February 2026
To access links in The Voter, members first must log in to the lwvtucson.org website. | In This Edition
- President's Message
- Looking Ahead
- Highlights From Last Month
- Honor and Support DEI
- Contact The Voter
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Our Mission:
Empowering Voters and
Defending Democracy
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 | | It’s February and LOVE is in the Air! At the LWVGT, we love our members, we love our volunteers, and we love empowering voters and defending democracy!
We LOVE our members. Please join us for a general member meeting Saturday Feb. 7th from 11:30am-1:30pm at the Catalina Methodist Church. Our speaker will be Daniel Jurkowitz of the Pima County Attorney’s Office with updates on election laws. We will share more about the upcoming LWVGT Annual Member Meeting, and highlight other activities. Light refreshments will be included. Register HERE.
We LOVE advocacy. February 25th is Legislative Lobby Day at the Arizona State Capitol from 8:00am to 3:00pm. This is a chance to visit your state legislator’s office and attend a luncheon to hear updates on the current legislative session. To attend this exclusive opportunity for LWV members only, please email presidentlwvtucson@gmail.com by February 6th. We will carpool, or if there is enough interest, arrange for group transportation.
We LOVE sharing our opinions with our elected officials. Request to Speak (RTS) is an online, real-time system that allows the public to register opinions on bills being heard in committee. You can:
• Indicate whether you are “for” or “against” the bill
• Write a brief comment explaining your position
• Register your willingness to speak (testify) during the committee hearing
We encourage you to use this powerful tool to make your voice heard at the legislature.
How do I get an RTS Account?
Complete the Request to Speak Form HERE, and a LWVAZ volunteer will register your account at the Capitol. They will create your account with a generic password. Once you receive an email from LWVAZ confirming your account has been set up, we advise you to change your password immediately. Please note that you cannot register for RTS online.
| We LOVE LWVUS advocating for communities. Leaders of LWVUS, The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), and Common Cause urge Congress to launch emergency investigations into ICE’s and CBP’s use of force following multiple shootings and to halt further funding until accountability and meaningful reform are achieved. Read more HERE.
A federal judge dismissed the US Department of Justice’s (DOJ) lawsuit against the State of California in United States v. Weber, in which the DOJ sought to compel the state to turn over its full, unredacted statewide voter registration list to the federal government. The dismissal comes after the League of Women Voters of California, represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU Foundation of Northern California, and the ACLU Foundation of Southern California, intervened on behalf of voters to defend voter privacy and the integrity of the democratic process. Read more HERE.
At the local, state and national level, we LOVE the work of the LWV. Thank you for your continued support and participation. We can’t do it without you!
LOVE,
Betsy
| | | The League of Women Voters was founded in 1920. We are 106 years old!
An excellent timeline of the LWV's history is available HERE.
If you don't know about the extraordinary life of LWV founder Carrie Chapman Catt, read about her HERE. | All Members Meeting
Saturday February 7, 2026
11:30am-1:30pm | Join us for an in-person meeting!
Socialize with LWVGT friends and meet new members.
Our general meeting will include information about the Issues and Eggs Breakfast Forum, the Tucson Festival of Books, the Annual Meeting, and much more. Our speaker is Daniel Jurkowitz, Assistant Chief Civil Deputy, Pima County Attorney’s Office, Civil Division.
Registration is required HERE.
Location:
Catalina Methodist Church
2700E Speedway Blvd
Tucson, AZ 85716 | Community Violence Prevention Committee
Tuesday, February 10, 2026
10:00am to 11:30am
Ward 2 Office, 7820 E. Broadway, Tucson | |
Presentation to the LWVGT Eastside Unit
The Community Violence Prevention Committee (CVPC) will share its accomplishments and insights with the Eastside Unit at the Ward 2 Office, 7820 E. Broadway.
The CVPC advocates in areas in which it can have a meaningful impact, and often the committee is quite successful. For example, CVPC raised money so the Tucson Police Department could have a hi-tech camera to aid in identifying bruising and strangulation marks on the bodies of people of color.
