Committees

League of Women Voters^®
of the Hamptons

We volunteer to join committees that mirror our interests

Voter Services. Education. Membership. Natural Resources. Special Events. Government. Health. Affordable Housing.

Voter Services

Do you enjoy being at the heart of political events? Volunteers on this committee lead the membership in encouraging citizens to register, to vote and to participate in government and politics. Activities include sponsoring candidates meetings, debates and interviews; conducting voter registration drives; providing information about voting to the public; and getting out the vote on Election Day. Click here for more information about the Voter Services Committee
Committee Chair: Anne Marshall. Call 631) 537.3257 or e-mail: voterservices@hamptons.ny.lwvnet.org

Education

The Education Committee reaches out to young people, in and outside of school, to show them the pleasure as well as the importance of youthful participation in government. Our "Speaking to Students" program has brought every level of legislator into Southampton, East Hampton and Hampton Bays high schools.
On May 21 2009, the Education Committee, joined by League member volunteers, offered a workshop titled "Running and Winning." This program for female high school seniors brought them together them with female public officials. In 1992, Ms. Hunter was the first and is still the only woman of color to be elected to the Southampton Town Board. She was the first Native American to be appointed to the position of executive director of the Suffolk County Human Rights Commission.
The well-attended event was covered by local media The goal was to prepare them to consider public service in a leadership capacity.
This committee also presents http://vote18.org/, a program whose objective is to energize young Americans to be involved citizens by registering them to vote and encouraging them to exercise this right. In 2009, LWVNY recognized Judi Roth (LWV-Hamptons)and Judie Gorenstein (LWV-Huntington) with the Youth Voter Services award of excellence.
Committee Chair: Judi Roth. Phone (631) 283.0759 or Education@hamptons.ny.lwvnet.org

Membership

If you like to meet new people and welcome back friends, join the Membership Committee. It provides a presence at general meetings, debates and community and special events. This committee is also responsible for recruiting new members, and spreading the word about what the League stands for. At an annual new member's dinner, our newest members have the chance to meet committee chairs and members of the Board. Committee Chair: Arlene Makl (631) 324.8662 membership@hamptons.ny.lwvnet.org

Natural Resources

The Natural Resources Committee supports League positions on environmental issues at all levels, including state and national, while concentrating on specific local issues such as drinking water quality, particularly groundwater monitoring issues. The committee collects information on the monitoring of pesticides on golf courses and shares the information with town officials and homeowners.
At the LWVH "Greening of the South Fork: One Year Later" forum on October 5, 2009, LWV Natural Resources Committee member Glorian Berk introduced the panelists, who reported on greening accomplishments since the last forum in April 2008.
Participating were Suffolk County Legislator Jay Schneiderman; Southampton Village Mayor Mark Epley,(photo at right); Sagaponack Village Mayor Donald Louchheim; East Hampton Village Mayor Paul Rickenbach, Jr.; and Southampton Town Councilmember Nancy Graboski (photo at left).
Committee Chair: Sue Avedon: (631) 329.1830 or naturalresources@hamptons.ny.lwvnet.org

Special Events

Special Events committee does much more than plan fundraising activities. It also seeks to raise LWVH's visibility in our communities by providing a diverse range of enjoyable activities open to members and non- members. For example, our annual Autumn Luncheon and Fundraiser, held in Westhampton Beach (2009 photo at left), combines getting together with new and old friends, local officials and prospective members with the opportunity to have fun and raise money through a silent auction and Chinese auction. Past events have included a Garden Tour, a Member Luncheon & Chinese Auction, a House Tour, a Holiday Party & Silent Auction, a Trivia Challenge (2009 photo at right) and a Special Luncheon to honor elected women officials in Southampton and East Hampton Towns.

Committee Chair: Susan Wilson: (631) 283-6549 or specialevents@hamptons.ny.lwvnet.org

Government

The Government Committee addresses national, state and local issues being considered for legislative action. Recent examples: forums on the LWVNY study of consolidation, USA Patriot Act and advocating against the proposed Broadwater facility. This committee is also active in efforts to reform New York State Government. In 2009, a subcommittee researched alternative forms of town government, with a goal of bringing information about the Professional Town Manager model to the members and public. In a subsequent meeting, our league reached consensus in favor of advocating for East Hampton and Southampton to consider creating the position of professional manager.
At this time, an ad hoc committee is exploring opportunities to reform local government through consolidation of entities and/or shared services. The goal is to realize improved efficiencies, reduce redundancy and lower expenses for the resulting entities. Next steps will be to study materials provided by the state League of Women Voters (and other sources) and then share information with league members. In May, the committee will use consensus questions developed by the state league to hold a consensus meeting with regard to uniform standards for further study. You can follow progress through a succession of articles in The Voter, starting in January 2010.
Background Reading from LWVNY
The following material explains the origin and rationale for the 2009-2010 Consolidation Study Use this link for the third of three articles on consolidation
Link to Consolidation Study Justification on LWVNY website
Why Undertake the Study
Lundine Commission Report
Committee Chair: Naomi Epstein 324-9371 or government@hamptons.ny.lwvnet.org

Health

The Health Committee's aim is to give East Enders an opportunity to learn more about health care provided by our local hospitals and other health care providers. It works closely with the Suffolk County League to support state and national health care goals. Over the years, this committee has supported greater access to community health care services in the Hamptons, including funding for nurse practitioners and longer hours for the maternal child health program. Prior to 2008 Presidential Elections, the committee prepared a comparison of the health care reform plans offered by each candidate. You can see it here. In response to members at our 2009 program planning meeting, the Health Committee sponsored a public forum regarding health and human services offered by Suffolk County and the Towns of Southampton and East Hampton. Committee Chair: Judy Samuelson: (631) 267-3055 or health@hamptons.ny.lwvnet.org

Affordable Housing

This committee raised funding for, and created, a video titled Trouble in Paradise: the Affordable Housing Crisis on the South Fork You may view the video online if you have Apple's free Quick Time Player, and a high-speed connection to the Internet If you do not have Quick Time loaded on your PC, click here to download it. A pamphlet on this subject may be downloaded in Adobe Acrobat (PDF) format or viewed on a Web page

Comments, suggestions, questions? Contact our webmaster. Last revised: March 16, 2010 16:54 PDT.