Civil Engagement

Civil Engagement

A dialogue in which all participants have a right to speak and to be heard. Such dialogue is characterized by: 

  • Respectful participation
  • Sharing the time equitably
  • Attentive listening
  • Balanced discussion

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6.17 Attend Primary Election Candidate Forum on 6/23 @ 1 pm

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Submitted by Alachua County in June 2024.

Action Alerts

A hallmark of informing voters in an election year are the LWV candidate forums. The LWV of Alachua County, our affiliate LWV student chapter at the University of Florida (LWV at UF), and the Bob Graham Center for Public Service are partnering to present a forum for candidates running in the primary election. Questions about local issues have been composed by LWV members for each candidate for each seat. A reception will follow and live streaming is available for those who cannot attend in person.

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Primary Election Candidate Forum

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Submitted by Alachua County in June 2024.

Event Date: 
06/23/2024 - 1:00pm to 3:30pm
Event location: 

University of Florida Pugh Hall Ocora

Want to learn more about the candidates running in the August Primary? Join us for a live Primary Election Candidate Forum in Pugh Hall. Can’t attend in person? Watch online via our live stream. Don’t miss this opportunity to make an informed decision on issues that are critical to our community.

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5.23 Democracy and home rule won today!

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Submitted by Alachua County in May 2024.

Action Alerts

Today the city commission voted unanimously to allow the voters to decide on the governance of our local utility, GRU. They voted in favor of an ordinance that will allow a ballot referendum on November 5, 2024, on which voters can choose whether to have our utility governed by governor appointees or by local officials. The League stands firmly on the side of home rule for GRU. The state does not belong in our city charter or governance of our city. League leadership will be devising a public campaign to inform the public about the options and to encourage a “yes” vote on the referendum. Here are the asks for today’s Action Alert...

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5.20 Home Rule for GRU! One success, one more vote, help needed!

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Submitted by Alachua County in May 2024.

Action Alerts

The first of two required readings of an ordinance to repeal Article 7 in the city charter, which created the GRU Authority, happened at the city commission meeting on May 16 at 1:00pm, in City Hall. All seven commissioners voted in favor of putting a referendum on the general election ballot. Unanimous! The vote required a supermajority, so at least six commissioners had to vote in favor. Getting all seven votes was due to the work of a collaborative group including our league, the Alachua County Labor Coalition, the Sierra Club, unions, the NAACP and GRU customers...

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President's Message, May 2024

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Submitted by Alachua County in May 2024.

Blog Post

Dear Members,
Let’s call May “Motivation Month.” (I love alliteration!) There’s a lot to motivate us in May, both sticks and carrots. Let’s start with carrots.

On May 23 at 6 p.m. we will be having our Annual Meeting for the first time since COVID. Hurrah! We’ll get to chat and catch up, enjoy a tasty dinner and have our business meeting. It will be fun and gratifying to see the marvelous people who do the good work of the League and welcome new members and leadership. Can you tell I’m excited?...

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5.6 Let the City Commission know you support the GRU referendum

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Submitted by Alachua County in May 2024.

Action Alerts

Welcome, community! If you did not read the Action Alert from 4/22/24, please read it below. It will give you the background on the public utilities (GRU) referendum that the LWV of Alachua County supports wholeheartedly.

The first of two required readings of the ordinance to repeal Article 7, which created the GRU Authority, will happen at the city commission meeting on May 16 at 1:00pm, in City Hall...

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4.22 Contact City Commission re: GRU

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Submitted by Alachua County in April 2024.

Action Alerts

On Thursday, April 18, the city commission discussed verbiage for an ordinance intended to be placed on a ballot referendum at the general election on November 5, 2024. The LWV of Alachua County has a strong stance that voters should have an opportunity to vote on the referendum and that voters should vote “yes”.

The Action Alert ask for this week is twofold...

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President's Message, April 2024

Janice holding sunflower

Submitted by Alachua County in April 2024.

Blog Post

Dear Members,
It’s an exciting time to be a League member. The stature of the League shows itself at the national, state and local levels. One of my proudest moments, both personally and as League president, was speaking before the city commission on March 21, citing the breach of democracy and home rule when the state imposed the GRU Authority on our city. I stated “We have an opportunity to regain democratic processes and home rule in Gainesville. Let's do this...

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Recording Available: Media Literacy Evaluating and Finding Quality News

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Submitted by Alachua County in April 2024.

News

At their April 9th meeting, the Oak Hammock Committee heard from April Hines, the UF College of Journalism and Communications librarian, who presented a program on Media Literacy: Evaluating and Finding Quality News. A recording is now available.

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4.15 GRU: Let the Voters Decide

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Submitted by Alachua County in April 2024.

Action Alerts

On Thursday, March 21st, the League of Women Voters led a coalition of organizations, including the Alachua County Labor Coalition, the NAACP and Gainesville Residents United, along with many community leaders in speaking to the city commission. We asked for a referendum on the ballot to repeal the GRU Authority from the city charter. Gainesville City Commission voted 6-0 (Commissioner Duncan-Walker was absent) to begin the process...

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