Hello League Members and Friends,
I want to start with an apology for the months with no Voter Newsletters, as our last issue was for November. Charged with the task of filling Lee Murdock’s shoes, who was both our President and our Voter Editor, we have been challenged to keep all the proverbial balls in the air.
Your Leadership Team became a Nominating Committee of the Whole, and we have reached out to many members to assess their interest in League involvement, and we are pleased with the responses we have received. We have invited three relatively new members to the Leadership Team, as allowed by our by-laws. Joy McKinney, Lana Barnes, and Maria Jett will be presented for election to a full 2-year term at the Annual Meeting in June.
At our Quarterly meeting on Feb 19, Lee Murdock presented her Comparative Analysis of League Positions and Policy Proposals in Project 2025 and Agenda 47. We also heard from David Hacker, of Between The Ridges/Alliance for The Common Good, which is “a growing alliance of diverse local groups to develop and implement a model of broad-based community organizing in the Yakima Valley”. The following discussion led us to a determination to focus on immigrant rights and protections in our County. We will be seeking opportunities to support organizations doing that work.
I also want to draw your attention to a February 14th letter from LWVUS to all the Senators and Representatives in Washington DC. It was signed by all 50 League state presidents and is a powerful call for action to protect the rule of law and the constitution.
Last but not least, we have scheduled our Annual Meeting for Tuesday, June 17, 4:30 PM, at the YWCA. Please save the date.
These are fraught times, and I encourage you to seek opportunities to Empower Voters and Defend Democracy, while also taking care of your own mental and emotional health.
In League
Criss Bardill, Interim President
