By Katherine Murphy, LWV of Kittitas County 

Registration is open for the latest Cultivating Civic Conversations: About the State of Our Democracy seminar group. This free 10-week series, being held Thursdays Jan. 6–March 10, 2022, will have both morning (11 a.m.) and evening sessions (5 p.m.) to accommodate different schedules.  

The meetings offer participants an opportunity to step back and use a “beginner’s mind” when discussing civic education and engagement. If we want to encourage our friends, co-workers, and family to participate in our democracy, then sometimes we need a fresh approach—one that makes fewer assumptions about what “everyone knows” about our history and government. 

The seminar uses the LWVWA’s elementary civics textbook, The State We’re In: Washington, as the anchoring framework. The book is available online for free or in hard copy (ordering information will be included in the registration materials). The course creator and facilitator, Katherine Murphy, adds content from diverse sources to expand each week’s discussion.  

Each week’s assignment includes up to 25 pages of text to read and a podcast to listen to (there is usually a transcript) as well as reflection questions to consider. The Zoom sessions are one hour and include additional content as well as discussion. The Sutra Spaces discussion platform is used to manage and keep all the group materials in one place.  

Participants in the previous Cultivating Civic Conversations have said: 

• "This excellent class opened my mind and my heart to new ways of learning and thinking about our country's history and acting to address injustice." 

• "I am astounded at how much I learned and the resolve I now have to make a positive difference." 

Katherine Murphy (LWV of Kittitas County) and Wende Sanderson (LWV of Skagit County) developed the Cultivating Civic Conversations (CCC) program to meet the need expressed by community and League members who want “to learn how everything works in government.” Since that is a tall order, we decided to use a seminar format and tackle one theme at a time because we believe that it is easier to learn, grow, and thrive within a community of learners. Research shows that long-term civic engagement is built on personal one-on-one connections, and we focus on this approach. 

We've built a structure that tries to answer part of the larger question, "How do we learn how to have transformative conversations about what it means to be human and, as humans, to constructively participate in our civic affairs?" We hope that Cultivating Civic Conversations: About the State of Our Democracy will help you to: 

• Discover new voices, historical context, viewpoints, and resources. 

• Reflect upon and reframe your place in your community. 

• Encourage and expand your capacity for civic engagement. 

• Nurture humor, insight, joy, and perspective. 

For more information and to register for the free seminar, visit the CCC webpage on Sutra.  

If you have questions or want to be added to the mailing list for future sessions, email Katherine. 

By Kate Lunceford, Program of Work Leader, and Joan Smith, LWVSC Natural Resources Committee, LWV of Snohomish County 

As a response to the climate crisis, the LWV of Snohomish County launched a program of work to protect and enhance the urban tree canopy in Snohomish County. Our Tree Campaign includes calling on our county officials to craft and deliver good government, helping the public understand the function of tree canopy, and seeking partnerships to share the responsibilities of urban forest stewardship. We are lobbying the Snohomish County Council to adopt a new urban tree policy into the County Comprehensive Plan Update. We are educating the public with several YouTube videos, including two lectures scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 9 and Tuesday 16. These Evergreen Tuesday Evenings feature leaders from the state and county agencies. We are partnering with the Delta Neighborhood in the city of Everett to plant trees on private property, using a grant from the Henry M. Jackson Foundation to purchase trees. 

Environmental journalist Julie Titone of the Everett Daily Herald gave a boost to our efforts with a three-part series on the importance of the urban tree canopy. Titone “looks at how climate change threatens our urban trees and highlights their value in helping us cope with it.” Part two of the series, “League of Women Voters Has a New Mission: Defend Urban Trees,” featured the League’s work. (Julie Titone’s stories are supported by the Herald’sEnvironmental and Climate Reporting Fund. Please consider contributing to this essential reporting at HeraldNet.com/climatedonate. 

The urgency to protect trees has taken a back seat to development in Snohomish County. No regulation in the county building code effectively protects trees and habitat in the unincorporated urban growth area. Significant trees are sacrificed! Permits with required planting are issued but without oversight. The goal for the environment espoused by the Puget Sound Regional Council Vision 2050 says, “The region cares for the natural environment by protecting and restoring natural systems, conserving habitat, improving water quality, and reducing air pollutants. The health of all residents and the economy is connected to the health of the environment. Planning at all levels considers the impacts of land use, development, and transportation on the ecosystem.” The details of Vision 2050 live in county code.  

