meyer, the team is in the process of developing a plan to livestream a Youth Town Hall focusing on informing young adults about all things to do with voting. Stay tuned for more information.
by Shawn Gilbert, Voter Sevices Chair
