LWV-Wake Update 12/13/2021
|  | Dear ~~first_name~~,
Greetings from LWV-Wake. As 2021 comes to an end, we all share in the hope of a better 2022. Thanks to vaccinations (and boosters!), we should be able to add more in-person events and activities soon. There is much to be grateful for and look forward to as we begin to rekindle the friendships that enrich our lives and provide the strength to continue our work of Defending Democracy.
On behalf of LWV-Wake Board of Directors and Development Committee, I would like to give a big THANK YOU to all of our Giving Tuesday donors. Our goal to raise $4000 was a success as donations totaled $4035. In addition, we should receive a portion of matching funds from Meta (Facebook) in mid-January. If you were not able to participate and would still like to support the League, we always accept donations on our website and through Network for Good. Scroll down for a list of our 2021 Giving Tuesday Donors.
LWV-Wake influential in City of Raleigh Redistricting Process
LWV-Wake, along with our coalition partners, NC Counts and NCAA Together, have been advocating for improvements to the City of Raleigh redistricting process. As a result of our advocacy efforts, the Study Group responsible for redistricting/council terms & compensation has updated their listening tour list to include a hearing at the Green Road Community Center, an area most impacted by redistricting. In addition, redistricting information is now much easier to find on the City of Raleigh's website. There are three map options for consideration and it is important for citizens (and Leaguers) to participate. Scroll down for more details.
LWV-Wake and NAACP Raleigh/Apex Call for SB 326 Veto
Working with our friends at NAACP Raleigh/Apex, our joint Letter to the Editor was published on December 1st in the Voices column in N&O's Charlotte, Durham & Raleigh online and print editions. This greatly expanded our media reach in our call for Governor Cooper to veto SB 326. On December 2nd, Governor Cooper vetoed SB 326, 'The Election Day Integrity Act', and reiterated our concern that many votes would go uncounted under the new stricter ballot deadlines. We thank Governor Cooper for his action and share in the belief that instead of placing barriers on voting, we should make voting easier for the citizens of North Carolina. The LTE can be viewed here.
National Day of Racial Healing - January 18th
National Day of Racial Healing (NDORH), established in 2017, is an opportunity for people, organizations and communities across the country to join together to embrace racial healing and take collective action to create a more just and equitable world. It originated as part of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation’s national Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation (TRHT) efforts. TRHT is a process that strives to make us aware of conscious and unconscious beliefs in a hierarchy of human value that limits equal access to education, employment, equal housing opportunities and safe neighborhoods. In recognizing and challenging this belief system, we can shape a more equitable future. LWV-Wake will participate this year by providing materials and service project ideas that serve to educate and engage our community in efforts to achieve racial equity. More information will be made available on our website calendar soon. For more information about TRHT, visit the DEI page on our website. Please also follow LWV-Wake on social media as we highlight more information about TRHT.
LWV-Wake to begin 5-year Strategic Planning
As the League's 2017 strategic plan is due to expire in 2022, the LWV-Wake board recently approved a budget and created a process for updating the plan. Invitations to join the Strategic Planning Committee will be emailed next week and committee work will begin in February and continue through the end of May. Dianna Wynn, LWV-Wake's immediate past president, has graciously volunteered her time and expertise to facilitate the process. The committee will consist of 20 members, including board members and a mix of League current and future leaders. We are asking that committee members commit to attending 4 monthly day-long (11am-4pm) planning meetings from February through May. Meetings will be held at an offsite venue in Raleigh and lunches/snacks will be provided.
Volunteer Opportunities
The success of our organization depends on the collective efforts of our members. All areas of our organization need volunteers who can lend time, energy and talents (and you all have them!) to help us carry out our mission more effectively. Volunteering with the League can also be very rewarding. Want to learn new skills or learn more about an important topic that affects the health and well-being of North Carolinians? The League can help! Below are specific areas of need. However, if you're not sure how you want to be involved, please email us and we can help guide you in finding the perfect spot in which to share your experience and talents. Specific areas of need include:
Membership Committee
The Membership Committee is looking for additional members to help cultivate a welcoming environment for new members and keep established members engaged in League activities. We also enjoy creating opportunities for new members to meet seasoned leaders of the League.
