 | | We are deeply saddened about the passing of State Sen Geraldine Thompson, a long-time LWVOC member who died last week at age 76 from surgical complications. Thompson was a champion for education, good government, health care, and civil rights. In 2021, Thompson was the first recipient of the LWVOC’s “Warriors for Democracy Award.” Her husband, Judge Emerson Thompson, is also a long-time LWVOC member.
“It is such a great fortune for us in this community and Florida to have had the benefit of knowing her, benefiting from her advocacy of her convictions and her fight for what's right for not only Orlando and central Florida, but for the state of Florida,” said Lee Rambeau Kemp, First Vice President of the League of Women Voters of Orange County as quoted in a Spectrum 13 news feature Read HERE.
"Geraldine Thompson had a good and important life," said Linda Chapin, past LWVOC president and former Orange county mayor. "I knew her when Orange County was a whole different place. She helped change us and had enormous moral and political influence."
Click for more information about Senator Thompson's funeral services:
Photo shown below left, Senator Thompson and husband Judge Emerson Thompson at last September's Hot Topics and right, the announcement of her "Warriors for Democracy" Award
| | FEB 25, 1pm
National Popular Vote Interstate Compact
What? How? WHY?
Presenters: Paul Carder & Anne Coppenhaver
FEB 26, 10am
Natural Resources Committee tour
of Audubon's Birds of Florida
*Details shown below
MAR 1, 9am
GVP & Nat'l Resources
Community Clean up with our Gun Violence Prevention Team, YaYa‘s Dream Foundation, Moms Demand Action and Our own Environmental Resource Committee. All LWV Orange County Members are invited to join. Cleaning neighborhoods has shown to reduce Gun Violence and is good for our environment.
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VOLUNTEER OPS
*We will be tabling to provide voter registration and information at the following opportunities. You must have taken and passed the League voter registration test HERE
Feb 22, 10am-5pm
Pine Castle Pioneer Days is an annual community event promoting the living history of the Pine Castle area through demonstrations and other educational opportunities.
MAR 1, 12-3pm
Vintage Vibes/Fresh Finds Market Event; Voting Table
Elks Lodge Orlando, 12 N Primrose Ln
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Join members of Natural Resources Committee for a group guided tour of the Audubon’s Birds of Florida exhibit at the Museum of Arts and Sciences in Daytona Beach, 352 S Nova Rd
When: Wednesday, February 26, 2025
Time: 10:00am Tour time
Transportation: Carpooling TBD
Cost: $15 (plus optional lunch)
Link: https://www.moas.org/Audubon-s-Birds-of-Florida-6-26031.html
Reply by: Sunday Feb 23
Contact: Jeanette Lambert or Kay Hudson @ lwvnrc@gmail.com | | |  | Registration is now open for our March 12th Hot Topics. We'll be exploring the controversial new laws that criminalize the unhoused, how local advocacy groups are responding and what can be done going forward. PANELISTS include:
- Martha Are, CEO of the Central Florida Commission on Homelessness and the Homeless Services Network of Central Florida
- Lilly Hernandez Carabello, Journalist with Central Florida Public Media as a reporter for America corps member covering housing and homelessness
- Moderator: Mark Brewer, President and CEO of the Central Florida Foundation
| | Black History Month: This month's Hot Topics RECAP for "Voices of Labor: The African American Journey" is now available.
If you missed it, watch it HERE on YouTube.
The LWVOC DEIA Committee has pulled together a PDF of linked resources for local events as well as educational links. | | |
Let's Go to Lobby Days MAR 11-12 Assistance would cover the cost of registration ($195.00) plus $120/night for up to 2 nights. For more information, please email president@lwvoc.org with the subject “Lobby Days Assistance.”
Shown, Leaguers meeting with FL Rep. L Bracy Davis
Lobby Days marks a unique opportunity to humanize our legislative priorities with our state lawmakers. The League's membership has continued to grow over the past year and we're excited to show that off in the halls our state capitol.
|  |  | | Vote-by-mail requests expire after each federal general election cycle. Therefore, all vote-by-mail requests expired on Dec. 31, 2024. To continue to receive vote-by-mail ballots, you must submit a new vote-by-mail request each general election cycle.
UPCOMING Orange County Elections
March 11th, Municipal elections for the Cities of Ocoee, Winter Park, Belle Isle, Maitland, Town of Windermere |  |
The House and Senate introduced the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, which would require citizenship documentation to register to vote even though voters in every state are already required to affirm or verify their citizenship status when registering.
TELL YOUR MEMBERS OF CONGRESS TO OPPOSE THIS ACT
It is already illegal for noncitizens to register and vote in federal or state elections. The bill’s requirement of a document to prove American citizenship to register to vote in federal elections is unnecessary and seeks to divide us. It also creates another barrier to voting.
To SEND a message, click link HERE.
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| TIMELY COMMENTARIES (personal submissions-not on behalf of LWVOC) authored by Leaguers featured recently in the Orlando Sentinel and on Spectrum 13 News, an official LWVOC statement:
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Elizabeth Rossetter
Not a member yet? Visit JOIN HERE and learn about becoming a Leaguer! |  | DONATIONS to LWVOC should be made on our own League site, lwvoc.org.
Visit the Donate page to explore the many ways you can $upport LWVOC.
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Sponsors are vital to our work to empower voters by providing timely information for the benefit of non-partisan civic engagement in our community.
To further explore how becoming a Hot Topics Sponsor can align with your business goals, please contact LWVOC Vice President, Lee Rambeau Kemp HERE
A range of sponsorship levels are available. |  |  | | Statewide call to action: The League of Women Voters supports the Florida Right to Clean Water campaign, a citizens' initiative to amend the Florida Constitution with the right to clean and healthy waters. If our current laws were working, then we wouldn’t have manatees dying in record numbers, 80% of our 1000 springs impaired, and harmful blue-green algae and red tide in greater frequency and duration. A constitutional right takes precedence over legislation that permits pollution, restricts fertilizer bans, and allows radioactive materials to be used in our roads. Create a legacy for the future of our waters!
The Right to Clean Water! In support of establishing our basic right to clean and healthy water, LWVOC has committed to helping get this citizen initiative on the 2026 ballot. Please sign your own petition. Those who signed prior to 2024 will need to sign the new petition.
Learn how YOU can become an active volunteer here: https://www.floridarighttocleanwater.org/resources | |