Dear Members,

December can be a quiet time in the League year. The election is over and all the hubbub to educate voters via candidate forums, tabling events, and getting out the vote has died down. The legislative session has yet to begin. Studies and committee work are underway at both the state League and local Leagues. Many Leagues use December as a time for social connections and to meet legislators before the next election season gears up. Other work happens as well—much of it the behind-the-scenes type of work that keeps the League going. For example, there is much preparation at LWVUS happening for National Convention, scheduled to occur this spring, from June 27 to June 30 in Washington D.C. 

This convention will be particularly exciting for LWVWA because we are submitting our recently adopted positions on Local News and Its Impact on Democracy. Please see this article about concurrence for more information. The LWVWA is asking Washington local Leagues to also submit these positions to National Convention for concurrence.  

Much happens at National Convention. Program, budget, nominating committee—everything that will guide LWVUS for the following two years comes up in representative democracy fashion for delegates to act on. I hope every local League will be able to send a full delegation to this important event and urge folks to start thinking about it now. Doing so will increase the odds of getting as many people who want to attend—in-person or virtually—in the room.  

See LWVUS Program Planning Webinars to learn more about program planning at the National League level. 

Post script: The LWVWA Board of Directors will be holding a retreat later in December to review the findings of the Washington State University Research Plan for Assessing LWVWA Effectiveness with a particular focus on the External Survey. I anticipate that next steps for disseminating and discussing this information will follow. Stay tuned. 

 Best,

Mary Coltrane, LWVWA President