The functions of the Committee include:
- Tabling at both organizational events (Timely Topics, Candidate Forums, Voter Registration events) and activities in the community (Women’s March, community fairs, farmer’s markets, etc.) with League information or occasionally providing the welcome at registration tables.
- Creating engagement opportunities through online and educational events (Renewals via Club Express, League 101, ordering personalized name badges, etc.).
- Planning events geared towards retention, such as new member potlucks, informal regional gatherings, etc. held in collaboration with the Social Committee and the Field Trip Committee.
- Community outreach by collaborating with other organizations and with local college students to create a more diverse membership.
- Creating content for Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn about the benefits of being a League member.
All of these functions and activities could benefit from new eyes and additional energy. There is no specific experience required, only the willingness to help! In addition, we are open to new ideas that promote membership and engagement in the League. Contact the current Co-Chairs, Judee Lonnee or Dale Cousins to chat about your interest.
Women's Equality Day
Do you like to plan parties and events? If so, the Women’s Equality Day Committee is in need of additional members to help plan our annual fundraising event held in August 2022. Some roles require basic computer skills; other roles require communicating with the caterer, speaker and others involved in the event, making follow-up calls to invited honorees and helping the day of the event. Monthly committee meetings will begin after the first of the year and continue until the event. Come join our other committee members for a fun time planning this special event. If interested, please send an email to WED Committee Chair, Candace Blackley.
Communications
The Communications Committee is looking for additional volunteers to add to the team. Those interested in learning our website platform or who enjoy creating social media content and/or editing are encouraged to share their talents with the League. This is a great opportunity to learn new skills and help increase the visibility of LWV-Wake. Membership in the League, while helpful, is not required. If interested, please contact Cheryl Tung or Jenny Kotora-Lynch. Members, please share this volunteer opportunity with anyone you think might be interested! |
- December 14th 3:00pm-4:30pm League Lit: Western Wake - Will discuss The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper. A New York Times Best Seller. From Amazon, "One of today’s most insightful and influential thinkers offers a powerful exploration of inequality and the lesson that generations of Americans have failed to learn: Racism has a cost for everyone - not just for people of color." Register here.
- January 20th 2:00pm-3:30pm Raleigh League Lit - Will discuss Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life by Barbara Kingsolver. From Amazon: "Author Barbara Kingsolver and her family abandoned the industrial-food pipeline to live a rural life—vowing that, for one year, they’d only buy food raised in their own neighborhood, grow it themselves, or learn to live without it. Part memoir, part journalistic investigation, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle is an enthralling narrative that will open your eyes in a hundred new ways to an old truth: You are what you eat". Register here.
|  | | State Redistricting Litigation Update
A lot has happened over the past two weeks with regards to redistricting litigation. Here's a recap:
NC NAACP vs. Berger - Filed by Southern Coalition for Social Justice on October 29th. Requests that the implementation of the maps be blocked, alleging the mapmakers failed to consider race, thereby reducing minority representation. Read more about the lawsuit here.
- November 30th: Judge Graham Shirley denied the request for declaratory judgment and injunction. He stated because the General Assembly has already adopted maps, the remedy is for a court to declare that the actual maps (as opposed to the process) are unconstitutional.
- December 7th: SCSJ appealed to the NC Supreme Court to expedite their challenge of the North Carolina legislature’s process for drawing state legislative and Congressional voting maps. In addition, a separate motion was filed by the Plaintiffs to recuse state Supreme Court Justice Phil Berger, Jr., the son of legislative defendant Senate Pro Tempore Phil Berger, which would disqualify him from hearing the case.
