01945 Winter 2022

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11/1/22, 9:23 AM MAGAZINE AD.jpg A league of their own Members of the League of Women Voters of Marblehead, front row from left; Shari Pressman, Marta Bach, Alexa Singer, and Tom Krueger; second row from left; Judy Gates, Bonnie Grenier, Lee Mondale, Kathy Breslin, Polly Whitmore, and Mimi Hollister; and third row from left; Don Gardner, Kathy Leonardson, Nancy Powell, and Phil Blaisdell, gather in front of the Old Town House. STAFF PHOTO: SPENSER HASAK By Allysha Dunnigan The Marblehead Chapter of the League of Women Voters began in the 1900s and has been growing ever since. With 61 active members, the group is made up of men — yes, men — and women from Marblehead, and some from Salem and Swampscott, who are passionate about volunteering their time to inform the public on political issues and encouraging others to make changes in the community. The Marblehead League is one of more than 800 state and local leagues operating in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Virgin Islands and Hong Kong. The history of the League of Women Voters dates back to the 1920s when it was formed in Chicago after women secured the right to vote. As a nonpartisan political organization, the goal of the Marblehead League of Women Voters is to encourage informed and active participation in government, work to increase understanding of major public policy issues, and influence public policy through education and advocacy. The local organization focuses on a variety of issues, reaching their positions on these topics through studies and a consensus vote. "Our emphasis in this league is on local issues," said member Marta Bach. "We also participate in studies at a state level and a national level. Sometimes we'll do a topic that is suggested by national, and they supply research and we do research. We will publicly support issues on which we have reached a consensus, but we will not support candidates." The League works on a variety of political issues and topics, hosting events and informational forums on things including questions on the ballot, the environment, social issues, how the government should be structured, gun safety, racial justice, and LGBTQ. "For me, personally, I think it's so much easier to effectuate change on the local level," said member Bonnie Grenier. "You can decide on an issue area that's important to you and just grab it by the horns and go with it and get other people to go on board with you." The group made a motion during https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?tab=rm&ogbl#inbox/KtbxLvhVgrWdkFFcLqnBPGBkfpbsfWCkDB?projector=1&messagePartId=0.1 1/1
WINTER <strong>2022</strong> | 25 a Town Meeting last year to change language in the town's general bylaws so that the order of candidates listed on the ballot is determined by random drawing of names by the town clerk for each race. This amendment has made its way to state Sen. Brendan Crighton and is still pending action. Another effort made by the League is the Observer Corp, where members volunteer to attend a variety of committee meetings in the town to observe, take notes, and write them up to be sent to Marblehead news outlets. This is one of the many ways the League helps inform the public on important issues in the community and encourage them to get involved, which member Shari Pressman said is one of their goals. "Our primary goal is to inform registered voters and inform voters and inform citizens of what's going on in the government and how to get involved," Pressman said. "We take positional political positions, and we do lobby, at all levels of the government, on positions that we've come to very carefully." In Marblehead, some of the members have been a part of the League since the 1970s, while others are newer, joining within the last few years. Since the pandemic, League members said they have seen an increase in interest of local government, as Zoom meetings made it easier for people to get involved and easier for League members to educate the public. In addition to educating people on local political topics, the League also helps register first-time voters, assists with managing the polls during elections and counts ballots. "We're looked at as a resource for the town," said League Treasurer Tom Krueger. Through their close work with voters, member Kathy Leonardson said her goal is to empower these voters and defend democracy. "We treat democracy as a verb so that we defend it by doing it, which means voting, getting other people to vote, get people involved and not feeling helpless like they can't do anything," Leonardson said. "I got involved personally because I was interested in the educational aspect of learning about something I didn't know. That's also part of having a healthy democracy, knowing what information you can trust." Every election year, the League hosts an event where they invite the candidates to answer questions and talk about why they are running. This has become a popular event during election season in the town, with first-time candidates reaching out about it to the League and the local television station streaming it. While the League does a lot of work on politics and elections, it isn't their only focus. In regards to the environment, the League helps highlight and continue efforts the town is already undergoing, including flood management in the harbor, building community gardens, and improving bike paths. "We want to just elevate some of the things that are starting to happen on a greater scale to elevate the environment and are important for the conversation about the future and the community's health," League member Polly Whitmore said. In addition to collaborating with the town on environmental efforts, the League is also working with Sustainable Marblehead to put more focus on efforts to help climate change within the town. "I just feel like we should elevate the community in our activism and what we can do and are doing for the community and the environment," said Whitmore. Another issue that the group focuses on is racial justice. Member Cathy Marie Michael said they formed a book club about five years ago dedicated to reading a wide selection of books on social and racial justice issues. "This is an issue in this country. We informed ourselves and tried to inform the rest of the town (during a peace seminar) on what was discovered from the books that we read," Michael said. "To come to recognize, completely and totally, I'll speak for myself, the white privilege that I grew up with that I was not really that aware of until the Trump era — I could really see it reading these books. I could see how much I did not know, never knew, and was learning and became aware of." The League also hosts another book club where members bring in an article relating to a local or national issue that they are interested in and discuss it with the group. "It started as a desire to have an exercise in civility and civil discourse about things that can be pretentious," member Katharine Redmond said. Another major topic for the League is gun safety. After the 2018 shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, FL, the League formed a gun safety group where they read about national and international protocols on guns. They informed themselves on the different laws in states across the country and how they differ from gun laws in Massachusetts. "Various issues came up and various information came up," Krueger said. The group then met with representatives from Mass General Hospital including surgeons, pediatricians, and those working in emergency rooms, all people who see and work with victims of gun violence. They discussed how important it is to have stricter gun laws in places where the laws are lenient and what they can do to try to decrease gun violence. "On a national level, we need to advocate," Krueger said. One of the goals of this group is to remind people on how to properly and safely use guns to reduce any accidental gun-related incidents. While the League focuses on bringing light to important political and controversial topics, members said it also introduced them to good friends and opened their minds. "It's a great community venture," Redmond said. Joining the league requires a $60 fee, but you do not need any prior experience or interest in politics. Current league members said you just need to be a "good citizen" and want to be a part of change. Salem, MA 19 Paradise Road, 978-414-1414 salem@clubpilates.com Try a free intro class and discover if our low impact, full body workout is right for you. Open 7 Days a Week Move Better, Feel Better, Live Better. Pilates is a path to a fuller, more satisfying physical existence Control your body, control your life clubpilates.com/salem
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01945 Winter 2022

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