Local leaders address State of Communities

Photo by Cecile Schubert

Mayor Connie Lawson met with LWV and the public Jan. 22 to summarize the status of projects in Richmond. Download our February newsletter to read what she said as well as reports from Mayor Steve Connelly and Madison County Judge Executive Kent Clark.

LWV to join KFTC lobbying efforts in Frankfort

February 10 RESTORATION OF VOTING RIGHTS LOBBY DAY

. Kentucky is one of just 2 states that take voting rights away from all former felons and this impacts 186,000 Kentuckians, weakening our democracy and our justice system. We'll have a rally and will form lobby groups early in the day, including a mix of experienced lobbyists and first-time lobbyists to talk to their representatives and senators.

Schedule for the day:

- 8am-9am Annex Room 171 - Elections and Constitutional Amendments Committee. HB 170 might be heard on this day. If it hasn't been heard yet, it is still valuable to have members in the room to make an impression on committee members.

9am-2pm, basing out of Annex Room 113 - We'll form lobby teams, orient people, and assign legislative targets. This will be our base of operations throughout the day.

10am-11am Annex Room 131 - Press Conference/Speak-out (continued lobbying)
- 1:45pm - 2:05pm - Last chance to talk to legislators as they walk to their respective chambers.
- 2pm-3pm - Debrief in room 131.


FEB. 17 I LOVE MOUNTAINS DAY
11 a.m. Gather at the Kentucky River where Capitol Ave crosses the River and intersects with Route 60.

11:30 a.m. Begin March to Capitol (the route is .6 miles and mostly flat.)

12 p.m. Rally on the Capitol Steps

1-3 p.m. Lunch in the cafeteria in the basement of the Capitol Annex, followed by efforts to see our own legislators.

1:15-2:15 p.m.: Optional orientation in Capitol Annex Room 113 for people who plan to visit their own legislators.

2:30-3:15 p.m.: We have reserved Room 113 of the Capitol Annex for residents of Madison County to meet with their legislators.

1:30-2:15 p.m.: We have reserved Room 154 of the Capitol Annex for residents of Fayette County to meet with their legislators.

2:30-3:15 p.m.: We have reserved Room 154 of the Capitol Annex for residents of Jefferson County to meet with their legislators. 


3-4p.m. We will all gather outside the visitor’s entrance to the Capitol Annex in order to be visible as legislators head to their afternoon session in the Capitol.



Feb. 23 meeting to revive Observer Corps

Plan to attend and bring a friend to the next LWV member meeting when we work to revive the LWV Observer Corps. The meeting starts at 7 p.m. Monday, Feb. 23 in the Community Room of the Madison County Public Library in Berea. Bad weather in December led us to move the meeting to February.

Board members Jeanne Hibberd and Howard Bowden are organizing the training session with help from long-time LWV members and observers, Joan Peoples and Betty Wray.

LWV hopes to make use of its Web site and televised meetings to make the task of observing and reporting on local government more convenient. Observers will be able to write up their reports and place them on the newest “blog” on our Web site: LWV Observer Reports.

Through the revival of the Observer Corps, LWV hopes to expand citizens’ awareness of the decisions that impact their lives and to promote government transparency and accountability.

But a successful program requires citizen power. With a large enough group, we can share the task.

The informational session Feb. 23 will provide an orientation to observing local government, including how to get meeting agendas in advance and how business is handled in pubic meetings. It will also provide tips on reporting on local government for our Web site. For an example of an Observer Report, see Joan People’s report on the Nov. 12 Fiscal Court meeting.
We need your help and feedback. What agencies should we monitor? It depends on interest from our old and new members.