League In The News
the following is an article from the Canyon Courier of April 20, 2003
League of Women Voters celebrates 50 years
by Jonathan Ellis Staff Writer
League In The News
the following is an article from the Canyon Courier of April 20, 2003
League of Women Voters celebrates 50 years
by Jonathan Ellis Staff Writer
MOUNT VERNON ˜ A powerhouse in Jefferson County politics celebrates its 50th anniversary this May. The League of Women Voters of Jefferson County is the oldest county chapter in the country. The national league was founded in 1920 after women won a constitutional amendment guaranteeing them the right to vote. Jeffco residents formed their own chapter after breaking off with the Denver league in 1953. After 50 years, members of the Jefferson County chapter say they‚ve had a good run. And, at their annual meeting last week at the Mount Vernon Country Club, members decided on what political and social issues will carry them into their next 50 years. Yet despite their successes, the Jeffco league faces at least one significant challenge. The membership is graying. And at a time when more people are interested in prime time television than politics, the league is having trouble finding younger members who will carry the fight into the 21st century.
Educating voters, spearheading issues The league has touched just about any voter who studies candidates and issues. Members work with local media to publish voter information guides before elections. They print the pros and cons of voter initiatives in a pre-election voters‚ pamphlet. And they take an active role in sponsoring debates that give voters a firsthand look at how candidates deal with issues on the stump. In addition, the league publishes a Citizen‚s Guide. The Jefferson County version includes voter registration material, and listings of all federal, state and local officials serving the county along with their salaries. Jeffco government pays the printing bill and makes the guide available at county offices. "I think those are things that the citizens really look to us to do," said Carol Coppock, an outgoing president of the Jeffco chapter and a member since 1962. Members say that informing and expanding the electorate is among the league‚s primary missions. "I think they have been an important player in getting out voter information," said Betty Miller, a former state legislator and a Jeffco county commissioner from 1993-97. League members also perform in-depth studies of issues they deem important. Once members reach a consensus on a particular issue, they make recommendations to officials and voters. The group bills itself as non-partisan and claims members from both the major political parties as well as independents. Their work has won praise from both Republican and Democrat politicians. "What I like about the League of Women Voters is they do their homework on an issue and they work together," said Commissioner Michelle Lawrence, a Republican. Colorado Attorney General Ken Salazar, a Democrat, spoke at the Jeffco chapter‚s annual meeting last week. "I appreciate all that the League of Women Voters does for our state," he told members. But in Jefferson County, you don‚t have to be active in politics to appreciate the chapter‚s work. All you have to enjoy is open space. League members were instrumental in working with PLAN Jeffco in the early 1970s to create the county‚s open space program. In 1972, voters approved a one-half of one-percent sales tax, creating a fund dedicated to the preservation and maintenance of open space. Today, more than 50,000 acres have been preserved as open space, and county officials continue to pursue more property for the program. "Our members were among the instigators on [open space] and the people who worked hard to get it done," Coppock said.
The next 50 years Members say they have worked on many of the same issues for decades: education, affordable housing, water topics. They will continue to confront those issues in the future. There are also new problems that need studying. Some worry about affordable health care. And at their annual meeting members voted to study public transportation, the effects of state budget cuts on local services and the availability of services to the developmentally disabled. But chapter members say they also have to deal with another issue. The membership stands at about 155 people, down from a high of 350 in the 1970s, said Bette Seeland, president in 1969 and a member since 1966. Out of the current membership, 14 are men. The average age of chapter members has "crept up," Seeland said, because not enough younger people are joining to offset the maturing crowd. "That‚s a situation that the league definitely feels is problematic," said member Laurie DiBattista. The problem is a national problem, not just the Jeffco chapter‚s. DiBattista and her fellow leaguers blame apathy with the political process and busy work schedules for declining membership. The number of women leaving home for the workforce has increased dramatically since the chapter held its first meeting in 1953. Now, women have less time for civic organizations. "Our daughters are all working and raising families," Seeland said. "It‚s just harder to get members to commit to the league." And committing to the league can mean taking on a batch of new responsibilities. But for those women ˜ and men ˜ who want to participate in their communities, leaguers say their organization is a great place to find like-minded friends. "It gets me to do things I should be doing but might not do on my own," Seeland said.