Other times the results require tenacity and optimism. LWVGT President Betsy Boggia, spoke before the Tucson City Council in support of funds for the Tucson Domestic Court to help offset lost funding for the Domestic Violence Firearms Technical Assistance Program (DVFTAP). CVPC committee members wore their distinctive purple CVPC t-shirts and held “Say Yes to DVFTAP” signs in support. The city agreed to fund the program through June. The program will be discussed during the budget process this spring.
All LWVGT members are invited. You don’t have to be an Eastside Unit member to attend. Guests are welcome. | Voter Services Committee
Understanding the 2026-2046 Regional Transportation Plan
Tuesday, February 10, 2026
12:00pm to 1:30pm | The Regional Transportation Plan (RTA) for Pima County is on the ballot for the March 10, 2026 election. John Bernal and Mike Ortega will present information about the plan.
This free, Zoom-only event is open to the public, but registration is required HERE.
A Zoom link will be provided in an email once registration is complete.
| Writing for Impact Workshop
Thursday, February 12, 2026
9:30am-11:30am | Join us!
Gain tools to advocate effectively for organizations and causes. Bring a pen and paper or laptop. There will be time to compose drafts and receive feedback.
This event is cosponsored by LWVGT and Our Saviour's Lutheran Church and open to the public.
Registration is required HERE. Registration is $5.00 at the door. All cash will be donated to Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona.
| Issues & Eggs Breakfast Forum
Friday, March 6, 2026
8:00am-10:30am
Registration is required.
| We expect this year's event will be even more successful than last year's!
To ensure attendance, purchase your table or individual tickets today.
Buy your tickets or your table HERE. | LWVGT members can purchase a table for 10 for $500. This discounted price is exclusively for LWVGT members. Consider sharing a table with a fellow League member and you can each extend invitations to fill the chairs.
Are you a LWVGT member buying a table of 10?
- Purchase your table HERE.
- Once you know who your guests are, email a list of the table sponsor(s) and the guests' names with their email addresses to Chris Geymer, chris.geymer@gmail.com.
- Table guest lists will be accepted until March 4th, 7:30 am, 48 hours before the event.
| Nominating Committee
Opportunities for Leadership! | As an all-volunteer organization, LWVGT relies on members to fill leadership positions. Your expertise, your passion, your energy, and your dedication to our mission is needed. It's not too late to engage!
The Nominating Committee of the LWVGT is preparing a slate of candidates to stand for election at the Annual Meeting in April 2026. Unless otherwise noted, positions are held for two years. Candidates must be a LWVGT member in good standing. You can read more about the open positions in the LWVGT ByLaws HERE.
Here are the open positions:
- President-Elect (one year)
- Voter Services (Co-Chairs are possible)
- Advocacy (Co-Chairs are possible)
- Treasurer
- Secretary
- Elected Director
- Nominating Committee Chair, and two non-Board members (one year)
Please direct any questions or potential nominees to the Nominating Committee Chair, Shelley E. dakota_ske@yahoo.com
| Environmental Issues Committee
| 1. Use the blue bins. City of Tucson customers can put bottles and containers (including clam-shell boxes) numbered 1, 2 and 5 in the bins. Read more HERE or check with your private waste provider.
2. Don’t put unapproved plastics or other materials in your blue bins. The City of Tucson pays a penalty fee for bins contaminated with unacceptable items, and that is a bad use of tax dollars.
3. Use the Hefty ReNew orange bags for single-use plastic items (i.e. Styrofoam, pouches, plastic bags, straws, plastic film) that can’t go into the commercial recycling stream. Much of that single-use plastic is accepted in the ReNew program managed by the City of Tucson. To participate, you must buy special Hefty ReNew orange bags (check for availability HERE). Full orange bags can then be taken to one of four pick-up locations in Tucson. Details, including what you can put in the bags and where to take them are listed HERE. The orange bag program lets you divert much more of your plastic waste from the trash stream.
