October 2025
To access links in The Voter, members first must log in to the lwvtucson.org website. | In This Edition:
- Advocacy
- Voter Services
- Fundraising
- Observer Corps
- Community Violence Prevention
- DEI
- Volunteering Opportunities
- Honor and Support DEI
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Not yet a member? Join our League!
When you join the League, you will be a member at all levels - local, state, and national.
Dues are a sliding scale, with a recommended rate of $75 per person.
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You can help support the League of Women Voters of Greater Tucson.
Our Mission: Empowering Voters.
Defending Democracy.
| | | | Thanks to all our volunteers who continue to engage in ways big and small to move our work forward.
Once again, September was a jam-packed month full of activities, events and outreach. Please be sure to visit our website and calendar regularly so you don’t miss out. I especially want to recognize the Public Programs Committee for organizing Dr. Paul Schuler's September 18th presentation 'The State of Democracy in the Era of Populist Nationalism.' While times are dark, he shared some good news. Our elections should hold and help dig us out of the democratic backsliding we are experiencing. The League's work is vital to this effort. LWVGT members can find the recording in the Video Library 2025 by first logging in, then using the Members tab.
In October, we invite you to participate in the Unite and Rise campaign, which is an ambitious national effort to educate and register 8.5 million voters ahead of the 2026 election.
As part of this campaign, LWVGT is having a contest! LWVGT members and the public are encouraged to test their knowledge with our Democracy Bingo card and enter a drawing for prizes. Please stop by the office to pick up a batch of Bingo cards to share. You'll find more information on the contest and will be able to download cards with the Democracy Bingo link. | This month Tucson residents will receive ballots for the November 4th election. The ballot will include Tucson City Council candidates for Wards 3, 5, and 6 as well as Prop 417 (Plan Tucson 2025). If you have questions or want to share more information with your friends and family, visit our Ready Set Vote website.
Fostering civic engagement, challenging authority, and elevating marginalized groups are vital ways the arts have played an important role in protecting democracy over the centuries. I am excited by Democracy's Urgent Call, an effort to compile a national poetry anthology featuring 100 poems by LWV members. The deadline for submissions is October 15th with a planned release date of June 2026. You can learn more about Democracy's Urgent Call on our website and submit your poems HERE.
Building community is vital to nurturing our democracy and overcoming our differences. I encourage members to continue to schedule meetings and events in our office as you are able to, and to look for ways in which we can all come together, in person, regularly.
Thank you all for your continued support and efforts to empower voters and defend democracy.
Betsy
| | | Advocacy Committee
Monday, October 6, 2025
6:00pm-7:00pm
Zoom
Calling all members! | Annual LWVGT Public Policy Positions Review
Did you know?
Currently, LWVGT has eight policy positions, which were adopted by membership after careful study. To read the complete text for each one open the Google document HERE.
1. Affordable Housing and Transportation
2. Community Planning – Affordable Housing
3. Charter Schools
4. Comprehensive Planning and Zoning
5. Consolidated Government
6. Education Finance
7. Water Resources
8. Air Quality and Climate Change
Why are these policy positions important to you?
Positions are central to our mission of informing the public and improving government on the national, state, and local level. Positions serve as a vehicle for the League to provide its viewpoint on key issues to elected officials, the media, and the public. Perhaps most importantly, LWVGT Advocacy Committee acts on issues according to our national, state, and local positions.
How can you help?
Every year at our Annual Meeting, which is held in April, the membership of LWVGT votes to reaffirm our support for these eight policy positions. However, we need members to review and discuss them. If you are a new member, this is an excellent opportunity to learn more about our advocacy.
If you’re curious about the process and if you can help review and discuss these policy positions, please attend the Advocacy meeting on Monday October 6th. Log in to LWVGT and click on Calendar to register and find the zoom link. LWVGT members will be on hand at the meeting to answer questions and decide next steps, including plans for subsequent meetings.
| Voter Services Committee
Saturday, October 11th
Public Event
11:00am-12:00pm | Fundraising Committee
Founders Day Luncheon
Friday October 31, 2025
12:00pm-2:00pm
There's still time to register! | Join LWVGT members to celebrate the founding of LWVGT at a special lunch set for Friday, October 31, 2025. Please register by October 10 by logging in to LWVGT click on News & Events, and then Calendar. You can register and will see the location and directions to the luncheon.
