League of Women Voters

The Whitewater Area League of Women Voters cordially invites the Whitewater community to the Annual Meeting of the League of Women Voters, highlighting the activities of 2017- 2018.  In addition, there will be a discussion of upcoming events including the 4^th of July parade, voter registration efforts, and the 2017 Making Democracy Work Award.  Come with ideas for programs for the upcoming year that would be interesting to the public as well as educational.  It will be an exciting time for the League with all the activity leading up to the 2018 election.

When: Saturday, May 12 at 10 am

Where: Fairhaven Fellowship Hall

To keep informed of the local positions taken by candidates for municipal offices, go to the league’s website: www.lwvwhitewater.org. Also, be sure to check out the League of Women Voters Facebook page, as well.

The League of Women Voters-Whitewater Area presents “National Parks at a Crossroads” on Thursday, April 19 at 7 PM, at the Whitewater City Council Chambers. The focus is on what climate change means for our National Parks. While much of the news on climate change focuses on how it will impact the way we live or what will happen to the polar bears, there has been little public discussion about what it will mean for our national parks. During this one-hour program, you’ll hear from Dr. Eric Compas about the obvious and subtle ways in which climate change is reshaping our nation’s first national park, Yellowstone.

The projections for the region’s vegetation and fire patterns, changing ecosystem definitions, and the policy response to date are all fundamentally challenging the way we think about nature, wilderness, and our relationship to it. While park managers have significant control over what a future Yellowstone will look like, they don’t yet have the tools to make these decisions—and that has brought us to a significant crossroads for defining what it means to be a national park in the 21st century.

Since the 1960s, the League of Women Voters has been at the forefront of efforts to protect air, land and water resources. As citizens of the world, we must protect our planet from the physical, economic and public health effects of climate change while also providing pathways to economic prosperity.

Dr. Eric Compass is an Associate Professor in the Geography, Geology, and Environmental Science Department at the UW-Whitewater. He studies public and private land conservation both in Wisconsin and the Yellowstone region, and he teaches courses in environmental policy and geographic information systems.

Professor Corey Davis of the University of Wisconsin—Whitewater Department of Communication discusses “’Fake News!’: Conjecture, Conspiracy and Consequences for American Democracy”.  It has long been a truism that journalists are in the business of selling newspapers with the result that skeptical readers may underrate the seriousness of some headlines.  The use of social media for communication, however, has altered the need for skepticism considerably.  Whatever the standards for authentication of stories may have been in the age of paper journalism, there is now considerable reason to doubt whatever is coming in electronically without a well-defined source.

When: Thursday, March 15, 2018, at 7:00 PM

Where: Council Chambers of City Hall

The League of Women Voters, Whitewater Area would like to invite the community to a Forum in which candidates for Common Council express their views on important topics of concern before the April 3^rd Spring Election.  The Forum will take place on Saturday, March 10, 10AM-11:30 AM, in the Whitewater City Hall Council Chambers.  League member Tom Drucker will moderate the Forum, which will be broadcast live by Whitewater Community TV and made available for viewing in the weeks leading up to Election Day.  Candidates for Common Council in the April 3^rd Spring Election are as follows:

Aldermanic District 2:  James Schulgit, incumbent

Aldermanic District 4:  Lynn Binnie, incumbent

Councilmember at Large:  Jim Allen, incumbent, and Brienne Diebolt-Brown

The League’s Candidate Forum is a free public event where voters are invited to ask questions of the candidates on issues of importance to their daily lives and the Whitewater community.  Although only the Councilmember At-Large seat is contested, the League invited the uncontested candidates to share their views as well.  However, should either one of the two candidates running for the At-Large seat choose not to participate, the forum will be canceled. The League has a long tradition of not supporting “empty-chair” debates or forums because any candidate in a contested race, who appears alone, has the distinct advantage of presenting partisan views and comments without challenge.

Also, a Candidate Questionnaire, developed by the League board, will be distributed to Common Council candidates on Friday, February 23, 2018. Completed questionnaires will be posted on the League’s website, www.lwvwhitewater.org, by the end of the day, Monday, March 12.

On Thursday, February 15 the public is invited to a program about the fundamentals of the League to be held in the Council Chambers, Whitewater at 7 PM.

From the League of Women Voters:

Some of the things you will learn are what the League does and how they do it.  Whether you are a long-term member, a relatively new member or just want to learn more about the League, a 98-year old institution, you’ll be sure to learn something interesting during this hour-long presentation.  For example, did you know that the League is organized to parallel the three levels of government:  local, state and national?  That soon after the League’s founding, the decision was made to take positions on issues, but neither support nor oppose any political party or candidate for public office?  That men are welcome and encouraged to join?

All across the nation and in Wisconsin, people are joining the League of Women Voters.  Many are inspired to bring about positive change in America.  This is an exciting time to be a member of the League of Women Voters.  Come and see what it’s all about.