February 2025 Edition

In this issue:

• Letter from the President's Desk
• The LWV Dallas 28th Annual Luncheon on Feb. 21
• Celebrating Black History Month
• Take Action: Urge Congress to Oppose the SAVE Act 
• Take the FY 25-26 Consolidated Plan Survey
• Upcoming Community Event: Parking Reform — Lessons from Austin
  
• Subscribe to Meetings of Interest at City Hall
• Environmental Justice Update: S.B. 929 and Its Impact on West Dallas
• Our Immigration Advocacy Website is Back Online
• Participating with LWV Dallas — the Volunteer Page
  
• New Members

From the President's Desk

From the desk:

The weather has been all over the place, from icy cold to snow to rain and back to warm -the wonders of living in Texas.  We also have the wonders of the Texas Legislature being in session.  This means lots of work for the local and state Leagues to keep up with the bills being filed and the committee hearings. Over eighteen hundred bills were filed before the session started. 

We have the League’s Lobby Days on February 24 and 25 in Austin. At least five of us will travel there to learn what the League is doing and lobby our Representatives and Senators.

There are topics that we want to make sure our legislators know where we stand.

Regarding school choice (vouchers), we believe public tax dollars should only be used for public education. Money held for education must be released to districts regardless of the decision regarding school choice.

We have concerns about water and the environment.

We need to clarify legislation on women’s health and reproductive rights so doctors are clear on actions that can be taken without fear of punishment.  It is too much to expect reasonable reproductive rights in this session.

We are concerned about losing local rule for our communities. 

We desperately need the ability to register to vote online. Prospective young voters and others want the convenience of online registration and the assurance of knowing they are registered.

These are among the few things at the top of our list.

We also have our Annual Luncheon on February 21.  Lots of fun things for the Silent Auction will be available.  Information, tickets, and sponsorships are still available here.

We are also getting our questions ready for Vote 411 (online) and our printed Voter Guides for candidates in the local elections in May, as well as organizing candidate forums to educate the public.

In League,

Sandy Thornton

President – LWV Dallas

Celebrating Black History Month

Take Action: Urge Congress to Oppose the SAVE Act

The House and Senate introduced the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, which would require citizenship documentation to register to vote despite the fact that voters in every state are already required to affirm or verify their citizenship status when registering.  

Legislation like the SAVE Act is another in a long list of tactics, like strict voter photo ID requirements and limitations on voter assistance in languages other than English, which seek to make it more difficult for voters of color and naturalized citizens to vote. Americans do not need MORE obstacles to vote.

Congress must act to ensure that every eligible US citizen has the freedom to vote unimpeded by discriminatory rules rooted in fear and division. The League will help connect you with your Representatives in order to urge them to vote NO on the SAVE Act if you fill out the form included here, where you can also read more about the League's position on this webpage. 

Make Your Voice Heard: Take the FY 25-26 Consolidated Plan Survey! 

The City of Dallas is seeking community input on how to allocate federal funding for critical programs, including housing, economic development, and public services. Your feedback helps shape the city's priorities!

The FY 25-26 Consolidated Plan Survey is available in six languages: English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Chinese, Korean, and Amharic.

 Take the survey today and help advocate for the needs of our community!

 Dallas Consolidated Plan Survey

Please share this with your networks—every response makes a difference!

Upcoming Event: Parking Reform - Lessons from Austin

Join this upcoming event, Parking Reform: Lessons Learned in Austin, on Tuesday, February 4, from 6:00 PM – 7:30 PM at CWA Local 6215!

This hybrid event will also be livestreamed on the DHC’s social media channels. In-person attendees will hear from Tony Jordan of the Parking Reform Network, Felicity Maxwell, and a guest speaker from the City of Austin (to be announced).

🚗 What to Expect:

✅ Insights on Austin’s parking reforms

✅ Lessons that could apply to Dallas

✅ Q&A with experts

🥪 Food & Drinks Provided for In-Person Attendees!

