In This Issue
Vote NO on Initiatives
Celebrate Indigenous Peoples' Day with the Squaxin Island Tribe
Bridging Divides through Effective Communication
Be a Voter: What Can You Do to Help?
Excitement about the Nov. 5 Election
Let's Talk about Multicultural America Book Group
Walk with the League
Oct. 15 Coffee with the League: The Housing Crisis and What to do About It
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UPCOMING LEAGUE EVENTS, cont'd
Making Democracy Count Book Discussion
Walk with the League
Oct. 15 Coffee with the League: The Housing Crisis and What to do About It
Making Democracy Count Book Discussion
Watch Candidate Forums
Status of Comprehensive Planning and Accommodating Housing Needs
LWVTC Civic Education Committee Launches Major Project. Join Us.
Book Review: The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together
Thank You for Joining and Renewing | | | Let’s Talk About Multicultural America Book Group. On Beauty by Zadie Smith. Oct. 8 at 6:30 p.m. on zoom. Contact anniecubberly@gmail.com.
YWCA Women of Achievement 2024. Oct. 12 from 5:00-8:00 p.m. at ASHHO Cultural Community Center, 5757 Littlerock Road SW, Tumwater 98512.
Celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day with the Squaxin Island Tribe. Mon., Oct. 14 from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at Squaxin Park.
The Housing Crisis and What to Do About It, Oct. 15, 10:00 a.m. Coffee with the League
Walk with the League in the woods close to The Evergreen State College. Tues, Oct. 15 at 1:00 p.m. starting at Brenda Paull’s home. | | Bridging Divides through Effective Communication. Free leadership development event, Oct. 19 from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. See article for registration information.
Making Democracy Count, How Mathematics Improves Voting, Electoral Maps, and Representation. book discussion. Oct. 21 & 28, 6:00-8:00 p.m. on zoom and at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation, 2306 East End St. NW., Olympia. Contact cgosslwv.tc@gmail.com.
Be one of three elected members of the LWVTC Nominating Committee for 2025. Contact info@LWVThurston.org.
Coffee and Breakfast with the League: Tuesday mornings at 10:00 a.m. at River’s Edge Restaurant, Tumwater. | | | Vote No on Initiatives
Letter Published in The Olympian, Sept. 22, 2024
By Annie Cubberly and Nathaniel Jones | | | Washington voters are being asked to weigh-in on four state-wide initiatives. Three of the measures are billion-dollar decisions that would kill critical programs, disrupting education funding, climate resilience, and accessible long-term care. The fourth would open the door to expanded dependence on natural gas, a dangerous greenhouse gas.
The League of Women Voters asserts that the state is responsible to adequately fund education. We need a balanced tax structure that is fair, adequate and flexible. Discarding the capital gains tax to benefit a very small number of Washington’s most wealthy people will hurt children in our public schools, child care and early learning programs. Initiative 2109 is misguided.
The League recognizes that climate change poses a significant threat and supports pricing mechanisms for carbon emissions. Throwing out Washington’s most effective climate response tool through Initiative 2117 would be a big mistake with long term consequences.
The League recognizes that 70 percent of Washingtonians will require long-term care at some stage. Today, only people of means can afford long-term care insurance. It is inevitable that most of us will face significant medical financial stress at some point. Killing the state's groundbreaking long-term care benefit which guarantees access to vital long-term care and home health care services through Initiative 2124 would be short sighted and just wrong.
Vote NO on Initiatives 2109, 2117, and 2124. |  | Women of Achievement 2024
Music, food, celebration, community!
We hope to see many League members at the YWCA’s Women of Achievement celebration 5-8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 12, ASHHO Cultural Community Center, 5757 Littlerock Rd SW, Tumwater.
For the 30th year, YWCA Olympia seeks to honor and celebrate inspiring women during its annual Women of Achievement Celebration on Sat., Oct. 12. Join us in honoring the amazing accomplishments and contributions of women in their professional work or in service to the community.
Established in 1994, the YWCA of Olympia Women of Achievement Award is one of the most prestigious honors for women in the South Sound. The award honors women who embody outstanding leadership qualities, are exceptionally committed to their community or profession, and align with the YWCA of Olympia's mission to eliminate racism and sexism, to advance the political, social and economic status of all women and girls and embody our vision of a world where all people are valued, live free from oppression and thrive in a just society.
Register by clicking here.
