All-Members Newsletter - September 2023

All-Members Newsletter - September 19, 2023

Yesterday (September 19) was National Voter Registration Day! We don’t need to remind you to take 30 seconds to register to vote or check your registration status at oregonvotes.gov. But maybe some outreach tools would be helpful? Find all the content you need to spread the #NationalVoterRegistrationDay news in the NVRD Vote Ready Social Hub. Click through the tabs near the middle of the page for Voter Registration Reminder Graphics, #VoteReady Memes, Infographics, and more.

Co-President’s Message

Dear Members and Friends,

Please pardon the scheduling hiccup as we resume with first-of-the-month news, adapting to sharing Co-Presidency. We will highlight more committee and local League news features. Please let us know what you appreciate reading and want to hear more about! Suggestions can be sent to lwvor@lwvor.org.

Here’s to pulling together to accomplish so much more! Lisa Bentson and Rebecca Gladstone, LWVOR Co-Presidents

Upcoming Events

Fall Workshop 2023

This 2024 Election Season League Voter Service Event is open to League members and the public for in-person or virtual hybrid participation. Invite your friends and family for a great lineup!

On the agenda:

League In Action/Outreach Circle Presentation (LWVUS is funding this expensive voter and community outreach tool, so FREE to us!)
Download the app to your desktop computer and phone to start learning and using the call to action and other features for member communication.
Keynote Speaker: Elections Director Molly Woon
Oregon Student Mock Election (OSME) LWVOR Coordinator: Mimi Alkire on Spring 2024 Primary Election school involvement in local League community activities and Civics Learning Project collaboration. Email mockelection@lwvor.org if you can help update your local area school contacts to get ready for Spring 2024 OSME!
Youth Council: Overview, DEIJ Resources and Social Media Strategies for local League Young Voter Outreach plus Social Media workshop schedule for later October. Meet the Youth Council. Looking to book a LWVOR Youth Council Member at a meeting or event? Book a speaker here.
Plus special guest speakers and a boxed lunch.

Promo available - bring your friends!

We are offering a promotional ticket rate for League members and their non-League guests! Bring a friend who is not a current League member and your tickets will be $20 each. Please email lwvor@lwvor.org with the name and contact email of your non-League member. You need to email for the code prior to your ticket purchase, then use the registration code we email you when purchasing your tickets. Promo codes are limited to two tickets at $20 each with a member purchasing the tickets for both individuals.

More Upcoming LWVOR Events

Legislative Process Day 2023 Registration open soon Nov 07, 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM Hybrid Event 250 Winter St NE, Salem, OR 97301

Youth Voter Summit Registration open soon Jan 19, 2024, 10:00 AM Hybrid Event 250 Winter St NE, Salem, OR 97301

Local League Events

Local League events coming up in the next few weeks. Have events to add? Please send them to us at lwvor@lwvor.org:

⭐LWV of Coos County September Voter Registration Stations

Wednesday, September 20 - Coos Bay Visitor Center, 50 Central Ave., Coos Bay
Friday, September 22 - Bandon Farmer's Market, Farm & Sea, 250 1st St. SW, Bandon
Saturday, September 23 - Myrtle Point Harvest Festival, Downtown Myrtle Point

⭐LWV of Deschutes County DEIJ Discussion Group: Do the Work

Tuesday, September 26, 7:00 PM until 8:00 PM, Zoom

⭐LWV of Marion and Polk Counties Fall Membership Get-Together

Saturday, September 23, 10 a.m. - noon - Willamette Mission State Park. Coffee, tea & finger food will be provided. Please RSVP to Amy Vandegrift, 503-364-0492, vandebloom@gmail.com

⭐LWV of Lane County Annual Fall Luncheon

Thursday, October 19, 12:00 pm – 2:00 pm - The Shedd Institute, Eugene Oregon 97401

⭐LWV of Portland Programs/Events – Free and Open to the Public

September 19, via Zoom, Portland is Changing! Charter Implementation Successes and Challenges
October 11, 2023, via Zoom, panel discussion on progress in creating a Community Board for Police Accountability

⭐LWV of Umpqua Valley A Year of Education Events

Tuesday, September 19 – Jared Cordon, Superintendent of Roseburg Public Schools, will speak about the state of our schools, a vision for the future, and how our community can support the best for our students.
Tuesday, October 17 – Sarah McGregor, the Feeding Umpqua Program Manager at UCAN, will teach us about efforts to alleviate hunger in our communities and how we can help.
Tuesday, November 14 – Thomas McGregor, Executive Director of Phoenix Charter School, will inspire us with “2031: Let’s Define the Future for East Roseburg”. Phoenix turns 50 in 2031. How can we help dream, develop, and actively create what the community wants Phoenix to be on its 50th birthday?

Register for Member Section

The new LWVOR website features an improved Member’s Section including an exclusive Member’s Forum, where League members can engage in discussions on a variety of topics: Voter Service, Communications, DEIJ, Membership, and more. We’re adding new topics all the time, so please feel free to explore what is there and suggest new topics if you see a need.

👉Register to Access LWVOR.org Member’s Section

We welcome all current League members to join the forum and check it out! It is a great place to share ideas, links, resources, and anything you think your fellow League members will find useful. Please contact s.andrews@lwvor.org with any questions about getting started.

Volunteers Needed

LWVOR Board Opportunities

Voter Services Chair

Welcome our LWVOR Voter Service leads: Abigail Bok (Vote411), Marianne Germond (Voter’s Guides), and Peggy Bengry (State Ballot Measures).