For more information, contact the LWV of Snohomish County at info@lwvsnoho.org.

By Cynthia Stewart, Transportation Issue Chair, LWVWA Lobby Team  

Climate change is upon us. And we have a need for more affordable housing, which means greater density in our urban areas. We also have an aging population. Transportation is the greatest single contributor to climate change. Our transportation system is congested. What will help all of these things is a massive increase in transit service. 

Some of the solutions to climate change do not address these other problems. For example, a proliferation of electric vehicles—even with subsidies to make them somewhat more affordable—will not alleviate congestion and will require large additional investments in new infrastructure. 

Right now, people don’t use transit in many areas because the service levels are insufficient. We can’t get where we need to go conveniently or quickly, so people say, “why bother?”. But if we had big investments in transit and service levels were adequate, many more people would leave their cars and use the bus. 

A robust transit system is cheaper for us all than our current transportation system. Busses and support facilities cost far less than new roads. And data indicates that the average car owner spends $10,000 annually on payments, maintenance, insurance, and fuel to own and operate a car. Riding the bus would save thousands of dollars per year for most people. 

So, for the benefit of the climate, for people who are aging out of being able to drive, for people who can’t afford to operate a car, and to reduce congestion, please advocate for the state to make new, massive investments in transit.  

Please visit the It Takes Transportation website to take action by writing a message to your legislators and then sharing it with others on social media.  

Taking Action on Voting Rights 

On Wednesdays Nov. 10 and 17, the LWVUS will again take action to demand that President Biden protect the freedom of millions to vote. On Nov. 10, civil and voting rights activists, religious leaders, and League members will make their voices heard in Lafayette Park in Washington, D.C. Help the League take action, check for event updates, and review previous events on the LWVUS website. 

(Congress)women Power Democracy 

The LWVUS hosted a panel discussion among four women in Congress to discuss the challenges facing the U.S. democracy. Representatives from all parties were invited to participate. Panelists included the following congresswomen:  

• Terri Sewell 

• Jackie Speier 

• Lauren Underwood

• Nikema Williams 

You can watch the discussion, which covered redistricting, mis- and disinformation, voting rights legislation, and more.  

The LWVUS at the Glasgow Climate Conference 

The LWVUS is attending the United Nations Climate Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland, which is going on through Nov. 12, 2021. Eleven local league members are excited to be representing the League. On Nov. 5, the League is co-sponsoring an event with McGill University and Human Rights Watch, entitled “Disability-Inclusive Climate Action: Challenges, Opportunities & Pathways.” The event will review the challenges, opportunities, and pathways for promoting disability-inclusive climate action at the international, national, and local levels and the role of disability rights in making climate mitigation and adaptation policies more effective, accessible, and equitable. This event is the first in the 30-year history of COP to focus on disability issues considering climate change. Look for daily updates via Twitter @LWV_UN_Climate and on the League’s Google groups: LWV Climate Change and LWVUS-UN. 

At the LWVWA 2021Convention, the delegates approved a change to the bylaws creating staggered terms for the LWVWA Board of Directors. This change affects when we elect specific positions to the Board. At the LWVWA 2022 Council, we will elect the offices of 1st vice president, treasurer, and four director positions. At the LWVWA 2023 Convention, we will elect the president, 2nd vice president, secretary, three director positions, and three Nominating Committee members. In the past, all positions were elected at the LWVWA Convention. Moving forward, the Nominating Committee will ask for nominations and applications every year for positions on the Board.  

The current Nominating Committee has begun the process of seeking nominations and applications for the LWVWA 2022 Council.  We are seeking nominations for both a vacant director’s seat that is appointed to serve until the 2022 Council 2022 and for the 2022 Council slate. 

We want to hear from our membership and supporters! Do you know someone who would make a great LWVWA Board member? Let us know! 

We are looking for individuals who are: 

• Dedicated to the League’s mission, “Empowering Voters. Defending Democracy.” 

• Committed to the LWVWA’s strategic plan, our nonpartisan policy, our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, advocacy, voter services, civic education, and communications. The position serves on both the LWV of Washington Education Fund (c3) and LWV of Washington (c4) Boards. 

We encourage individuals with varying work and volunteer experiences to apply. Those with experience in government, business, philanthropy, nonprofit work, or volunteer organizations should apply. We seek individuals who are creative and hard-working.  

