• President's Message
• Mark Your Calendar
• Membership
• Voter Services
• Public Policy - Housing Study Education Event
• Bylaws Committee - Request for member input
• Advocacy- Criminal Justice - Restorative Justice
• East Valley Community Team - Kickoff Event
• LWAZ NEWS
  • LWVAZ Advocacy Trainings
  • LWVAZ Amicus brief - Planned Parenthood Arizona v. Kristin Mayes/Hazelrigg
  • LWVAZ Comments on Proposed ATF Rule
    

THANK YOU to all members who donated to LWVMP
during our Giving Tuesday Fundraiser.

YOUR contributions make such a difference and we appreciate every dollar!!

IF YOU HAVEN’T YET DONATED,

please help the League continue to make a difference.
YOUR contribution is needed to keep our important work going toward ensuring
voter access and empowering voters with unbiased election information!

 Please make your donation today!

Growing our Membership and League Power

Please join us in welcoming our four new League members who joined in November:  Kathy & Chris Boltz, Hailey Connor, and Mary Hammons.

And, thank you to all nine renewing members: Marcia Barry, John & Marilyn Hamilton, Carol Lanzotti, Connie Lawless, Cheryl McCutcheon, Cricket Mitchell, Vanessa Palacios, and Cindy Walsh. 

Engagement Highlights

As 2023 draws to a close, we celebrate a year of membership growth and engagement!  So far in 2023, 57 new members have joined LWV Metro Phoenix!  As this year draws to a close, please consider reaching out to friends, neighbors and/or family members to invite folks to join the League. 2024 will be full of meaningful ways to engage and make a difference in Empowering Voters and Protecting Democracy. Send any questions or requests for information to Alexis Lane at infolwvmp@gmail.com. 

Thank you to all who have volunteered at the events in 2023. In all, we reached 2,470 people and influenced 70 to register to vote this year.  All these interactions represent the League and our mission to ensure everyone has a voice in our democracy.  The League will continue to have many opportunities for you to interact with the community this coming year.  

Upcoming Events (You will need to login to the League website in order to volunteer):

The MLK 2024 commemorative march begins at 8:45 am from Pilgrim Rest Baptist Church to Margaret Hance Park, a distance of about 2 miles, and culminates with a festival at Margaret T. Hance Park.

The MLK Festival is from  10:00 am to 4 pm at the Margaret Hance Park.  Festival activities include speakers, speeches, stage performances and poetry.  Booths, tables and food vendors.  LWVMP will be participating in the march and the festival. Please sign up at the volunteer link. You are welcome to sign up for both the march and to staff the table.  MLK_March & Festival Signup

Naturalization Ceremony, League members who are also trained Maricopa County Deputy Registrars will be assisting our newest citizens with the opportunity to register to vote on Friday January 19th.  There is a morning and afternoon ceremony, if you are a deputy registrar please sign up and help us fill all our slots.   Naturalization SignUp Link

If you are interested in learning how to be a table captain, please join us for our next Voter Services meeting on Tuesday, Jan 23, 4: 30 pm. The other topic will be information on the Energizing Youth Voter Program and ways you can help with this program. Voter Services Jan MTG link

The LWVMP Housing study team invites you to attend its second in a series of presentations on housing issues.  January 17, 6:00 pm  Click on the image or use the qr code to register for the event.

The Home Is Where It All Starts Campaign

 Arizona, like many other states in the country, is facing a crisis with escalating housing costs and people being priced out of the market. This contributes to increasing rates of homelessness, a strain on the social services system, and a barrier to economic development as businesses struggle to find workers. This crisis is being addressed by a range of stakeholders, such as local governments and developers.

The community can be an effective advocate or ardent critic of efforts to make housing more affordable. During this forum, participants will hear about efforts underway to partner with communities and residents through a new campaign, Home Is Where It All Starts. The goal of the campaign is to increase community support for affordable rents and mortgages by changing the way we talk about housing. The latest research will also be shared about how to address the challenges faced by housing developers and how to measure success in making housing more affordable.

Speakers include Alison Cook-Davis with the Morrison Institute for Public Policy of Arizona State University and Amy St Peter with the Maricopa Association of Governments. The discussion will offer ways community members can get involved in this work, as well as the next steps being taken.

IMPORTANT - Request to Members for Proposed Bylaws Changes

LWVMP Members,

The LWVMP Bylaws Committee (Jean Conway, Gitelle Seer, co-chairs, Karen Nally, Kara Pelletier & Mary Beth Tripp, committee members) has convened to review and propose recommendations for improvements to our Bylaws.  

The Bylaws Committee welcomes substantive recommendations for improvements to the Bylaws from our members. Our Bylaws stipulate that proposals must be in writing at least four months before the annual meeting. The Committee is concerned that this deadline (on or about Dec 29) will not give our members enough time to respond, especially in light of the holiday season. Thus, after discussion with our MP President, we are extending the deadline for proposed recommendations to January 12, 2024.

