Utica/Rome Voter Issue 71; January 2018 Newsletter of the League of Women Voters, Utica/Rome Metro Area P.O. Box 24 Washington Mills, NY 13479

Transcription

1 Utica/Rome Voter Issue 71; January 2018 Newsletter of the League of Women Voters, Utica/Rome Metro Area P.O. Box 24 Washington Mills, NY Officers st Vice-President 1stVice-President@lwvuticarome.org Mary Monaco 2 nd Vice-President 2ndVice-President@lwvuticarome.org Lorrie Wasielewski Treasurer Treasurer@lwvuticarome.org Nancy Agen Secretary Secretary@lwvuticarome.org Barbara Gibbs Directors: Directors@lwvuticarome.org Dianne DiMeo Carol Fitzgerald Donna Goodwin Shirley Hilts-Adams Lucretia Hunt Dawn Laguerre Karen McBride Elizabeth Pattengill Donna Rubin Sally Swierczek Nominating Committee NominatingCommittee@lwvuticarome.org Anne Popeo Marianne Buttenschon Sue Allen Action Alert Chair: Lillian (Trudy) Kennedy Historian/Archivist: Donna Loomis Rubin Publicity: Shirley Hilts-Adams Newsletter: Dianne DiMeo league@uticarome.org Look Inside for: Leadership Message p.2 LWV Meeting Design & Schedule p.2 Death with Dignity concurrence p.3` Voter Service Report p.4 Naturalization Ceremonies schedule p.5 Students Inside Albany p.5 Advertisers p.6-7 GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING Women s Issues in New York State DATE: Saturday, January 27, 2018 Note: change in date from original schedule WHERE: SPEAKER: Utica Center (formerly the Radisson) 200 Genesee St., Utica, NY Kelli Owens, Director of Women s Affairs for NYS Ms. Owens will be discussing issues impacting Women in New York State, including an update on the activities of the Council on Women & Girls. SCHEDULE: 9:30 Registration 10:00 Breakfast 10:30 Speaker s Presentation 11:30 LWV Business Meeting COST: $17/person (includes tax & gratuity) Payment can be made by cash or check To make reservations, contact Trudy Kennedy at or at Reservations@lwvuticarome.org by Monday January 22 NOTE: If you have made a reservation and cannot attend, please cancel by Wed, Nov 24 Attendees not having a meal may attend free of charge

2 As we begin 2018, let us pause for a moment and reflect with pride in all of our accomplishments within I would like to thank all the members of the Utica - Rome League of Women Voters for their continued interest and involvement during We have so much to look forward to in reaching our goals in the coming year. It will prove to be both challenging and exciting as we continue our journey. In addition to the issues that we continue to follow and advocate, may we all strive for continued strength to make our democracy stronger for the future. 1st Vice Pres. Mary Kelly-Monaco ******************************************************************************* FUTURE DESIGN OF GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETINGS In November/December 2017, a survey was sent out to all LWV Members to solicit feedback on location logistics of our General Membership meetings. Attendance has fallen over the past couple of years, and this was identified as a way to learn what members would suggest to improve participation. We had about a 60% response rate. A large percentage of respondents prefer having light refreshments at the meetings, in place of a full breakfast. As for location, the Oneida County History Center and the New Hartford Library were top contenders, though the Utica Library was not far behind. The board will research these options, including availability and settings that are conducive to our meetings. Thank you for your responses! Board Meetings New Hartford Library 10:10 - noon January 6, 2018 (changed to 1/13, due to weather) February 3, 2018 March 3, 2018 April 7, 2018 May 5, LWV Meeting Schedule General Membership Meetings Place To Be Announced in each newsletter January 27, 2018 March 24, 2018 (look for new location) May 19, 2018 (Annual Meeting) 2

3 Death with Dignity Concurrrence The LWV NYS State convention in 2017 approved a proposal to consider concurrence with the LWV of Utah s position on Death with Dignity. Local leagues are being asked to approve or reject this concurrence. A review will occur at our Jan 27 meeting. The concurrence reads as follows: New York State legislature is considering legislation to allow death with dignity, modeling it after laws in Oregon and other states. Currently 6 states and Washington DC have authorized the procedure. Among the provisions of the New York legislation are: Only a qualified terminally ill, mentally capable adult may obtain a prescription from their physician for medication they can self-administer Terminal illness and 6 month or fewer prognoses must be confirmed by 2 doctors If either doctor has concerns about the patient s capacity to make informed decision, they must make a referral to a mental health professional & medication can t be prescribed until capacity is determined Two people must witness the written request; one of whom can t be someone who stands to benefit from the estate. Life insurance payments can t be denied to families of those who use the law No physician or facility is required to participate; no patient can be coerced or forced to choose aid in dying. Unused medication must be disposed of according to Dept of Health guidelines More detail is located on our website: 3

