League of Women Voters: civic-minded gladiators
Government students motivated to register and vote by two guest speakers
Dr. Gabriel Bach
In a democracy, citizens can infl uence government policies in many ways. An obvious one is political participation.
Political participants may be classified as spectators who vote regularly and support government through activities such as attending patriotic events, and as gladiators who, not only vote regularly but also, according to Judy Smith, “invest time and money in infl uencing public policy through education and advocacy and informing the public about upcoming elections, persuading others to register to vote and to vote at election times.”
As active and involved as the Irving League of Women Voters’ (LWV) members are, I regard them as our local civic-minded gladiators! They are our civic-minded lobbyists, trying to motivate the rest of us to register to vote and vote on election days.
The reason why I invited Jan Killen and Mona Wyatt for a Q&A session to North Lake College was to motivate my government students to register and to vote in spring/fall 2008 elections.
Right from the start, Killen and Wyatt emphasized the fact that the LWV is nonpartisan, meaning it does not endorse or oppose political candidates or parties at the local, state or national levels. Despite repeated questions from students about partisanship, Killen reiterated the “non-partisanship character of the League.” The students’ insistence may be due to political issues studied by the League’s membership. These in-depth, unbiased reports focus on critical topics such as school bond elections, air quality, Medicaid, redistricting, immigration, ethics and lobbying reform, global climate change, and health care reform.
Over time, of course, the League’s national and local priorities “evolved to adjust to the needs of our community and society: it is to respond to critical issues of our times,” observed Killen. However, added Wyatt, “The League remains faithful to its central cause – to make democracy work for all citizens.”
The Irving League, said Killen, “works to raise the understanding of local as well as regional and national public policy issues, and aims to infl uence public policy through education and advocacy, as well as through political lobbying at the local, state and national level.”
Wyatt and Killen briefl y expanded upon the voter service and citizen education of the LWV, which is to inform and educate voters about candidates, the electoral process and election issues on which the LWV remains neutral and non-committal. To an audience unsure about the meaning of all 16 propositions, the LWV Voters Guide provided timely information about voting qualifications in Texas, voter information, arguments pro and con to the November 2007 amendments to the Texas Constitution. “Very timely and extremely informative,” commented students in the audience.
In addition, lists of Web sites in English and Spanish were supplied to those students savvy in information science.
“A key aspect of the League’s effectiveness is leadership training offered to our members,” said Killen, “the purpose being to prepare them to become capable community leaders, talented to maintain not only organizational stability and credibility but also to provide organizational fl exibility.”
And yes, like any organization, the Irving League is reaching to the younger generations, not just women, but also men. According to Judy, the Irving League is around 50 strong, mostly dedicated, engaged members.
The following comments were overheard following Killen and Mona session: “Dynamic ladies… informative presentation… Got to register…. Now that I know where to look for about the propositions, I will vote …”
Democratic government relies upon informed and active participants: the League’s belief.
— Dr. Bach is a government professor at North Lake.