We need a minimum of 30 members (maximum 40) to register. To honor our founders, please wear WHITE!
Did you know?
Carrie Chapman Catt founded the League of Women Voters on February 14, 1920, during the National American Woman Suffrage Association’s convention in Chicago, IL, just six months before ratification of the 19th Amendment. From the beginning, the League was an activist, grassroots organization whose leaders encouraged women to educate themselves and use their new power – the right to vote – to shape public policy. The National Women's History Museum provides an overview of Catt's fascinating history HERE.
Work began to form the League of Women Voters of Greater Tucson (LWVGT) in mid-May, 1941 and was officially established on October 27, 1941. The group of thirty-four women founders included Mary Jeffries Bruce, Helen Congdon D’Autremont, Ora DeConcini, Georgie Scott Forbes, Margaret Knight, Kathryn Maxwell, Ada McCormick, Margaret Sanger, and Grace Sternberg.
The League’s founders believed that nonpartisanship would protect the fledgling organization from becoming mired in party politics. “Naturally, this course has failed to please extremists of either brand,” noted the League’s first president, Maud Wood Park. This holds true even today. Today’s League – operating in all states – includes both men and women as members and continues this rich heritage of making our democracy work through education and advocacy.
| League members and the public can find the most recent reports on the LWVGT home page. Click on Our Work, then Observer Corps-Reports.
Observer Corps volunteers observe the meetings of local public governing bodies and then submit a brief report which is shared on the LWVGT website. The objective is to ensure transparency in government and keep League members, and the public, informed about the issues and actions of local government that impact our lives.
What does it mean to join?
Observer Corps volunteers do not speak at public meetings unless requesting clarification, and they are not spokespersons for the League. The time commitment is about 4-6 hours per month. It's up to you whether to attend meetings in person, attend remotely, or view a recording. There is one form to fill out and it will be uploaded for you.
Do you regularly attend or view recordings of a public governing body of interest to LWVGT and our policy positions? If not, now is a great time to start. If you have questions about volunteering for this vital service, contact us.
| Community Violence Prevention Committee
The LWVGT Gun Violence Prevention Committee Has a New Name!
| At their September meeting, the LWVGT Board approved our team's requested name change from the Gun Violence Prevention Committee to the Community Violence Prevention Committee. The team had previously discussed this name change due to a growing movement in America today to address gun violence not as a single issue but as part of an uptick of violence in our society. Community violence can disrupt community cohesion, deter economic development in many areas, and strain our public services.
Through this committee and the excellent working relationships being formed with law enforcement, judges, and other professional groups, LWVGT is playing a supportive role in this endeavor. By broadening our focus, we will be creating an even bigger tent for our committee, which we hope may appeal to even more LWVGT members.
We would like to extend an invitation to all LWVGT members to sit in on a meeting or two just to get a feel for how we operate. Team members put in as much time as they feel they can and some attend just to offer their ideas. In spite of our committee's focus, we are a fun group and celebrate every bit of progress we make. We meet over Zoom from 12:00pm-2:00pm every 2nd and 4th Tuesday (excluding holiday weeks). Check the LWVGT calendar HERE (members must be logged in).
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Looking for ways to get involved?
| Check out volunteering opportunities HERE
League members must be logged in for access. | | | How You Can Make an Impact
and Support
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) |
Honor and Support DEI by Exploring
Hispanic Heritage Month
September 15th-October 15th
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Websites with information and resources.
Did you know? Hispanic Heritage Month was established in 1968 by President Lyndon Johnson and takes place from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15 each year. Sept. 15 is the anniversary of independence for many Latin American countries, with others celebrating their independence on the 16th and 18th.
Pima County Public Library Nuestra Misión HERE
10 Great TED Talks by Hispanic and Latinx speakers for Hispanic Heritage Month HERE
Celebrating Hispanic and Latinx Heritage Month (Pima Community College) HERE
Hispanic Heritage Month Resources (Smithsonian Institute) HERE
| We want to hear from you!
All committees and members are encouraged to submit articles and information to be published in The Voter. Send articles via the links below, and note the 20th of the month is the deadline for all issues. However, exceptions can be made if your event happens late in the month. The editor may reach out to Committee Chairs requesting summaries for events that occur late in the month.
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