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| The Nashville Voter
Volume 77, No 4
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| Welcome to this issue of the LWVN Voter. You'll notice that the Emma page design allows you to access the LWVN Calendar by pressing a button at the top of the page!
Please note, you can increase your screen size within your personal information manager (i.e., Microsoft Outlook). In the Microsoft Outlook Message Bar at the top of the e-mail page, choose "Other Actions'' and then in the dropdown menu choose "Zoom." The Zoom window allows you to increase the file size; try 140% for easier onscreen reading.
Also, please note that if you want to share/forward this newsletter to others, you MUST click on the envelope icon at the upper right side of this emailed version.
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Due to unforseeable circumstances, the May Hot Topic has been postponed to June. Join us in June as we hear from Joseph Clark of the Oasis Center on the state of Tennessee’s children and youth. Joseph is the Director of the Just Us program at Oasis which is focused on LGBTQ+ youth support. The Oasis Center provides support and services to families and youth as they navigate the challenges of life in America. Be on the lookout for next month's Voter for the link.
Wednesday, May 15 at 1-2pm via Zoom. The League of Women Voters of Williamson County will have Steven Adelson of Civic Tennessee as their guest speaker for their May program. Steven’s enthusiastic, well-informed strategies and successful approaches are specifically designed for individual TN counties. He will share his strategy for Williamson County in particular and will share with us how to promote and maximize voter engagement in upcoming August and November elections. Register at the John P. Holt Brentwood Library calendar website.
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President's Message
This has been a busy and often disheartening legislative session. I want to thank everyone that called, emailed, and showed up. Stopping the voucher bill was a great victory! Across the state, citizens called and talked to legislators about the problems with the voucher bill and how it would negatively affect students and local school districts. It’s important to recognize some of our wins. One of the great legacies of the League of Women Voters is our persistence when working towards our goal of defending democracy. We continue to do that year after year during the legislative sessions along with many of our partners across the state.
In the next couple weeks, you will receive more information about the annual meeting that will occur in June. Along with details about the meeting, you will also receive quite a bit of information about the budget, the new slate of officers, and updates to the bylaws. At the national level, the LWV is changing the way that dues will be collected. This new process will go into effect in January 2025. In advance of the changes, the board is making some changes to our dues structure to make this transition easier on all of us. Ultimately, this will be a good change, but with change comes some uncertainty. We will use time at the annual meeting to discuss the new dues structure, and for those of you that cannot attend, we will provide regular communication through email, social media, and personally as needed. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to me at lwebbteacher@gmail.com.
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Voter Services
By Kathryn Anderson and Kalen Russell
The Voter Services Committee held voter registration events at two high schools this month: Pearl Cohn on March 7 and 8 (Jim Thomas, Tricia Huffman, Elise Lamar, and Kathy Anderson volunteered), and Harpeth Hall on March 21 (Ophelia Paine, Carole Kenner, Arleen Tuchman, and Kathy Anderson volunteered). They registered almost all eligible students in three classes at Pearl Cohn. They also registered 77 students at Harpeth Hall.
On March 27, Kathy Anderson participated on a panel at Vanderbilt University for Vandy Votes; the focus of our discussion was reproductive rights in Tennessee. The other member of the panel was Tabitha Robinson, a lawyer with the Women’s Political Collaborative of TN. They are going to plan ways they can work together to promote voting this year.
On April 7, Kathy, Kalen, Sue Johnson, and three Vanderbilt undergraduates offered voter registration to persons attending a Health Fair at the Riverside Church in Davidson County. They only registered one person because almost every eligible voter in attendance was already registered!
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Volunteer Opportunity: LWVN Focus Group for High Schoolers
The Voter Services Committee have put together a focus group of teens from several high schools. They met with them via Zoom to learn about the issues that matter most to them, how they use social media to get informed about these issues, and where our organization can meet with students to talk about voting in the summer.
If you know of any high schoolers interested in participating in our virtual focus groups, please encourage them to sign up here: bit.ly/LWVNFocusGroup. Students participating in the focus group will also receive one free year of membership with the League of Women Voters.
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April Hot Topic: Air Pollution Control in Nashville, TennesseeBy Karen Wieckert
April Hot Topics was a lively session with John Finke, the Director of Air Pollution Control in the Metro Public Health Department. He provided an excellent and detailed background to issues of air quality and compliance in Metro. Although Metro has an excellent track record with our air, our increasing developments put pressure on how much particulate matter and other regulated substances are released into the air. Finke suggested the most essential focus is before the development happens, and that a focus on zoning may be the best avenue for ensuring our air quality continues to be excellent.
May Hot Topic Postponed to June
By Melissa Hanson
Due to unforseeable circumstances, the May Topic has been cancelled. Our speaker has been rescheduled to Friday, June 7th. Join us in June as we hear from Joseph Clark of the Oasis Center on the state of Tennessee’s children and youth. The Oasis Center provides support and services to families and youth as they navigate the challenges of life in America. Joseph is the Director of the Just Us program at Oasis which is focused on LGBTQ+ youth support.
