January 2005

November Meeting Review Kelly Fincher

A panel presented an eye-opening discussion on drug abuse in Denton County. Juvenile Judge Darlene Whitten, Melanie Barry from Communities in Schools, and Anne Scaggs, substance abuse counselor covering both high schools of nearly 4400 students, presented one of many shocking statistics on a growing dilemma: 65% of high schoolers are using or abusing drugs or alcohol.  Public awareness and parent education are imperative.  Demand for intervention exceeds supply.

PRESIDENT’S PIECE Sue Smith

Thanks to all who made our December meeting such a success: Jill Martin for inviting us to her home, Marilyn Smith for organizing car pools and Peg La Point who led us through our current local program, proposed new program topics and a discussion of the upcoming bond election for the City of Denton, which we agreed to support. Be sure to invite anyone interested in health care to our next meeting, Jan. 31. (See details in this VOTER.) Please note in your handbook that Carol Soph is no longer a member.

Women's Legislative Days (WLD) will be in Austin, February 7 which is a Monday. WLD is a general
invitation to come to Austin, learn about issues at workshops and lobbying techniques, and then go to the Capitol to see their legislators about different issues.
I will bring brochures with the exact schedule to the Jan. meeting. Topics for the Monday workshops include women's health issues, Texas water, Texas politics, education reform and school finance, Let the Sun Shine and criminal justice system reform.

League Lobby Day is Tuesday, February 8 and all Leagues and League members are encouraged to come. This is an opportunity for members from across the state to join together and show League presence at the capitol. It’s an excellent opportunity for new members to learn about League positions and League advocacy. League Lobby Day gives us the chance to be "hands on", to inform our legislators about the priorities and what the League wants them to accomplish this session.

Last October, I spoke to the Junior Honor Society at McMath Middle School about the importance of voting with emphasis on the importance of LWV-Denton. I really did not know if anything I said made an impact on them until their sponsor brought me an envelope full of thank you notes from many of the students. One said her grandmother had taken her to a League dinner and all plan to vote as soon as they are eligible. I was very impressed with their comments and have a renewed admiration for the younger generation.

JANUARY MEETING: ADVOCACY
FOR HEALTH SERVICES Maggie Dodd

The Denton County Federation of Families was awarded a $65,000 grant from the Texas Council for Developmental Disabilities to develop an advocacy training program. In keeping with our position statements regarding mental and physical health, the Denton League supports this project which offers training in advocacy to area families, persons with disabilities, and professionals. As a result of the training, participants will be able to present more effectively to legislators their interests for adequate funding and advances in mental health. Participants will identify legislative priorities and create action strategies for the 79th legislative session.

Denton does not have a network across local organizations to communicate effectively its needs and concerns with policy makers and legislators. The Denton County Federation of Families has developed a network among families of children with behavioral, emotional, and/or mental disorders. The Advocacy Training Project will expand that network to a broader slice of our community. Join us for a discussion at our general meeting on January 31 on how this issue affects our community. Our featured speaker will be Claudette Fette, of the Denton County Federation of Families.

WOMEN’S LEGISLATIVE DAYS
FEBRUARY 7 AND 8
AUSTIN

It isn’t easy to be a good responsible citizen these days, is it? First, finding information about today’s governmental problems isn’t easy. Whom are you to believe? TV, newspapers, magazines? And when you do gather enough information to satisfy yourself, what can you do about it? Yours is just one vote and there are so many special interest groups with money to spend. Whom do you call? How much power can one vote have? And there are so many problems. How do you prioritize them?

One answer is LWV-TX Lobby Day! League members will gather together, discuss problems that need tackled and work out a group strategy. We combine wisdom from past experience and share ideas for new approaches.

Seasoned League lobbyists will give hands-on assistance and guidance to members who are having their first experience in lobbying the Legislature. By combining each member’s influence, League makes a difference. You have heard that 40 calls to a legislator can be a ground swell. Together, LWV-TX members will get results.

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed it is the only thing that ever has.” -Margaret Mead

Questions? Contact the state office: 512/472-1100 or lwvtexas@lwvtexas.org

ELECTION DAY EXPERIENCE SURVEY RESULTS from LWV-US

The LWV-US League’s online survey allowed members and the general public to easily share their Election Day experience. This was not a scientific survey, but here are the results: Nearly 5,000 people participated – 55% members and 43% non-members. While nearly 75% rated their own Election Day experience as very good, a significant number also indicated a lower confidence level in the voting process in general, and nearly a third experienced long lines at the polls.

