The LWV Newport County serves the city of Newport and the towns of Jamestown, Little Compton, Middletown, Portsmouth and Tiverton. Membership in this group is growing and we continue to seek new members to play active roles in voter registration, advocacy, election-year candidate forums, and election day duties. Three conveners are leading LWV Newport County in 2023: Marilyn Shea, 732-216-3338; Christine Keyser, 904-626-2873; and Maureen Mooney, 917-697-5007.
Please contact lwvnewportcounty [at] gmail.com for more information. We want to hear from you!
LWV Newport County (LWVNC) Annual Report May 2023- May 2024
Board of Directors:
Christine Stenning, President Gene Thompson Grove, Vice President
Becky Mc Sweeney, Treasurer Karen O’Hara, Voter Services
Maureen Thompson, Advocacy/Voter Services Susan Travis, Membership Services
Adrienne Shaw, Membership Services Jill Kassis
Susan Wells
2024 Focus
The LWVNC proposed and passed a change to the focus for 2024. After information from the LWV that they are streamlining the work that they are doing and after lengthy conversation at the January board meeting, the LWVNC voted to restructure the responsibilities of each board member as well as specifically set two priorities for 2024. The two priorities for 2024 will be voter services and membership engagement. The Board agreed that the LWVRI does an outstanding job with advocacy. The Newport League has several members on the State Advocacy team thus showing the support of the Newport League members. To that end, the LWVNC focused it’s voter registrations on those areas of Newport County that have lover voting turn outs, low registration areas, the disenfranchised/marginalized as well as high school voters.
Current Membership to date: 92
Voter Registrations to date: 33
Voters registered to date: 94
Voter education events:
Same Day Voter Registration Event
The January 6th Vigil
Creation of “how to materials” for registration The Pell Center
Voter Registration at Nationalization Ceremonies
Podcast Appearance with Newport This Week re: The work of the LWVNC.
The Pell Center at Salve University
The LWVNC has a unique relationship with The Pell Center. This partnership allows for many different opportunities to reach out and serve the public combining academia with voter services. Current projects for 2023-2024 are:
Nationhood Lab Colin Woodard
Showing of “No Time to Fail”
Conversations with Katie Langford Sonder
All in Democracy Challenge
Membership Gatherings
Member -Guest Gathering 10/3
Quarterly Meeting 2/22
Annual Meeting 5/22
The Joan Arnold Award
The League of Women Voters, Newport County selected Ellen Pinnock of FabNewport as the 2023 recipient of the Joan C. Arnold Civic Participation Award.
The Budget
A budget committee was appointed to come up with a yearly budget. Prior to this there was no budget for the LWVNC. The budget was proposed and accepted by the membership.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Conversations with Women of Distinction - Welcoming Christine Stenning
Iuly 11 2024 9 - 10:30 AM Innovate Newport 513 Broadway Newport
PAST EVENTS
NON-PARTISAN 'LEST WE FORGET' VIGIL JANUARY 6 2024
ANNUAL JOAN C. ARNOLD AWARD RECIPIENT HONORED NOVEMBER 28 2023
Kathy Gallagher, daughter of Joan C Arnold awarding this year's recipient, Ellen Pinnock.
The League of Women Voters, Newport County has selected Ellen Pinnock of FabNewport as the 2023 recipient of the Joan C. Arnold Civic Participation Award. The award was presented on November 28 at a wine and cheese reception held at Harbor House, 111 Washington St. Newport from 5:30 to 7:00 pm.
Ms. Pinnock is the Director of Community Engagement at FabNewport. She also leads the Equity in Education initiative. FabNewport’s focus is to create a positive vision for the future of all students. Understanding the need for a positive vision of the future serves children far more than just grades and academic scores. The impact is long term and produces perseverance in facing challenges and a more optimistic outlook on life which directly influences optimism and resilience. When asked by Executive Director, Steve Heath, where Ellen gets her unbridled giving, she tearfully named that source as love. She fiercely loves the children of Newport as well as the communities in which they live.
The award honors the life of Joan C. Arnold, a member of the League of Women Voters of Newport County and Rhode Island, who passed away in February 2011. Joan was a great admirer of the anthropologist Margaret Mead who said, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world; indeed it’s the only thing that ever does.” Joan believed in her power to “change the world.”
This award commemorates her life and work by recognizing individuals whose work has resulted in bringing relief to those in need or to improving the quality of life in Newport County. The recipient must be an organization or individual in Newport County. The honoree’s work should have demonstrated measurable impact or results, long-term and high-level commitment and a wide reach in the county.
The League of Women Voters of Newport County held its annual meeting at a luncheon gathering at Wanumetonomy Golf Club in Middletown on Wednesday, June 21st. President Christine Stenning welcomed new members and presented the yearly report, detailing the forums, voter registration efforts, membership events and partnership activities over the past year. Of note, more than 30 new members have joined since June of 2022. Several bylaw updates were approved by the membership. Reorganization of leadership was approved, with the following officers and board members to serve for the coming year: President: Christine Stenning, First Vice President: Maureen Mooney, Treasurer: Kathy Gallagher, Membership Chair: Susan Travis, Voter Services Chair: Mary Alice Smith, Ex Officio Member: Jill Kassis, Ex Officio Member: Susan Wells. In addition, Jean Quinn has been appointed as the LWV Newport County representative on the LWVRI Advocacy Board, and Adrienne Shaw has been appointed as the Newport County League's representative on the LWVRI Education Fund.
The guest speaker was Dianne Farrar, Family Engagement Manager at East Bay Community Action Program's Head Start, who spoke about the need to engage voters who feel their voices don't matter, specifically the BIPOC community.
NON-PARTISAN 'LEST WE FORGET' VIGIL, 4:30-5:30 PM, JAN. 6, 2023, IN WASHINGTON SQUARE, NEWPORT, RI
The League of Women Voters Newport County is holding a candlelight vigil from 4:30-5:30 pm, on January 6th, in Washington Square in Newport. Despite the false narrative that caused the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, we want this vigil to stand as a reminder that the voting in Rhode Island—as well as other states—in 2020 and 2022, was safe, secure, and indeed represented the will of the people. The country came under attack two years ago, casting doubt on the sanctity of voting in this country. This non-partisan vigil will be a reminder that Votes not Violence is the way for Americans to be heard and is the cornerstone on which the Constitution was founded. All Americans have the civic responsibility for making sure this never happens again. Join the vigil in Newport! We will have singers, speakers, and poets helping us recall the events of January 6th, lest we forget. For more information: LWVnewportcounty [at] gmail.com.
Come listen to Congressman David Cicilline as he discusses the threats to American democracy, Tuesday, March 22, 11 am, at Pell Center in Newport. This event is jointly sponsored by the Pell Center at Salve Regina University and the League of Women Voters of Newport County.
To get the latest information from legislators covering districts in Newport County, the League of Women Voters of Newport County partnered with Newport This Week and East Bay Media Group to present two legislative update forums.
Click here to view Forum #1, recorded Jan. 24, featuring Marvin Abney, Dist. 73; Lauren Carson, Dist. 75; John “Jay” Edwards, Dist. 70; and Deb Ruggiero, Dist. 74.
Click here to view Forum #2, recorded Jan. 31, featuring Sen. Walter Felag, Dist. 10; Sen. Jim Seveney, Dist. 11; Rep. Terri Cortvriend, Dist. 72; Rep. Susan Donovan, Dist. 69; and Rep. Michelle McGaw, Dist. 71.