Don’t forget to check out the YWCA Let’s Talk series topics. | Celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day with the Squaxin Island Tribe
By Loretta Seppanen for the LWVTC Tribal Position Team
Join me at a mid-day event featuring speakers, dancers, drummers, and delicious food celebrating Indigenous Peoples’ Day. It’s from 11:30 to 2:30 p.m. Monday Oct. 14, at Squaxin Park. The event is sponsored by the City of Olympia and the Squaxin Island Tribe. | | | Indigenous Peoples’ Day has been celebrated around the world for 40 years. In the late 1980s South Dakota issued the first resolution naming this special day.
Berkeley California linked Indigenous Peoples’ Day with Columbus Day in 1992. Federally, Indigenous People’s Day and Columbus Day were linked in 2023, though the Federal Reserve, which oversees banking holidays, still lists the Oct. 14 banking holiday as Columbus Day. While not an official holiday for Washington State employees, the State refers to the day as Indigenous People’s Day.
In 2023, I attended this same event and appreciated the opportunity to join others reflecting on the complex history of diverse people at the south end of Puget Sound and the role Native people past and present - especially the Chehalis Tribe, the Nisqually Indian Tribe and the Squaxin Island Tribe.
To accommodate everyone, given limited parking at Squaxin Park, the city is providing free shuttle service to and from the park from the eastside of the Olympia Farmers Market every half hour starting at 11 am. Join me at the park Oct. 14. | Bridging Divides through Effective Communication
By Lin Crowley
This year's leadership development event, "Bridging Divides Through Effective Communication," will be held on Sat., Oct. 19 from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. This will be a hybrid event, held online via Zoom and in-person at the Lacey Community Meeting Room.
Do you want to enhance communication skills, foster understanding across diverse groups, and develop leadership skills? Join us for this free event! This event focuses on enhancing communication skills, fostering understanding across diverse groups, and developing more leadership skills that can bridge divides and inspire unity. We encourage students and community members who are looking to enhance their leadership skills and knowledge to join us! It is co-sponsored by the Community Foundation of South Puget Sound, the YMCA, and the League of Women Voters of Thurston County.
Please register by October 16 or sooner, so we can estimate the amount of food to order. Register here. For more information about the event, contact apic.southpugetsound@gmail.com. | Be a Voter: What Can You Do to Help?
By Susan Fiksdal
Voter’s Pamphlets will be sent on Oct. 1 and ballots on October 10. The election is Nov. 5.
- Once you’ve received your ballot, talk to five people, and ask them if they are registered to vote. Then ask them to ask five people they know.
- To register online, recommend the national League’s website Vote411. People can also ask for a voter registration form at their local library. Tell them to call the Elections Voter Services Office with questions: 360.786.5408. Procrastinators can register and vote at Lacey Timberland Library on Nov 5.
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- Encourage everyone to watch our candidate forums. Our League’s forums will be posted to our website by Oct. 10, and statewide forums will also be posted here.
- Have a ballot party! Invite your friends and neighbors to talk about candidates or show some candidate forums. Tell them it’s not just about the presidential election, but candidates down ballot. Make popcorn!
- Follow the League of Women Voters of Thurston County on Facebook. Share our posts of election info bits and cute animals who wish they could vote!
See Facebook images below. | Excitement about the Nov. 5 Election
By Susan Fiksdal
I have been remarkably busy this past month responding to requests nearly every day to help us register voters. We now have several new members!
One request to register voters from Maren Turner stood out. As we were exchanging emails in mid-August, she asked if I could train Delta Sigma Theta members to register people to vote. Delta Sigma Theta is a Black sorority founded in 1913, well before the League was founded in 1920! It was an honor to offer this training on Zoom to members from three counties: Kitsap, Pierce, and Thurston. Imagine the numbers of people they will reach!
The other request came from Audrey Levine. She had seen my call for a co-chair of Voter Services and wanted that job! After several conversations about all the work involved, I offered her this leadership position and she accepted. She is pictured below at Avanti High School where we talked to at least twenty-five students! See pictures below of Audey Levine (left) and Avanti high School future voters (right). | Volunteers make our League a Well-Oiled Machine
From the Leadership Team By Annie Cubberly
I feel like I never really knew all that goes on in the League of Women Voters until I agreed to be on the leadership team. Now I feel enormous gratitude for all the unsung heroes that make the League an effective organization. For an all-volunteer organization we are a well-oiled machine!
