Monthly President's Letter

League of Women Voters^®
of Arlington

Nancy Tate's Remarks at 90th Birthday Celebration

As a national organization, the League of Women Voters was founded 90 years ago...on Valentine's Day in 1920, six months before the ratification of the 19th Amendment with a mission to provide the education the public needs to understand--and engage with--its government at all levels. It was built on the efforts of suffragists for 72 years.

In Virginia in 1909 a small group of women in Richmond began meeting about suffrage, and formed the Equal Suffrage League (ESL). By the time the 19th Amendment passed Congress in 1919, ESL boasted 32,000 members across the state. However, women didn't get to vote in Virginia until 1922 due to foot dragging by the Virginia state government. When the ESL disbanded and became the Virginia League of Women Voters, it became the first organization in the state to publicly question candidates for public office AND to formalize the holding of candidate meetings. All this + and many other fascinating facts about 100 years of ESL and VA League history is in a wonderfully written book + free for each of you from the VA state League. You can pick up a copy at the Annual Meeting on April 24th if you haven't already gotten one.

Today there are 800 Leagues in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. In the 1940s, the Virginia League was in bad shape with only the Richmond League. In 1944, with help from the national office staff, the Arlington-Alexandria League was formed. It was so successful that it split in 1946 so members could concentrate on issues in their own jurisdictions. And so here we are today--our 66th birthday!

The League is well-known for our voting and elections work, but not everyone realizes the breadth and depth of our work in this area. Our work+at all levels+includes not only voter outreach and education but also ongoing advocacy to remove barriers in the voting process.

As early as the 1920s, League members set up classes to train volunteer teachers for citizenship schools; initiated "Know Your Town" surveys, candidate questionnaires and meetings, and nationwide Get Out the Vote campaigns; and sponsored the first national radio broadcast of a candidate forum.

In 1976, the League sponsored the first televised presidential debates since 1960, earning an Emmy award. We hosted again in 1980, 1984 and a primary debate in 1992, eventually withdrawing as a sponsor of General Election debates in 1988.

We have run national voter education campaigns.

Launched two nonpartisan, national voter information and education Web sites VOTE411.org and DNet (DemocracyNet).

On the advocacy side, the League has fought for such key election-related legislation as the Voting Rights Act, the Motor Voter law, and the 2002 Help America Vote Act. And we have fought for DC Voting Rights since the 1960s.

Just as important as protecting and expanding the franchise is protecting the rights provided in the Constitution. Patrick Henry is quoted as saying "The preservation of our liberty requires constant vigilance." The League agrees.

In response to the communist witch hunt period of the early 50s, the League launched the Freedom Agenda, a two-year community education program focusing on the individual liberties guaranteed by the Constitution. In 1955 League President Percy Maxim Lee testified before Congress against Senator Joseph McCarthy's abuse of congressional investigative powers."I believe tolerance and respect for the opinions of others is being jeopardized by men and women whose ... minds are apparently unwilling to accept the necessity for dissent within a democracy." In the past decade, we lobbied in opposition to the reauthorization of sections of the PATRIOT Act.

The League has long understood that the operation of government + at all levels + is critical to the health of our democracy. In the 1930s, the League was one of the only organizations to consistently oppose the spoils system, launching a nationwide campaign in support of a merit-based system for selecting government personnel.

Here in Arlington in the 1950s League members were involved in the commissions that created the "master land use plan" which is now updated annually as the plan for our community.

In the 70s, the national League adopted a position on direct popular election of the President. Today the League is focused on reforms that will ensure a fair redistricting process and an open and responsive government. We will continue the long fight for true campaign finance reform AND for ethics and lobbying reform. We have had some great success in the last two years on structural improvements to the ethics systems in the Congress and the Executive Branch, but we are severely disappointed with the recent Supreme Court ruling that allows corporate financing of elections.

The League has never been afraid to enter into a public policy debate and advocate for the issues we believe in. We have been doing this since the 1920s, and we always approach it in a non-partisan way. In its very first decade, the League established itself in public policy advocacy, helping to pass legislation providing federal aid for maternal and child care programs (Sheppard Towner Act), and working on the enactment of the Social Security and Food and Drug Acts. In the 60s the League responded to the nation's unrest over civil rights and began to build a foundation of support for equal access to housing, education and employment.

In Arlington, the League played a big role in the desegregation of the public schools. Arlington League members were active in the citizens' committee to keep the public schools open when the Governor threatened to shut them rather than integrate. And they challenged other discriminatory laws. During this period many League members were told to always have enough money on them to "make bail" !

The League was involved in two education-related events last year, one of which celebrated the 50th anniversary of the integration of the first VA school and another which looked at the issue of inclusiveness in the schools today

Another big focus for Arlington + and the League nationally + has been environmental protection work. Efforts began in the 20s with the Tennessee Valley Authority. The League also built public support for the Clean Water Act and played a critical role in passage of the Clean Air Act; capping a 10-year legislative campaign that included sponsoring nationwide hearings. Today we continue to fight for major climate change reforms.

The League has been pushing for real health care reform since the 90s. We continue the fight, recently producing and airing TV and radio ads in key states, and greatly expanding our Facebook efforts to keep the pressure on our elected officials.

While we cannot fully know what other critical needs our nation will face in the next decade, I'm confident the League will continue this sort of trusted, nonpartisan advocacy work that is so greatly needed at this time in our country. There has always been work to do to help American democracy reach its promise, but the League has also recognized from the beginning that we live in an interconnected world. Sometimes we advocate, but more often we focus on education +of Americans and citizens around the world.

In the 40s, the League helped lead the effort to establish the United Nations and ensure U.S. participation, becoming one of the first organizations in the country officially recognized by the U.N. as an NGO, and we maintain official observer status today. Last month, 8 League leaders from across the country traveled to Copenhagen as official NGO delegates to the UN's Framework Convention on Climate Change.

As a well-known and well-respected grassroots organization, the League is consistently named in public polls as the most trusted source on matters of government reform.

It's also important that we be excited about and committed to the ways we in the Arlington League can make a real difference in our local community.

We continue our voter service work in every election + from registration to Voters Guides to co-sponsoring debates.

We are currently a partner of the US Census to help minimize the under-count of already underrepresented populations. In Arlington we serve on a subcommittee focusing on young people in the Metro corridor and on African Americans.

We are working on environmental issues, such as water in the DC region.

We are taking a look at suggested changes to the Arlington form of government.

We are proposing a study of School Board Advisory Committees.

All of these activities will need volunteers and I encourage all of you to get involved. And I encourage you to encourage your friends and family to join the League

Comments, suggestions, questions? Contact our webmaster. Last revised: July 20, 2010 06:32 PDT.