As October approaches, I look at the many candidate forums that will be occurring throughout Nassau County and what the means to us in League as we provide the opportunities for the voting public to learn about those running for office and who may be elected to represent them within their communities.
I encourage you to spread the word about these forums so that those going to the polls on Tuesday, November 5, 2013, may truly know for whom and for what they are casting their vote. John O’Connell of the Long Island Herald did a marvelous editorial on this very subject.
Voter registration is a key to civic participation and the League has always worked hard to get eligible voters registered to vote. This year on National Voter Registration Day, September 24th, over 280 Leagues from 43 states joined with more than 800 partners to register Americans to vote. National Voter Registration day saw over 9,000 voters registered with over 1,300 volunteers registering voters. That means that the League had the single largest on-the-ground presence for the second year running.
Our League was there as well, registering voters at the Stop and Shop in Inwood, thanks to many of our members who volunteered. We were so pumped up that on Sunday, September 29th we were registering voters and handing out absentee ballot forms at the Hewlett Woodmere Street Fair–thanks to the terrific efforts of Peter Rosenthal to make this happen!
Joe Kolodny again out did himself with our September program on PSE&G (see article) with an amazing turnout of close to thirty interested people, and we saw the addition of two new members that day! Welcome Jean Kirschen and Betty Kurzman. I am looking forward to what Joe and his auspicious program committee has in store for us at our Thursday, November 21st program on Clean Water and Cancer Rates.
Also, put on your calendar the post election dinner on Thursday, November 14th, where Marjorie Latz will put together for us again another marvelous feast and Ellis Henican, a columnist at Newsday and a political analyst, will be our speaker.
As we get closer to Election Day, let us all remember that League continues to be about the future and the importance of vigilance by ordinary people in continuing our journey, as a nation, toward greater equality, fairness and civic participation.
