INSIDETHELEAGUEFALL 2017

Annual Meeting 2017: Recapby Edna Rosen, Vice President

On June 1, we held our Annual Meeting, with many of ourmembers in attendance. Presiding were our Co-Presidents
Catherine Gray and Doris Welch. Presentations of future
projects were given by Committee Chairs: Voter Services,
Affordable Housing, Campaign Finance Reform, Education,Environmental, Program, Women?s Issues, and Special
Projects.
Carmen Fariña, the current head of the New York City
Department of Education, spoke to our group about thefuture of education in our public schools. There is now amandate to teach Social Studies; seventh graders arelooking at the question of solitary confinement in ourprisons; first graders are becoming tech savvy as they aretaught coding, and second and third graders are studying
robotics.
The overlying principle behind the Chancellor ?s programsis that we need well-educated children. High School
students are mentoring those in middle school, andmiddle schoolers are mentoring elementary school
students. Now every high school student can take the SAT
exam in their own school at no cost! There is an education
program for inmates at Rikers Island and SAT exams areoffered. She is proud that last year, 8,000 seniors
registered to vote. Chancellor Fariña?s closing comment
was ?If we don?t have public education, we don?t have ademocracy.?

I mportant
El ecti on Dates
Friday,August 18th
Deadlinetopostmarkvoter
registrationformfor primaryelection

Chancellor Carmen Fariña.

Tuesday,September 12th
PrimaryElection
Tuesday,September 26
Possiblerunoff (ifneeded)

Co-presidents Catherine Grayand Doris Welch speaking.

New Logo to Incr ease Visibility,
Just in Time for Election Season
by Emily Corvi, Office Manager

Friday,October 13th
Deadlinetopostmark
voter registrationformforgeneral election
Tuesday,November 7thGeneral election

This year, the League of Women Voters of the City of New York trademarked a new logo donning the phrase "VOTELOUDER". This logo will be used on all materials distributed by the Voter and Telephone Information Services
Committee during their voter registration training workshops and during voter registration drives. Due to the large
number of seats that are on the ballot for this year 's municipal election, The League has been conducting many voter
drives to increase voter awareness and participation. To get more involved, please contact Barbara Ettington, thechair of the Voter and Telephone Information Services Committee, at vote@lwvnyc.org.

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What's On the Ballot?
Posit ion s u p f or elect ion : Mayor, Comptroller, Public Advocate, Borough Presidents, City Council,District Attorneys of New York County and Kings County, Justices of the New York State Supreme Court,
and Judges of the Civil Court of the City of New York
Ballot m easu r es (further details can be found on our website at lwvnyc.org/elections.html):
1. The New York State Constitution requires that every 20 years all New York State Voters are
given the opportunity to say whether or not they would like to hold a Constitutional Convention
to revise or amend the New York State Constitution.
2. Amend the New York State Constitution to allow the state to reduce or revoke the pensionof a public officer that has been convicted of a felony related to his or her official duties.
3. Creating a 250-acre land bank, allowing local governments to request state Forest
Preservation.
Candidate information: www.vote411.org
Contact your elected officials: www.mygovnyc.org
Find your poll site: www.nyc.pollsitelocator.com

LWVNYC Honor s Fannie Connerby Catherine Gray, Co-president
At our Annual Meeting, Fannie Conner was honored with a commemorative plaque. Fannie Conner has been avery active member of the League. Here are Cathy's remarks:
Fannie, I know that being the center of attention is not exactly youridea of fun, but the Voter Services Committee and the League
wanted to thank you for all your dedication, work, and humor thatcarried us forward.
Fannie has been a committed member from the start: she joined theLeague of NYC in 1958, and for several years, she ran the Voter
Services Committee all by herself. This work is the heart of what theLeague is about-- educating future and current voters and keeping
them informed. Fannie will go anywhere in New York City, even toStaten Island. She must have a huge stash of voting materials in herhouse so that at a moment?s notice, she will be prepared to go tothat event in Far Rockaway. Finally, Fannie always brings the best
snacks to her meetings.I have a question for you Fannie: can you
guess how many people you have registered in your years at theLeague? The answer: Way too many to count!

From left to right: Fannie Conner, Catherine Gray, Doris Welch.

Fortunately, you are not leaving the League, but just retiring as the
Chair of the Voter and Telephone Information Services Committee.
Thank goodness all of your knowledge, expertise, and unconditional
support will still remain at the League.
Fannie, we appreciate your tireless devotion to the League and thecitizens of New York City. Thank you from your Voter Services
Committee and all your friends here at the League of NYC.

2Fannie speaking.

Updates fr om Our Committees
Special ProjectsProgramCommitteeby Laura Altschuler, Special Projects Coordinatorby Joanna Leefer, Chair

The League and Hunter College will be hosting aCandidates Forum for City Council District 4 at HunterCollege's Danny Kaye Playhouse (68th Street/LexingtonAvenue) on Tuesday, September 5th at 7 pm. Nine
candidates are competing for the seat currently held by
Daniel Garodnick who is term limited. Primary Day isTuesday, September 12th. WABC-TV News Anchor Diana
Williams will moderate the forum which will be webcast
on WABC and the League?s Facebook page will feature aLive link.

Please note that any information listed here istentative. For more details, please call our office.
Sept em ber 14, 2017: How to Protect Against Foreign
Interference in Our Elections, by Christopher
Farmighetti of The Brennan Center for Justice @The Ethical Culture Society. 7:00PM.
Oct ober 12 , 2017: City Elections and theConstitutional Convention

The League was selected to host this debate by NYCVotes
under the auspices of the Campaign Finance Board. Thisis a citywide effort to encourage voters to iearn about thecandidates and the issues, and to vote in the Primary andGeneral Elections.
Check the link on our website where you may submit
questions you would like asked of candidates running forCity Council and Borough President. We will need League
members to assist that evening and members who residein the district or want to attend should email the office.

Doug Muzzio, a Political Science Professor at
Baruch, will address us. This will be a lunch
meeting. Time and location to be determined.
Novem ber 9 , 2017: Independent Democratic
Coalition (IDC): How this breakaway segment of theDemocratic party is reshaping the political scene inAlbany. Time and location to be determined.
Decem ber 14, 2017: Sanctuary Cities. Time andlocation to be determined.
Possible subject: Volunteers for Professionals

Membershipby Mary Jenkins, Chair
Our challenges include:--A meeting of the Membership Committee.

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Refining our message on the importance ofmembership in the League and bringing thatmessage to every speaking event we doHarnessing the energies of every new
member in our numerous activities
We encourage all our members to get
involved in increasing our membership andwelcoming new members to the Membership
Committee. We need to encourage morecitizens to be involved in civic affairs, and inorder to do that, we need more members!