Pre-council events for "The Power of Us" begin Friday afternoon with a tour of the Capitol grounds followed by a dine-around at area restaurants. Above, members who attended the 2024 council stop for a break mid-way through the Capitol grounds tour.
League members from throughout the Evergreen state will gather in Lacey this weekend for “The Power of Us,” the League of Women Voters of Washington’s biennial council.
Featuring workshops, caucus sessions and training, “The Power of Us” is best characterized as an Innovation Lab, said President Karen Crowley. “It’s a place where members and leaders come together to learn, share and shape the future of the League.”
Crowley said the League, now 106 years old,remains steadfast in its commitment to nonpartisanship as well as to its mission of empowering voters and defending democracy.
More than a year ago, she added, the League of Women Voters of the United States declared the United States is facing a constitutional crisis, a decision that has prompted the League to launch added initiatives to mobilize 8.5 million voters to protect and preserve the democracy.**
The declaration has also resulted in League members being more public in their communities and neighborhoods, speaking out more about voting rights and challenges to the rule of law, she said.
“The League never endorses a candidate or political party, but after extensive study and consensus of our members, we do take positions on issues,” Crowley said. “Those positions reflect our commitment to democracy and healthy communities and a better America for all.”
The title of this year’s council reflects the multiple-layered strength of the League:
The power of individual members and leaders to influence change in Washington communities; the power to innovate boldly, integrating new practices into the League’s work of empowering voters and defending democracy; and the power of unity, of standing strong in coalition with the many partners with whom the League shares a vision.
Speakers include the Honorable G. Helen Whitener of the Washington State Supreme Court, who is the featured keynote at Saturday’s dinner, and several coalition partners. On Sunday, Braver Angels will offer a roadmap for conversations in these polarized times: “How to disagree better.”
The League returns to South Puget Sound Community College this year after hearing from members who attended the event there in 2024 that they found the location readily accessible. League membership stretches from Whatcom County in the north to Clark County in the south and from Thurston County east to Whitman and Spokane counties.
As of last week, more than 150 delegates had registered for the event. Activities begin Friday, June 5,with a walking tour of the Capitol grounds, and continue through Sunday, June 7, with the election of new officers and directors.
** The 8.5 million figure is based on research out of the Harvard University Kennedy School that has found nonviolent protests are twice as likely to succeed as armed conflicts and that nonviolent protests involving 3.5 percent of the population have never failed to succeed. According to the University of Florida, approximately 245 million Americans were eligible to vote in the 2024 General Election. Thus, in line with the Kennedy School research, 8.5 million people — or about 3.5 percent of the eligible voting public — engaging in nonviolent protest would lead to meaningful change.