If this sounds like you, or if you would like to know more, contact the Nominating Committee. If you know someone you would recommend, let us know by filling out the Candidate Suggestion form. 

If you want to approach projects or challenges in 2022 more creatively, join Katherine Murphy for Cultivating Civic Conversations–Creatively! Tuesdays, Nov. 9–Dec. 21, at 3 or 6 p.m. PT. This seven-week Zoom class offers multiple frameworks that you can adapt to harness your natural creativity in the coming year. CCC Creatively! uses John Cleese’s book Creativity: A Short and Cheerful Guide as one framework and Dewitt Jones’s Everyday Creativity workshop as another. In CCC, Katherine will share what she calls the FISH framework—Flexibility, Intention, Structure, and Hospitality—that she uses to design CCC courses as a way to create curriculum that fosters building learning communities. 
 
Each one-hour Zoom session includes music, videos, and discussions sparked from the book, workshop, assigned podcasts, and optional film recommendations; Katherine will use examples from fantasy films to add whimsey and laughter to our discussions.  Participants can join either the 3 or 6 p.m. sessions (you can switch as your schedule dictates) and will have access to each other's content using the Sutra Discussion platform. To view the full schedule and register: https://sutra.co/circle/qmgucf. Registration closes on Nov. 9. For more information, contact Katherine at kbmurphy@lwvwa.org or (360) 921-0819 or check out the Facebook page. 

It has been another year of milestones for the LWV of Washington. This month, members will be mailed a short version of the LWVWA 2021 Annual report, which combines information from both the LWVWA and the LWVWA Education Fund. The report letter will also come with an appeal for funds to help build on the work so many League’s volunteers are doing. For more details about the year see the full annual report on the LWVWA website. 

In June of this year, the LWV of Washington submitted an amicus curiae brief in Aji P., et al. v. State of Washington, et al. (“youth climate case”) before the Washington Supreme Court. In early October, the Court declined to hear the case. The League was also denied review of this ruling in the case. You can read both the LWVWA amicus curiae brief and the motion for leave to file brief. 

The League argued that youth are currently experiencing adverse health, safety, and economic impacts from increased greenhouse gasses in Washington. These impacts—including increased temperatures, droughts, wildfires, violent storms, and heat waves as well as rising sea levels, changes in precipitation patterns, and other adverse health risks—are occurring in real-time and will continue to affect current and future generations. Because most of them are minors, the youth are unable to vote and therefore protect their fundamental rights through the political process. The youth also lack economic power, since many are too young to own property or earn wages, putting them at yet another disadvantage because the cost of responding to climate impacts and influencing the energy system is extremely high. Thus, the youth’s only form of redress is through the judiciary, which has the responsibility to protect individuals’ fundamental rights. 

Chief Justice Steven González, in his dissent, wrote:  

The League of Women Voters of Washington (League) argues eloquently that we should not close the courthouse doors especially where the actions of the government “infringe[] upon the fundamental rights of individuals who cannot yet vote.” Amicus Curiae Br. of the League Amicus Br. at 1. As the League properly notes, it is the “judiciary’s duty to safeguard the individual rights enshrined in the constitution,” and “[g]iven the urgency of climate change and the disproportionate harms children will suffer from it, [this] Court must act now to safeguard the Youth’s constitutional rights.” Id. at 10. 

The League will continue to work in many ways to address climate change. 

Interested in what’s happening at the legislature this year? Attend the League’s Action Workshop for both a review of the 2021 session and highlights about the upcoming 2022 legislative session. The workshop, sponsored by the LWVWA Lobby Team, will be virtual, Saturday, Dec. 4, 9:30 a.m.–3:30 p.m. There is no cost to participants, but a donation is appreciated. You can register on the LWVWA website.  

The League has hosted these sessions for the past few years to both prepare members for the upcoming legislative session and to identify issues and legislation we could impact. We will hear from representatives from both political parties about issues they expect to see brought forward. There will be an opportunity to discuss a number of issues in more depth via breakout groups.  

You’ll meet members of the Lobby Team and learn how you can be involved in lobbying activities. Finally, an optional session will provide you with tools and techniques for both participating in lobbying activities and following bills from introduction to passage. It’s exciting! 

You can see a more detailed description of the workshop here.