NC League of Conservation Voters et al. v. Hall - Filed on November 5th, builds upon the 2019 Harper vs. Lewis case and argues that new maps were drawn for partisan gain and violates several provisions of the North Carolina Constitution.
- December 3, 2021: A three-judge panel in Wake Superior Court (including Judge Shirley from the NC NAACP case above) denied the request for a preliminary injunction that would delay the primary from March.
- December 8th: The North Carolina Supreme Court suspended candidate filing for all offices for the 2022 primary election, including filing for rescheduled municipal contests, and any separate filing period in January for those contests. The Supreme Court also pushed the date of the primary and rescheduled municipal elections from March 8th to Tuesday, May 17, 2022. To view the court order, click here.
LWVNC Board Member Phyllis Demko provided an interesting NY Times article about this court decision that can viewed here.
|  | Local Redistricting
Wake County Board of Commissioners
The Wake County Board of Commissioners approved a new district map and voted to return to 4-year staggered terms following an expiration of a consent order that changed terms to 2 years for 2018 and 2020. You can read more here. LWV-Wake public comments can be found under 'Recent News' on our League's homepage.
City of Raleigh - UPDATES TO PUBLIC HEARINGS SCHEDULE
The Raleigh City Council is in the process of drawing new districts for the 2022 election. A Study Group is charged with researching the redistricting process (as well as Council terms and compensation) and making recommendations to the council. More info, including the three map options can be found on the City of Raleigh Redistricting webpage here.
After hearing comments from LWV-Wake, NC Counts and NCAA together on December 2nd, the Study Group on Redistricting/Terms & Compensation made adjustments to its public hearing schedule, adding a location impacted by redistricting. The Study Group needs to hear your comments! There are still 2 public comment opportunities:
DEC 15
6:00PM • WEDNESDAY
Public Listening Session: City Council Terms and Compensation
Green Road Community Center - New Location
JAN 5 - New Date
6:00PM • WEDNESDAY
Redistricting Listening Session: City Council Terms and Compensation
Abbotts Creek Community Center
Wake County Board of Education
The Wake County Board of Education began discussing redistricting at their work session on September 21. Attorney Adam Mitchell from Tharrington Smith, LLP, presented information on current district sizes, legal requirements, and potential redistricting criteria. Read Mr. Mitchell’s presentation here.
Please be sure to check out our Redistricting page on our website for up-to-date information on local redistricting.
|  | | Thank you to the following donors for supporting LWV-Wake during our Giving Tuesday Fundraising Campaign | | Peggy Birkemeier
Candace Blackley
Brittany M. Bryan
Pat Butler
Dale Cousins
Karen J. Brock Dyser
Karen Ferguson
Catherine Freeman
Jeri Gray
Susan Griffin
Robin M Hammond
Sherry Nyman Heuser
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| Judy Hoffman
Dana Jennings
Naomi Lambert
Marian Lewin
Judee Lonnee
Peggy Lyle
Jenny Kotora-Lynch
Bobbi Mullins
Betsy Munroe
Liz Herlocker Oliver
John Petura
Rebecca Poling |
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| Retta Riordan
MaryJane Selgrade
Nancy Shoemaker
Becky Showalter
Penny Simpson
Theresa Strader
Roberta Sweeney
Karen Taber
Cheryl Tung
Ouida Watson
Marlene Wilson
Dianna Wynn
Monica Yates |
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Wishing you all the joy of family and friends this holiday season and warm wishes for a safe and healthy New Year! Please note: There will be no League Update on December 27th. However, please continue to monitor the League website calendar for event additions and updates. The next update will be January 10th. Thank you for continuing to support the League of Women Voters of Wake County.
Sincerely,
Cheryl Tung
President | | The League of Women Voters of Wake County is a designated 501(c)3 nonprofit charitable organization by the IRS. Donations and membership dues are fully tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law. | |