Please submit any recommendations for improvements to our Bylaws by adding your comments to this document. Please add your name to your comment if you are not using Gmail.

Proposed changes will be submitted to our membership at least thirty (30) days before the Annual Meeting in April 2024. Bylaws revisions require a two-thirds majority to pass. Thank you for your interest!

Jean Conway & Gitelle Seer

LWVMP Bylaws Committee Co-Chairs

Restorative Justice Conversation with Leo Hylton

In November, the Criminal Justice Issue Team hosted a public conversation on Restorative Justice with Leo Hylton as the featured speaker. The recording of the meeting can be found here (link needs to be added!).  Leo is a PhD student at George Mason University’s Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution and is one of the first Alliance Fellows for the National Alliance for Higher Education in Prison. His education,   work and research are based in trauma-informed, healing-centered Restorative Justice practices and are informed by his experience as a currently incarcerated community member in Maine State Prison.

As opposed to our current carceral system of punishment, Restorative Justice examines the harmful impact of a crime and determines how  to repair the harm while holding the person who caused it accountable for his or her actions. which is not a new concept.  Rather, Restorative Justice, which has global indigenous roots, views a “crime”  as a harmful act against the community as a whole rather than a harmful act against the system or state, with a focus on healing, interconnectivity between people,  accountability and repair.

Restorative Justice first and foremost supports people who have been victimized.  It looks at what harm was caused to them and what can be done to make things as right as possible. Their voices are central to the process. In our current system, victim/survivors are used – their pain and trauma are exploited to win a case and then they are cast aside.  Restorative Justice gives victim/survivors answers to their questions – why did it happen, why did you do what you did, why me, and how will I know that I will be safe.The Criminal Justice Issue Team will host a second Restorative Justice conversation in the coming months.  If you are interested in joining the team, please email Leslie Hanson at AdvocacyLWVMP@gmail.com 

LWVAZ Advocacy training events are an opportunity for league members to learn about League work and tools used to advance our work.

League in Action / Outreach Circle - Let your fingers do the walking!

We will use League in Action/ Outreach Circle, a league-branded digital organizing tool for calls to action (including legislative calls to action), event notifications, get-out-the-vote, need-to-know messages, candidate contact for VOTE411 during election season, and more. 

League in Action, powered by Outreach Circle,  will enable you to quickly and seamlessly reach out to other league members, the public, friends, and family with targeted messages. Some of you may be familiar with Outreach Circle; League in Action is an expanded and more powerful organizing tool that has capabilities beyond texting.  Please attend one of our upcoming training sessions to learn how to leverage this tool; pre-registration is required.

Outreach Circle/ League in Action Training

Dec 11, 6-7:30 pm  Learn how League In Action is used to educate the public, promote calls to actions, mobilize members to volunteer and attend league sponsored events.  Register here

Dec 14, 6-7:30 pm   League in Action/ Outreach Circle training for admins and action builders- Learn how to create action on outreach circle, promote events and calls to action.  Register here

LWVAZ Files Amicus Brief

LWVAZ was invited to file an amicus brief in Planned Parenthood Arizona v. Kristin Mayes/Hazelrigg in the AZ Supreme Court to support retaining the current 15-week ban on abortions. The court is considering a challenge to state law that could lead to the restoration of a 19th-century ban on abortion. 

Press Release - PP Arizona v. Hazelrigg Amicus Brief Statement 

LWVAZ  Comments on Proposed ATF Rule

After Congressional bills become laws, Federal agencies are responsible for implementing those laws through regulations. In most cases, the public can comment on this rule within a specified time frame.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) requested public comment on its proposed rulemaking on the definition of when a person is considered “engaged in the business” as a dealer in firearms. This rule would ensure that individuals who offer firearms for sale online or at gun shows are licensed to do so, complete background checks before transferring guns, and maintain records of those transactions.

The LWVAZ, at the request of the LWVUS, submitted this comment supporting the proposed rule.

LWV Metro Phoenix Board of Directors

 Officers
President and LWVAZ State Board President Elect:  Pinny Sheoran
President Elect:  Marcia Barry
Secretary:  Beth Ballmann
Treasurer, Finance and Development Committee Chair:  Barbara Cricket Mitchell

Board of Directors
Advocacy Committee Chair:  Leslie Hanson
Budget Committee Chair:  Marcia Barry  
Bylaws Committee Co-chairs:  Jean Conway and Gitelle Seer
Communications Committee Chair:  Connie Cornelius
Forums Committee Chair:  Cindy Walsh
League Representative to State Board:  Gitelle Seer 
Membership Committee Chair:  Alexis Lane
Nominations Committee Chair:  Jean Conway
Voter Services Chair:  Gretchen Bolerjack

Contact us at InfoLWVMP@gmail.com