LWV-Rivertowns President's Message

LWV-Rivertowns President's Message

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Type: 
News

November 2018

The elections are over...well, nearly in a few places. Record numbers of voters in Westchester (52%) turned out, and I cannot help but attribute some of these results to the time and effort spent by LWVR in tabling voter registration events. From early July through mid-October our members staffed 21 events and either helped complete or hand out 191 voter registration forms.

The election catapulted several more women into Congressional seats. There will be at least 121 women serving in the 116th Congress. Our struggle of 100 years ago has definitely come to fruition. In addition, anti-gerrymandering initiatives and more streamlined voting processes were approved in several states. Inch by inch, grassroots democracy is asserting itself. At the NY State level, our newly elected legislature might even have a chance to finally pass Single Payer Healthcare!

Locally, we have been active in organizing several candidates forums and have hosted a well-attended Hot Topics presentation on some of the drawbacks of the Army Corps of Engineers’ proposed storm surge barriers in the Lower Bay which would seriously impact the entire Hudson River. We look forward to an upcoming Hot Topics event on November 27 which will address the Route 9 Active Transportation Conceptual Design Plan Team’s proposed pedestrian and biking changes along Broadway – our Rivertowns main artery. In addition, Rivertowns League members took part in the the LWVW Civics project entitled “Know Your Government” which took place in several locations over the past two months and which were amazingly well-run and informative.

Now that election fever has calmed down, we can turn our thoughts to other projects: Students Inside Albany, Running and Winning, strategies to engage High School youth in the voting process and, above all, working towards a more inclusive and diverse LWVR.

I wish you all a very happy, healthy and productive fall season.

Lynn Levine