Action and Advocacy

League of Women Voters^®
of the Hamptons

A genuinely grassroots organization.

Advocates for action. Action Alert. Priorities

Action Alert. Action and Advocacy. 2010 Priorities. Issues We've Studied.

Action Alert

Action Alert on Congress' Health Care Legislation
Contact your representatives now. Don't let the most important health care reform in a generation die from inaction. Read this bulletin from LWVUS

Action and Advocacy

We sponsor community meetings and debates. Once our league reaches consensus on a position,we lobby our politicians to support that position.

Democracy in purest form: how LWVH decides action priorities
The national and state leagues have many positions. LWVH cannot actively advocate on all of them each year. Instead, we annually choose which issues to make our local league's priorities. Local members' opinions and ideas are considered before voting -- democracy in its purest form. At the same time, we communicate our opinions of which issues we would like state and national Leagues of Women Voters to focus on.
Consensus process determines issues to support
As a grassroots organization, we base our advocacy on positions adopted through a consensus process. Members decide to study an issue, form a committee to explore it and then reach consensus on a position. We adopt positions on the national, state, county and local levels. Topics of recent consensus meetings include immigration, support for the National Popular Vote initiative and the council-manager model of town government.

How local priorities are implemented
At our annual Program meeting, areas the LWVH will pursue are presented by and discussed among the members. Members' ideas are considered by the Board, which decides on a strategy for action during the year. For example, after discussion of the impact on local residents of the 2008/2009 economic turndown, we agreed to take steps to educate the public about services available -- especially those for the elderly, children and the needy.
Then the various committees develop plans to put ideas into actions, e.g., by sponsoring a public forum or developing an advocacy plan. Regarding the above example, in June, the Health Committee sponsored a public forum featuring representatives from the Suffolk County Health Department and the Towns' (East Hampton and Southampton) Human Services Departments, who described available resources.
Act Now! Write to Congress

How you can participate
If the civic issues that affect our lives interest you, consider joining the League of Women Voters. Working with other members, you can educate yourself, help develop positions, and gain opportunities to advocate on those issues you think are important. If you are already a member, why not join the committee that works on the issue most of interest to you? And do try to attend our public meetings addressing quality of life issues in our East End communities. Democracy is not a spectator sport.

2010 Priorities

LWV Hamptons Priorities
-- Good Government
-- Affordable & Accessible Health Care
-- Energy & Environment
LWV New York 2010 Legislative Priorities
Redistricting
Create an independent redistricting commission to draft the New York State legislative and Congressional political boundaries for the 2012 elections.
Campaign Finance Reform
Support lower contribution limits and increased disclosure. In particular, support stronger and effective campaign fi nance enforcement with increased civil and criminal penalties for violations.
Ethics Reform
Put in place a new independent ethics oversight agency and tougher enforcement. Make the legislature more open and accountable through continued rules reform.
Election Reform
Improve election processes that extend and encourage voting, including no-excuse absentee balloting and Election Day registration.
To obtain free multiple copies of the LWV NY 2010 Legislative Agenda in brochure format please contact the New York State League office at 518-465-4162 or e-mail lwvny@lwvny.org
LWV United States 2010 Priorities
Representative Government
Promote an open governmental system that is representative, accountable and responsive.
International Relations
Promote peace in an interdependent world by working cooperatively with other nations and strengthening international organizations.
Natural Resources
Promote an environment beneficial to life through the protection and wise management of natural resources in the public interest.
Social Policy
Secure equal rights and equal opportunity for all. Promote social and economic justice and the health and safety of all Americans.

Issues We've Studied

2009 Issues Put to a Consensus Meeting
Should the Towns Consider Alternative Models of Government?
Before we agreed on a "members only" general meeting to form a consensus on the critical issue of improving local government, a subcommittee of the Government Committee extensively researched the pros and cons of a town government based on the professional manager model. Their information was shared with the membership through articles published in various issues of The Voter
This chart details the results of the government Committee's Spring 2009 study: government committee study
Should We Support the National Popular Vote Compact?
On April 13, 2009, LWVH held a members' meeting to see if consensus could be reached on the issue of the National Popular Vote Compact Initiative. Other Leagues in New York State held similar meetings, all using the same set of questions. The result is that while consensus could not be reached within the Leagues responding, results indicated that 50 percent of participants were in favor, 25 percent were opposed and 25 percent could not reach consensus.

Comments, suggestions, questions? Contact our webmaster. Last revised: March 19, 2010 17:31 PDT.