These are not the ultimate solutions but they are a start. The best thing would be for manufacturers to stop making and using un-recyclable plastics, instead of making us responsible for managing the materials. But in the meantime, the Orange Bag program will help you wrangle your plastic waste more effectively. Read more at https://lwvtucson.org/environmental
All LWVGT members and visitors are welcome to attend meetings of the Environmental Issues Committee. The committee meets remotely via Zoom on the 3rd Tuesday of the month at 1:00 p.m., September through April.
Interested in helping plan programs and learning more? Contact us at
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DEI Committee
Field Trip
November 14, 2025
| On November 12th, Maggie Rush Miller, Executive Director of The Drawing Studio, spoke to the DEI Committee about the importance of an art practice that, particularly in these challenging times, is "a safe place to express and process one's experiences, feelings and points of view." The following Friday, Ms. Maggie invited the DEI Committee to experience The Drawing Studio. Trayce Dunbar instructed us in a Blind Contour Drawing project. You can learn more about The Drawing Studio HERE.
In the past two years, the DEI committee has visited or attended the following:
2025
January stand-in for Tour: National Day of Racial Healing Event
February stand-in for Tour: UA Art Museum and talk with artist Hank Willis Thomas.
March: BorderLinks educational talk plus lunch.
April: Black History in Tucson, Part 2 at YWCA
October: Pima County Teen Court
November: The Drawing Studio, Tucson
2024
January: I Am You 360, Tiny House Project.
February: Tohono O’Odham Cultural Center and Museum
March: The Dunbar Pavilion
April: The Tucson Jewish Museum and Holocaust Center
May: The African American Museum of Southern Arizona
September: The Tucson Chinese Cultural Center
October: The African American Museum Tea and Fashion Show
November stand-in for tour: LWVGT Thanksgiving Celebration
December stand-in for tour: LWVGT Holiday Party
Interested in helping plan programs and learning more? Contact us at dei@lwvtucson.com.
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DEI Committee
National Day of Racial Healing (NDRH)
Saturday, January 17, 2026
| Tucson Spotlight published a wonderful article detailing the event HERE. | The 4th annual National Day of Racial Healing community program took place on January 17th at the YWCA of Southern Arizona. A diverse group of 140 community members participated in Circle Dialogues to educate, discuss, and celebrate our common humanity with a goal to inspire collective action and create a more just and equitable world. We thank Donna Prescott for starting this LWVGT tradition.
Victor Bowleg from the Dr. Laura Banks Center for Gender and Racial Equity at the YWCA provided introductions. Bruce Donahue of the Tohono O’odham Nation and from Voices of Change gave the blessing. Dr. Cheree Meeks, President of NAACP Tucson, introduced a video by Dr. Gail Christopher, the driving force behind the Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation on behalf of the Kellogg Foundation. You can read more about that HERE.We thank the following:
- Dr. Johnny Chavez, director of Voices of Change, who facilitated the program for the Circle Dialogues.
- Dr. DaMond Holt and Tom Cortese, who highlighted the impact and importance of Fresh Start International.
- Andi Hammonds and Kairand Bellinger for creating space for youth at the program.
- Our 15-member Program Committee, comprised of representation from five cultures in Tucson.
Interested in joining and helping plan programs like this? Contact us at dei@lwvtucson.com.
*Photo courtesy of the Office of Congresswoman Adelita Grijalva. |
LWVGT Member Honored!
League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC)
January 31, 2026
| LWVGT's very own Janice Crist was one of LULAC's honorees at their Mujer...Ayer, Hoy y Manana (Women...Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow) event.
Janice, we also appreciate your dedicated work for our community. Congratulations! |
A few local resources
African American Museum of Southern Arizona HERE
Pima County Public Library HERE
Websites to check out
Arizona PBS schedule for 2026 HERE.
AZPM schedule for 2026 HERE.
The Dunbar Pavilion, Tucson, AZ HERE.
Black History Month at the Smithsonian HERE
National Museum of African-American History & Culture 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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