Mark your calendars for the League of Women Voters of Berea Madison County Annual Meeting!
Monday, April 20, 2009
6 PM
Berea College Seabury Center Trustees Room
Berea, KY
We'll have a delicious meal of mostly-local foods; a silent auction featuring prints by African-American historian and artist Margaret Burroughs; great company of League members and friends!
Our program speaker will be Dr. John Heyrman, Political Science professor at Berea College: "How We Elect the President," a review of the electoral college and national popular vote. This is a critical issue currently being addressed by LWV for which our input is needed.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Monday, March 16, 2009
Do we need to change how we elect the President?
Join the League of Women Voters of Berea and Madison County on Monday, March 23, for a primer on the electoral college and popular vote election processes and an important discussion on the merits of the national popular vote compact.
The member meeting will be held at 7 p.m. at the Richmond branch of the Madison County Public LIbrary at 507 W. Main St. All LWV members and the general public are encouraged to attend the presentation. Refreshments will be served.
Guest speaker is Dr. John Heyrman, a political science professor at Berea College who has studied the presidential election process.
Our chapter will use this discussion as a basis for our national consensus study on whether or not to support adopting an alternative process for presidential elections called the National Popular Vote Compact. The NPV compact is an initiative to elect the president by nationwide popular vote. It does not abolish the electoral college, but instead allows a state to award its electoral votes to the presidential candidate who receives the largest number of popular votes nationwide. For more information, see the LWV Web site under For Member/Projects and Programs.
The member meeting will be held at 7 p.m. at the Richmond branch of the Madison County Public LIbrary at 507 W. Main St. All LWV members and the general public are encouraged to attend the presentation. Refreshments will be served.
Guest speaker is Dr. John Heyrman, a political science professor at Berea College who has studied the presidential election process.
Our chapter will use this discussion as a basis for our national consensus study on whether or not to support adopting an alternative process for presidential elections called the National Popular Vote Compact. The NPV compact is an initiative to elect the president by nationwide popular vote. It does not abolish the electoral college, but instead allows a state to award its electoral votes to the presidential candidate who receives the largest number of popular votes nationwide. For more information, see the LWV Web site under For Member/Projects and Programs.
Wednesday, March 04, 2009
Revival of Observer Corps begins
LWV Observer Corps held its first “revival” meeting Feb. 23 in the Community Room of the Madison County Public Library in Berea.
Board members Jeanne Hibberd and Howard Bowden organized the training session. Long-time LWV members and observers Joan Peoples, Betty Wray and Elise Andre provided helpful examples of present and past day situations that observers might be exposed to and the positive influence the League was and is able to exert due to observers’ diligence.
The session also included topics on: local government; sunshine laws; what is the Observer Corps; who we observe; what are our goals; best practices; observer reports; role of Observer Coordinator; and resources.
Although the majority of attendees expressed an interest in becoming an Observer, we still need more volunteers. Our initial goal is to have a pair of observers available to attend each of the county and city governing bodies’ and planning commissions’ meetings.
There will be more specific training, in the near future, on the purpose and scope of the Madison County Fiscal Court, Berea City Council, Richmond City Commission, and all three Planning &/ Zoning Commissions, LWV positions, and convenient reporting procedures.
Members interested in expanding their and the communities awareness of the decisions that impact their lives and promoting government transparency and accountability are encouraged to contact the Observer Coordinator, Howard Bowden at (859) 624-5453 or Howbowden@aol.com .
A successful program requires citizen power. With a large enough group, we can share the task.
Board members Jeanne Hibberd and Howard Bowden organized the training session. Long-time LWV members and observers Joan Peoples, Betty Wray and Elise Andre provided helpful examples of present and past day situations that observers might be exposed to and the positive influence the League was and is able to exert due to observers’ diligence.
The session also included topics on: local government; sunshine laws; what is the Observer Corps; who we observe; what are our goals; best practices; observer reports; role of Observer Coordinator; and resources.
Although the majority of attendees expressed an interest in becoming an Observer, we still need more volunteers. Our initial goal is to have a pair of observers available to attend each of the county and city governing bodies’ and planning commissions’ meetings.
There will be more specific training, in the near future, on the purpose and scope of the Madison County Fiscal Court, Berea City Council, Richmond City Commission, and all three Planning &/ Zoning Commissions, LWV positions, and convenient reporting procedures.
Members interested in expanding their and the communities awareness of the decisions that impact their lives and promoting government transparency and accountability are encouraged to contact the Observer Coordinator, Howard Bowden at (859) 624-5453 or Howbowden@aol.com .
A successful program requires citizen power. With a large enough group, we can share the task.
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