In the month of August, the leadership team held a new board retreat. We reviewed our nonpartisan policy, discussed creating a fundraising plan, created a draft calendar and considered a membership drive among many other things.
A week later, the leadership team hosted a breakfast with several of the previous League presidents going back nearly 20 years. We asked these brave women about successes and challenges and there were many! We heard stories about how observing government meetings changed the tenor of meetings, how important our forums are to the community and how the pandemic challenged the league to function in new ways.
During the pandemic Karen Tvedt and Shelley Kneip created our first policies and procedures which guide our work today, and we learned to use Zoom. In fact, we recently purchased new equipment which will enhance our ability to hold hybrid meetings.
With the major election coming up, we are busier than ever registering voters, planning candidate forums and providing civics in a variety of ways. On Sept. 23 we co-hosted a forum on mis/dis-information with NAACP of Thurston County.
As we continue our work through the lens of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion this Fall, we will implement a new program, Conversations About Civics. This will include a series to encourage dialogue, learn more about our Washington’s history and continue shaping our League as a place of belonging.
| Let’s Talk About Multicultural America Book Group
By Annie Cubberly
I like reading or listening to audio books because they let me see into lives different from my own. Our book group is not about being intellectual or academic, rather we are adventurers exploring stories that expand our understanding of human experience. We select a book to share every other month. If you wish to join us, send me an email anniecubberly@gmail.com and I will add you to my contact list.
Our next adventure will be on Zoom, 6:30 p.m. Oct. 8. We are reading On Beauty by Zadie Smith. I have not read it yet, but I am looking forward to it! The story follows the lives of a mixed-race British/American family living in the United States. It addresses ethnic and cultural differences in the United States and the United Kingdom, as well as the nature of beauty, and the clash between liberal and conservative academic values.
| | | | Walk with the League
In the Woods Close to Evergreen State College
Mark your calendars for an end of the season, Walk with the League on Tues. Oct. 15, 1:00 p.m. at member Brenda Paull’s home. Join us to walk through a beautiful forest area near Evergreen State College. The walk is about two miles with some ups and downs. Not too strenuous, however wear appropriate walking shoes.
| | | | After the walk, there will be light refreshments at Brenda’s home. We hope to see you! Contact Brenda or Carol to get the address. Closer to the date an email message will be sent to members with address and directions. | Oct. 15 Coffee with the League: The Housing Crisis and What to Do About It
By Carolyn Byerly
Communities across the country are facing a housing crisis, particularly for those in low-to-moderate income levels. Dave Toler, chairman of Olympia for All, and Carolyn Byerly, who belongs both to Olympia for All and our local League, will discuss our local housing crisis and possible solutions at the Tuesday Oct. 15, 10-11 a.m. Coffee with the League at the River’s Edge restaurant in Tumwater. | | | | The League has adopted positions in support of housing availability and was one of 14 organizations to co-sponsor the recent Olympia for All campaign that succeeded in pushing the Olympia City Council to adopt a number of new housing ordinances to protect renters. | | For live link to contact Carol Goss: cgosslwv.tc@gmail.com. | THOUGHTS ON LEAGUE ISSUES
| Watch Candidate Forums and Spread The News
By R Peggy Smith
As reported in the last Voter, the LWVTC Communications Committee has made it possible to have our Candidate Forums accessible to members and the community on our YouTube Channel. You just need to visit www.youtube.com/@lwvthurston2201.
While you are there, be sure to subscribe. This is a free way to support our channel and to get more of our upcoming content. You can find the Subscribe button under any YouTube video or on the channel page. And be sure to tell others about the convenient way they can gain insight into candidates by watching our videos on YouTube.
| Status of Comprehensive Planning and Accommodating Housing Needs
By Loretta Seppanen
Lacey’s Comp Plan Update now has a website - www.EnvisionTomorrowLacey.org. Give feedback there through November on climate change, housing and other concerns via a survey. Look for a hybrid open house at City Hall early in 2025 to share survey findings and seek additional guidance from the community.
Follow the continuing work going through Planning Commissions at these links:
Affordable housing allocations: As described in last month’s Voter, some 29,000 new housing units are needed across the jurisdictions for families at or below 80 percent of Thurston County’s median family income (AMI) between 2020 and 2045. Another 9,000 units are needed for those between 80 percent and 120 percent AMI. Local AMI for a family of four is $102,500.
