It’s summertime and the living ain’t easy for many of our fellow Americans. As I write this in the final week of May, Washington is once again in stasis over the fate of our economy, frozen in combat over whose vision of the future will win over the electorate.

With so much upheaval, it’s a wonder Americans can still garner the energy to care. But as a League, we must carry on the mission to electrify our communities into action at city council, school board, local commission, and state legislature meetings.

To that end, a healthy number of our LWV-PA members convened in January to identify not just recommendations for the state League to take up, but also issues that our League will prioritize to make democracy work for residents in our communities. I’m very excited about both our proposed focus for the 2023–24 LWV-PA program and the two new initiatives (see this issue of the Voter) that we will launch with your help at our League’s 87th Annual Meeting on June 10. Together we can kick off a Summer of Action and keep it going beyond the March primaries through the 2024 November elections. Join us at our Annual Meeting on June 10—if you have not yet registered, you can still register now. Remember this: The upcoming election cycle is about much more than our next U.S. president or California state governor; it’s about all the local officials whose decisions make our communities livable—or not.

For us to be effective, we need all hands on deck—your hands, not someone else’s! Don’t stand by and watch the carjacking. Let’s join together to help our residents drive their own futures and those of our communities. We can show them how.

Have a thoughtful, joyful Juneteenth.

Standing in solidarity with victims of oppression at home and abroad,

—Martha Y. Zavala