📍 Register now: https://bit.ly/3E9XsvR

Stay Informed: Subscribe to Meetings of Interest!

Don’t miss out on key City Hall updates that impact your neighborhood! The Meetings of Interest weekly newsletter keeps you informed on important local decisions.

📢 New Feature: The 2025 City Council Candidate Tracking Page, updated as candidates qualify for the ballot.

📬 Subscribe today to stay engaged and up to date! https://www.meetingsofinterest.com/p/tracking-2025-dallas-city-council-candidates

Our Immigration Advocacy Webpage is Back Online

We are pleased to announce that our Immigration webpage has been revived. You will find this on our webpage under "Issues." Advocacy on Immigration is a national issue, but it also affects our community profoundly. The updated webpage begins with the LWV US Principles, position on immigration and Resolutions adopted at recent LWV US Conventions. This will provide you with information for advocacy to act as a member of the community. Please note that only the President of the organization may speak for the League, but everyone is welcome to speak to their own experiences. The League position and its background information give you the knowledge to speak with confidence.  There is also a section on resources that addresses the economic aspects, a glossary of terms, and demographics. Soon we will add Talking Points to the Resource section.  Also here is a list of books and articles. And a list of local, state and national organizations active in this area.

Over the last 3 months a small team of members who are interested in immigration have been working to gather this information. We hope you find this useful and, if this is an area of interest for you, please let us know if you would like to help us develop this page further. We especially want volunteers who would like to help us compose the last section of the webpage: How bills in the current Legislature align with the LWV US positions.  

Please email me if you would like to help!

In League,

Diane Tasian, Director of Volunteers

Please email me at info@lwvdallas.org

Participating with LWV Dallas — the Volunteer Page

Thank you to everyone who helps the League move forward.  We are a volunteer organization, our Board is an all-volunteer “working” Board, and we know many of you have found a strong welcome in specific parts of the organization.  Most of our volunteers work with Voter Services and some serve as Board members.  Many of our volunteers are not League members and we most definitely appreciate their help moving our mission forward.  Primarily you hear about volunteer opportunities when a League volunteer tells you about them or you read about them in the VOTER, our emails, or social media.

I would like to focus on two other ways for you to explore the organization: (1) If you are a non-member exploring our website you can find events on the Events Calendar (under "Events" in our main menu) or advocacy priorities which are under Issues, or you can explore the Volunteering page (which is under "Participate"). (2) If you are a member, under the "For Members" drop down menu on the website you can join interest groups and communicate with others focused on specific issues.  You just need to log in to see those options.

When you use the Volunteer page it helps us communicate with you about opportunities and if there are any last-minute changes. It helps us know when we need to do more recruiting for specific events. It also allows us to document volunteer hours. If you explore this page and aren’t finding what you want, please email Diane Tasian, Director of Volunteers, at info@lwvdallas.org. Let us know what you want to see so we can make it a better tool for our communications.

Currently, the list of Volunteering opportunities is focused on Luncheon opportunities. Members, these are for you! We need your help.   Please explore! Voter Services and Vote411 activity will be increasing soon.

The Volunteer Opportunities page allows you to view the opportunities that are currently available. Here are some navigation tips:

• You can filter opportunities you wish to see by specifying one or more search values and clicking the ‘Search’ button. The system will display matching opportunities.

• If no search value is specified, the title of all current opportunities will be displayed. 

• To see the full description of each opportunity click the 3 small grey dots on the right edge to open the description OR click ‘Expand All’ at the left edge at the top of the listing.

• If there are more than 10 matching items, use the Paging control on the upper right of the list to see additional pages.

• If you see a pink ‘Spots available for members only’ bubble you will need to log in to sign up.

• The 'Spots Left' bubble may include volunteers that are needed for some slots that are not visible to non-members. Log in to see the full list of slots available.

Thank you for volunteering with us!

In League,

Diane Tasian, Director of Volunteers

League of Women Voters of Dallas

6060 N. Central Expwy, Ste #500