LWVOR is still looking for a Voter Service Chair to represent this work as a liaison to the LWVOR board. With the reduction of work off the shoulders of the VS Chair into these other lead positions, the VS Chair will be able to activate, coordinate, and manage the various efforts to closure across Voter Services each year. Read the full position description here.

League Voter Services makes election information available to the public to encourage citizen participation in government. The Chair inspires Voter Service volunteers and dedicated professionals to produce clear, unbiased information for tens of thousands of Oregon voters. The VS Chair directly contributes to making democracy work.

Please contact us at nominating@lwvor.org or lwvor@lwvor.org if you are interested in the VS Chair role.

Advocacy Team Opportunities

Natural Resources

What is your passion related to Natural Resources? You can help. The 2023 legislative session is over, but 2024 is just around the corner. Natural Resource Agency Boards and Commissions meet regularly year-round and need monitoring. If any area of natural resources is of interest to you, please contact Peggy Lynch, Natural Resources Coordinator, at peggylynchor@gmail.com. Training will be offered.

Climate Emergency

Natural and Working lands, specifically Agriculture/ODA (Oregon Dept. of Agriculture)
Transportation, I-5 Bridge and ODOT state agency
Environment/Climate Related Lawsuits/Our Children’s Trust
Public Health Climate Adaptation (OHA, Oregon Health Authority)
Regional Solutions/Infrastructure (with NR team)
State Procurement Practices (DAS: Dept. of Admin. Services)
CE Portfolio State Agency and Commission Budgets
Oregon Treasury: ESG investing/Fossil Fuel divestment

Please contact us at lwvor@lwvor.org if you are interested in helping out in any of these areas.

Social Policy

Human rights
Immigration, Refugee & Asylum Seekers/Migrants
GLBTQ+
Basic Human Needs

Please contact us at lwvor@lwvor.org if you are interested in helping out in any of these areas.

DEIJ: Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Justice Toolkit for local Leagues

LWVOR Youth Council DEIJ Chair Deenie Bulyalert and LWVOR Youth Council DEIJ mentor Elizabeth Kirby have produced a DEIJ Toolkit for League members! This Toolkit is a collection of resources and tools to promote diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice in your organization and community. You can find it linked in the Knowledge Base in the Member's Section of the website.

Once you've clicked on the Toolkit link be sure to check out the READ ME document first to get a snapshot view of all of the enclosed folders.

If you're looking for a good place to start, feel free to check out pronouns.org, where you can learn about personal pronouns and why they matter.

Please reach out to Elizabeth at deij@lwvor.org if you have any questions!

Youth Outreach: Youth Civic Leadership Opportunities

Members of the LWVOR Youth Council attended the Convention in May. We believe the promotion of democracy relies on organizations with similar goals working together to share ideas and resources. Each month beginning October 1st we will share opportunities for young people across Oregon from LWVOR and other great organizations to increase intergenerational civic involvement in our communities. Please email youthoutreach@lwvor.org to contribute great ideas, requests, and to stay informed.

Oregon’s Electronic Portal Advisory Board (EPAB) News

A CYBER alert from Oregon’s Electronic Portal Advisory Board.

Do not give your personal information to anyone who calls you. They may spoof your caller ID as official government agencies or as our merchants, with their actual names and phone numbers showing on your phone.

State agencies are seeing increasing “authorization testing fraud” in the last few months, where bad actors call, claiming they are trying to verify stolen credit card information.

The defensive push now is to help various agencies understand and address needed measures. They explain that this is not a breach of state systems & data, per se. These people use other websites, passing data on to third party fraudsters or actually working on the fraud themselves. This is being seen not only by our state agencies and state portals but also by many merchants, now collaborating to mitigate these threats, and building higher walls to keep fraudsters out.

Did you know that LWVOR advocates are appointed to state groups? The League is represented in the EPAB (roster) and the DWAC, Drinking Water Advisory Committee (members). Our LWVOR Advocacy Team welcomes your help, meeting year-round, including for Cybersecurity and Privacy legislation.

In Memoriam: Alice Bartelt

We are deeply saddened by the loss of our dear colleague, Alice Bartelt, who has been President since May 2023 and long-standing Action Chair, trusted informally as Parliamentarian for the League of Women Voters of Oregon.

Lisa Bentson, our First Vice President, and Rebecca Gladstone, Second Vice President, are Acting Co-Presidents of the League of Women Voters of Oregon until a replacement is found. Please contact lwvor@lwvor.org with any questions or messages you would like to share.

A Celebration of Life for Alice Bartelt has been set for 4pm October 13.

Responses from members (More can be read on our website):

I knew Alice as a dedicated, knowledgeable, respectful, and generous League leader. She was committed to helping the Oregon League achieve its advocacy priorities. She also kindly shared her time and expertise to serve as a parliamentarian and a speaker for local Leagues as well as LWVOR. Her death is a sad loss for all of us who knew her and who benefited from her service to the League and to Oregon. -Margaret Noel

Alice was a model for many of us. She could be responsible to groups, keeping up with her political commitments, but also keep an individual life. She could be generous and kind, and also keep things in order with Robert’s Rules. One of the lights in the room we were blessed to know. -Jody Wiser

My deepest sympathies on losing Alice. She was a guiding light in our League as Chair of the LWVOR Action Committee and newly elected President. Her contributions and work ethic were an inspiration to us all. It was an honor to be a member under her leadership in the state Action Committee. She was a remarkable woman and her work will live on both in the League and in our hearts. My sincere condolences, she will be dearly missed. -Nancy Donovan, member of the LWVOR Action Committee, and Chair of the LWVPDX Education Committee