The results of a recently completed “land capacity analysis” found that there is sufficient capacity in the Thurston County urban areas (cities and UGAs combined) for these 38,000 needed units. Olympia and Lacey will each accommodate 11,000 affordable units, Tumwater 7,600. Smaller cities can accommodate some of the 7,500 additional units expected in their area, while facing some challenges to address all that need. Grand Mound, where planning is handled by the county, will need some zoning changes to accommodate nearly 300 new affordable housing units.
Higher income housing: Forecasters predict a need for about 16,500 additional housing units for higher income families. Some 7,500 of those units (45 percent) will be built in rural Thurston County if past trends continue. As part of the Comprehensive Plan Update, the county is doing an environmental impact study comparing building 7,500 future rural units versus building 2,700 units. The latter is the number consistent with the Sustainable Thurston goal of limiting new rural growth to not more than 5 percent of total growth.
| LWVTC Civic Education Committee Launches Major Project. Join Us!
By Eleanor Walters
Earlier this calendar year, a small ad hoc committee was formed with the goal of getting the LWVWA’s amazing civic education books, The State We’re In Washington, into all eight Thurston County school districts.
Since then, we have had success in reaching out to school personnel to promote our books which are a guide to state, tribal and local government. Some districts have shown great interest. Griffin School District has ordered 90 copies of the elementary edition, grades 3-5, and six of the Spanish version. Rochester School District enthusiastically purchased books for their middle school students, and Tenino, Olympia and Tumwater districts have indicated interest.
It takes time to introduce the books and teacher guides and to communicate just how unique these materials really are. We tout endorsements from the Offices of Superintendent of Public Instruction and Native Education to assure teachers and administrators that the books meet state standards.
Committee members have been busy writing grants to assist districts that cannot afford to buy our books. To date, we have been given $1,500 from the Civic Learning Council and $1,200 from individual League members. The committee also helped coordinate a direct donation from the Humanities Foundation to Yelm School District, earmarked for book purchases.
We are hoping other members will join us. Retired teachers and others who are familiar with our school systems or who have contacts within schools could help inspire teachers and administrators alike. For more information, contact Karen Verrill, gokar1@comcast.net, or call 360-485-7304. | Book Review: The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together, by Heather McGhee
By J Sandoz
Heather McGhee’s crucial insight that “decisions made the world as it is and . . . better decisions can change it” motivated her investigation into the results of a damaging story Americans too often tell themselves. Social “truths” presented as zero-sum coupled with us/them thinking can persuade people to view public issues through “a prism of competition, every advantage for one group mirrored by a disadvantage for another.”
But policy-making needn’t and shouldn’t be a win/lose activity, in McGhee’s view. She focuses on what benefits all, while facing directly the injuries inflicted by us/them racialization. In just one discussion of very real harm done to Black people and other people of color by zero-sum approaches, McGhee cites research showing that pollution is more often sited in neighborhoods where people of color live than in white neighborhoods. | | | And, perhaps because of an us/them mindset that works against collaborative action for clean water and air, strictly segregated communities measure more air-borne carcinogens across all neighborhoods – affecting all residents – than do more integrated communities (xix-xx, 178). Overall, McGhee’s exploration leads her to conclude that the way to effective solidarity is to “refill the pool of public goods, for everyone” (271).
McGhee’s expertise as a policy-focused economist (she formerly headed an inequality-focused think tank and now chairs the board of Color of Change) is clearly presented. Her mix of human stories, sketches from U.S. history, and research-based conclusions makes for compelling reading as she examines contemporary policy issues ranging from K-12 education to workplace organizing. McGhee’s commitment to fact is apparent in a 102-page source list.
The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together (2021, Penguin Random House) made the National Book Award Longlist in 2021. Delacorte published a 2023 abridged version intended for readers ages 10-14.
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Thank you for Joining and Renewing
By LWVTC Membership Committee
Cheers and welcome to our new and renewing members since April. We currently have 175 LWVTC members! Your membership matters in achieving our mission to Empower Voters and Protect Democracy.
| | | EMPOWERING VOTERS. DEFENDING DEMOCRACY.
The League of Women Voters, a nonpartisan political organization, encourages informed and active participation in government, works to increase understanding of major public policy issues, and influences public policy through education and advocacy.
Copyright © 2022, League of Women Voters of Thurston County, Washington
Our mailing address is:
P.O. Box 2203
Olympia, WA 98507
http://www.lwvthurston.org/ | |