4 VOTER SERVICE REPORT The voter Service Committee will have its 1 st meeting of the 2018 election season on TUESDAY, JAN 23 at the New Hartford Public 1:30 pm. Agenda: planning our voter registration drives, possible candidate forums, and related activities. All members are invited to participate Call (315) to RSVP, or just show up! League to Partner with Voter Registration Expansion Committee The Utica/Rome League of Women Voters is joining forces with the local Committee for Voter Registration Expansion, (CVRE), in an effort to register to vote underrepresented populations the missing voters -- in the Greater Utica Area. We will be attempting to locate and register citizens eligible but who have never been offered or taken the opportunity to register to vote. According to the Pew Center for Research in 2012, one out of every four eligible citizens, or 51 million people, were not registered to vote. The National Voter Registration Act of 1993, (NVRA), mandated that states offer voter registration opportunities at all offices that provide public assistance, and to state offices that primarily provide services to persons with disabilities. Since its inception, the NVRA, also known as the Motor-Voter Law, has brought about numerous voter registration expansion opportunities. Automatic voter registration through the NYS Department of Motor Vehicles system is one example. In an attempt to ensure election integrity, Section 8 of the NVRA requires the states to maintain accurate voter rolls. Accomplishing this necessitates numerous checkpoints and purging the rolls when warranted. On July 4, 2017, Governor Andrew Cuomo issued Executive Order #169 ordering state-funded agencies, who serve the public, to provide their clients the opportunity to register if they so desire, and to assure their completed forms are filed with the Board of Elections. Non-governmental agencies were not included in the mandate. Thus, the CVRE and the LWV will be approaching local agencies offering assistance in getting their clients registered to vote. Co-sponsoring voter registration drives with local nonprofit organizations whose clients and staff are eligible but not yet registered, has long been part of our League s outreach efforts. By mid-year, we hope to raise awareness about the importance of voter registration, and provide relevant materials and training to five local agencies. In the months afterward, we will continue to support the efforts of committed agencies so that voter registration becomes part of the services they routinely provide. An update on our progress will be provided at a future date. # 4

5 2018 Oneida County Sponsored (All Fridays) February 23 April 20 September 21 November Federal Sponsored (All Thursdays) January 25, 2018 April 19, 2018 June 14, 2018 August 16, 2018 September 27, 2018 December 6, 2018 Upcoming Naturalization Ceremonies 2017 NATURALIZATION CEREMONIES LOCATION Ceremony Begins at 10:30; ARRIVE by 9:30 am Oneida County Office Building, Utica Oneida County Office Building, Utica Oneida County Office Building, Utica MVCC Info technology Bldg Aud. LOCATION Ceremony Begins at 11:00; ARRIVE by 10:00 a.m. Ft. Stanwix, Rome, NY CONTACT KAREN MCBRIDE ( ; Voterservices@lwvuticarome.org ) IF ABLE TO HELP REPRESENT LWV DURING ANY OF THESE CEREMONIES ******************************************************************************************************** 17 th Annual Students Inside Albany Conference The League of Women Voters, Utica/Rome Metro Area is seeking nominations of high school sophomores, juniors and seniors from Oneida and Herkimer Counties for the 17 th annual Students Inside Albany conference. The conference, scheduled for May 20-23, 2018 in Albany, is sponsored by the League of Women Voters of New York State Education Foundation and is designed to increase students awareness of New York s governmental process. This interactive conference brings together high school students from across the state to learn about the process by which citizens can participate in the policy making arena, including tours of the Capital and opportunities to shadow their representatives in the Senate and Assembly. The conference will feature highly informative workshops, including: Media Perspectives on Public Policy Issues, How Does NYS Government Work? and Tips for Being a Successful Citizen Lobbyist For those students selected to represent Oneida/Herkimer Counties, all expenses are covered, including travel, overnight accommodations and meals during the conference. Applications are due by January 30, Information on the application process contact the League at youth@lwvuticarome.org. For more information, contact Dawn Laguerre at or her, laguerremedia@gmail.com. 5

6 Bus Trip to Albany April 14 Trip to New York State Museum and Archives to see the display of women s suffrage material from across the State LWV National Convention June 28- July 1, 2018 in Chicago, Illinois 6

7 7

8 Interested in becoming a member of Utica/Rome League of Women Voters? Visit our website ( or us at league@uticarome.org Membership dues are $60/member or $90 for household membership. Student memberships are available for $25 UTICA/ROME VOTER Utica/Rome Metro LWV P.O. Box 24 Washington Mills, New York

9 9