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Healthcare/Public Health
By Constance Caldwell and Clare Sullivan
The Healthcare/Public Health committee has continued to work with the LWVTN Advocacy Committee on key state legislation dealing with reproductive justice, improved access to health care services, and gun safety—three issues our committee has prioritized during this legislative session. We have been educating ourselves about the many organizations working collaboratively on these issues as well. Our members continue to attend the Metro Board of Health meetings, and plan to also monitor meetings of the Metro General Hospital Board and the Healthy Nashville Leadership Council.
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Environment
By Russanne Buchi-Fotre and Jack McFadden
On April 1st, Nashville had our first Food Waste Summit. There was lots of good information shared there with 6 presenters, 23 attendees and over 70 webinar attendees. Some of the basic facts shared were:
● 35-40% of food is wasted
● 12% of Nashvillians are food insecure
● Food waste in landfills is a significant source of methane emissions
● 50% of Metro’s landfill waste could be composted
● Metro has gone from collecting 20,000 lbs. in 2018 to 140,000 lbs. in 2023/a curbside composting pilot was begun in 2023 with 46 tons collected in 21 weeks.
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Metro Council
By Pat McCauley and Karen Hernan
Neighbor 2 Neighbor (N2N) is a non-profit that was organized in 1997. Its purpose is to help residents and neighborhood organizations succeed. Types of organizations that it helps are: Neighborhood Associations, Crime Watch Programs, and Community Gardens.
N2N organizes: Neighborhood Leadership Forums, publishes various white papers and reports, a Planning and Zoning School which is free to all Nashville residents, an Emerging Neighborhood Leaders Academy, help developing grants. The organization also hosts an annual conference, which Pat McCauley and Karen Hernan attended).
Here's what they learned:
- If you send an email to your councilperson using Nashville.gov, the vice mayor is automatically a plus one on the email.
- If you have a charge or citation dismissed, you still need to get it expunged from the records. It is not automatic. There are expungement clinics.
- And last, but not least, if you are not at the table, you’re on the menu.
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Education
By Patricia Brock and Harper-Grace Niedermeyer
The Education Committee has focused their efforts on the bill regarding arming classroom teachers. Dr. Patricia Brock spoke with many of her colleagues about their concerns with the bill. Additionally, the committee also tracked the voucher bill. Dr. Brock continues to track discussion and proposals around the use of public school money for private school education.
Further Reading
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Williamson County
By Bette Holmes and Linda Sherman
Remember the Girl Scout motto “Be prepared”? Should you wish to spend an energizing and informative hour with someone who is expert at preparing for elections, you are invited to join the Zoom LWVWC program on Wednesday, May 15 from 1-2 p.m. Guest Steven Adelson of Civic Tennessee will present “Envisioning a Healthy Democracy for Williamson County.”
Steven’s enthusiastic, well-informed strategies and successful approaches are specifically designed for individual TN counties. He will share his strategy for Williamson County in particular and will share with us how to promote and maximize voter engagement in upcoming August and November elections. “Be prepared” for a worthwhile hour with Mr. Adelson by registering at the John P. Holt Brentwood Library calendar website.
On March 23, 2024, the LWVUS Board of Directors approved the application for local League recognition for the LWV of Williamson County (LWVWmCoTN). Although we are officially separated from the Nashville League, we have agreed to maintain a strong connection with them and will continue to share information regarding meetings, webinars, etc.
Our League Officers and Board Members for 2024 are:
League Officers (2024)
President, June Bond
Vice President, Linda Sherman
Secretary, Angie Becker
Treasurer, Dorinda Smith
Board of Directors:
Kathy Armistead
Rose Ballard
Wanda Bruce Graham
Peg McCree
Cynthia Mercante
Ethel Detch (Senior Advisor)
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| Stay Informed about Upcoming Calendar Events!
If you get the electronic version of the Voter, we want you to know that the upcoming calendar events are available on our wonderful, new website – www.lwvnashville.org. On The calendar scrolls on the events of the current and upcoming events thanks to Tracy Depp, who keeps the calendar current. If you haven’t taken a look, do so to make sure you mark your calendar so you won’t miss a thing!
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ATTENTION: The Nashville Voter is a digital publication. If you have received this copy of the Voter in the mail, it means the League of Women Voters of Nashville does not have an e-mail address for you. Please help us by sending your e-mail address to LWVNash@gmail.com. Being on the LWVN e-mail database ensures your receipt of all LWVN newsletters, event invitations, meeting announcements, and Call to Action alerts.
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| 2023-2024 LWVN Board of Directors
Co-Presidents: Lara Webb
1st Vice Presidents: Melissa Hanson and Karen Weickert
Secretary: Elise Lamar
Treasurer Susan Mattson
Portfolio Chairs
Communications: Ophelia Doe
Community Connections: Sabina Mohyuddin
Education: Harper-Grace Niedermeyer and Patricia Brock
Environment: Russanne Buchi-Fotre and Jack McFadden
Health Care/Public Health: Constance Caldwell and Clare Sullivan
Membership: Reba Holmes
Metro Government: Pat McCauley and Karen Hernan
Voter Services: Kathryn Anderson and Kalen Russell
Williamson County Representative: June Bond
Nominating Committee Chair: Senator Brenda Gilmore
Nominating Committee Members: Betsy Walkup, Constance Caldwell, Hasina Mohyuddin, June Bond, and Brenda Wynn
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