In the 2004 election, a staggering $1.6 billion was spent on advertising, primarily on television spots -- yet another reminder of how skyrocketing campaign costs drive out potential candidates and further elevate the importance of political fundraising. Working with the Alliance for Better Campaigns, the League continues its leadership role in the "Our Democracy, Our Airwaves" campaign, a nationwide public education effort to revitalize competition in our democratic process by ensuring that the public airwaves serve as a forum for open and vibrant political debate, especially among candidates. The League is helping to mobilize support for proposals that ensure that broadcasters air at least a minimum amount of candidate- and issue-focused coverage in the weeks before elections and make the airwaves accessible to more candidates.

WHAT DO I GET FOR MY $45?

Recently a new member of the Denton League asked what she could expect for her membership dues. Sondra Ferstl, community relations vice president and a former member of the State Board, agreed to try to reply to the question. This article is her response.

Consider your membership dues in the League of Women Voters of Denton an investment, one benefiting you personally and also supporting the work of the organization. Benefits you receive for your dues (currently $45 for an individual member covering the period from September 1, 2004 through August 31, 2005) come from local, state, and national levels of the League of Women Voters.

From the Denton League a member receives notification of approximately ten meetings each year providing the opportunity to learn more about public policy issues. One of the highlights of the year so far has been a panel of experts on the impact of drugs in our community, particularly with our young people and by extension, their families and community members. What a revelation to discover how overwhelming the problem is right here in Denton and how county and school officials, counselors, teachers, and school board members try to address it! Other Denton League meetings involve members in identifying issues in local government for future study and action. Ten issues of the Denton VOTER keep members abreast of League issues and provide background on topics to be discussed at the meetings. Other publications distributed to members include one or two editions of Your Elected Officials and a local Voters Guide to primary and general elections.

Benefits a member receives from the state level of the organization (the League of Women Voters of Texas) are both tangible and intangible. Every member receives a copy of the Texas VOTER, a quarterly publication, that follows state public policy issues. In legislative years, such as 2005, the state League tracks certain bills with interest, supporting some prospective legislation or opposing certain others with oral or written testimony. LWV-Texas makes available to members upon request an electronic version of the Legislative Newsletter, issued weekly during the session. The state League also provides training and counsel to local Leagues. Last summer your local board received training from Suzybelle Gosslee (also LWV-Dallas president); expenses for this training were covered, in part, by member dues supporting the LWV-Texas budget. The state League also sponsors workshops and conferences, including activities associated with Legislative Day in Austin in February of odd-numbered years.

More remote, but still a contact with the local member, is our national board and our national office, the League of Women Voters of the United States. This arm of the organization reports on federal public policy issues of interest to the League, often through its publication the National VOTER (published three times a year). Print and electronic materials on Election 2004 or how to pick a candidate, for example, are written at the national level and made available at a reasonable cost to local Leagues. Some of these publications are distributed to local members at meetings or placed in our community public libraries. Part of your membership dues supports the work of the organization at the state and national levels.

NEW CIVICS RESOURCE FOR AREA SCHOOLS

LWV-US Executive Director Nancy Tate is on the advisory board of The Campaign for the Civic Mission of Schools, which has launched a new web site, http://civicmissionofschools.org, that offers a wealth of resources about civic education. The site also has an interactive feature that serves as a bulletin board to post information about meetings and events on civic education in communities nationwide.

North Texas Student Voices is an offshoot of the campaign which partnered with KERA and involved the participation of classes from 20 North Texas area high schools. KERA’s Educational Resource Center provides educational resources and services to more than 300,000 North Texas-area students in partnership with a consortium of school districts across North Texas. The educational staff at KERA is thrilled to be a part of the Student Voices project for the 2004-2005 school year. KERA’s Manager of Educational Media and Services, Danny Henley, will direct this local civics education outreach effort. (214-740-9274) The primary goal of the Student Voices Project is to encourage the active civic and political engagement of students by focusing on the study of local issues and how they are addressed in the community. It is intended to increase students’ knowledge and understanding of political processes and institutions, as well as their ability to find information and make use of it to participate in the public sphere.

Experienced civic learning advocates would be happy to serve as guest speakers for public events and group meetings across the country.

For more information or to request a speaker, please call 202-530-3260 or email cms@civicmissionofschools.org.