Making Democracy Work
Additional discussion, pro and con, takes place as members (not part of the study committee) learn the scope of the study. After the members reach consensus, the board forms positions based on that consensus.
It is the consensus statement -- the statement resulting from the consensus questions -- that becomes a position. Firm action or advocacy can then be taken on the particular issue addressed by the position. Without a position, action/advocacy cannot be taken.
Click here for more information about the Virginia General Assembly. Includes current bills and resolutions, Committees, member contact info, and a searchable database.
Click here for updated, 2011 edition of Here We Stand - Complete (Full statement of Fairfax Area League positions along with other League positions) that includes the additions to the Schools position.
Letter to the Board of Supervisors on the Budget, January 2013
Testimony to the Fairfax General Assembly Representatives, January 2013
LWVFA speaks out on discrimination against women in 2012! Click here to read this letter to the editor published recently in the Fairfax Times and The Connection newspapers.
LWVFA gave testimony to the School Board on June 21, 2012 about increasing time between presention of a proposal and the vote on the proposal. Click here to read this testimony.
School start times Click here to read the statement presented to the Fairfax County School Board on March 29, 2012.
LWVFA speaks out on discrimination against women in 2012! Click here to read this letter to the editor published recently in the Fairfax Times and The Connection newspapers.
LWVFA Co-President Jane E. George delivered a statement to the Fairfax School Board at its January 30, 2012 public hearing on the FCPS proposed FY2013 Budget. Click here to read the statement.
LWVFA testimony to the General Assembly delegation from Fairfax Area that was given by Co-President Julie Jones on Saturday, January 7, 2012. Read it here.
LWVFA letter on affordable housing in Fairfax County is published in Fairfax Times on October 7 and lauded by the Northern VA Alliance for Affordable Housing (NVAHA) in an alert to Alliance members. Read the letter here.
Fairfax County has drawn new magisterial and precinct lines that have been approved by the Department of Justice; Fairfax County redistricting information can be found at this link. See this link for precinct and polling place locations for the for the November 8, 2011 General Election. For other election and voting information, go to our ELECTIONS PAGE [button on left].
LWVFA HELD ITS 63RD ANNUAL MEETING ON APRIL 16, 2011. Click here to see a copy of the Annual Meeting Kit; all proposed items were adopted (budgets for FY2011-12) and new Officers and Directors were elected.
LWVFA presented input to the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors at the March 29, 2011 public hearing on the FY12 Advertised Budget. In the testimony, among other things, LWVFA urged the BOS to adopt the advertised property tax rate at $1.09. Click here to read the entire testimony.
From NVAHA: "Civic Organization [LWVFA] Supports Affordable Housing Policies in Fairfax County" In light of some negative talk about local government policies supporting affordable housing, the Alliance applauds Janey George and Julie Jones, co-presidents of the Fairfax Area League of Women Voters for their letter to the editor, published on October 7, 2011 in the Fairfax Times: "Providing Affordable Housing to All Income Levels is Good Policy." The letter cites the efforts of Governor McDonnell's State Housing Policy Workgroup and recommendations from Fairfax County's Economic Development Advisory Committee as evidence that strong public policies that address affordable housing needs are necessary to provide housing for our workforce and to keep Virginia competitive. Read letter here.
The Fairfax Area League is seeking feedback from ALL of its members (not just the ones who attend unit meetings!) regarding the future of LWVFA. PLEASE TAKE TIME TO DOWNLOAD THIS FORM, FILL IN AND MAIL TO THE LWVFA OFFICE, 4026 Hummer Road, Suite 214, Annandale VA 22003. This Questionnaire is included in the June 2011 Fairfax VOTER, however, you can click here for the form only. The LWVFA Board has assimilated the answers so far and the results are posted here.
LWVFA gave input to the Fairfax County School Board at its July 28, 2011 meeting stating that LWVFA supports 20 minutes of recess each day in elementary schools. Read the testimony here.
Redistricting 2011 - Public comment was solicited on how the legislative district lines would be drawn in Virginia based on the 2010 Census. Meetings were being held around the state for feedback from the citizens on: The redistricting process; Criteria to be considered in preparing redistricting plans; and Potential district changes to legislative and congressional districts. The maps for House of Delegates and Senate Districts have been drawn and submitted to the Department of Justice for approval. Congressional district maps will be drawn later in 2011. Read the League's Redistricting Talking Points. See the LWV of Virginia website-Homepage and Calendar page, lwv-va.org, latest information. Click here for LWV-VA Calendar Section.
LWVFA GENERAL MEETING, JANUARY 22, 2011 AT CC OF FAIRFAX LWVFA's January's General Meeting, spotlighting the issue of domestic violence, featured local attorney Mehagen D. McRae, who spoke on the topic "Domestic Violence Today" on Saturday, January 22, at the Country Club of Fairfax on Ox Road (Route 123). Click here for the January Fairfax Voter with more information about the topic and LWVFA's ongoing study on the issue. There were no unit meetings in January.
On January 16, 2011, The LWV of Fairfax Area and LWV of the Prince William Area showed "Gerrymandering: The Movie" at the Pohick Regional Library (6450 Sydenstricker Rd., Burke, VA 22015). Click here for more information.
On January 8, 2011, President Jane E. George testified to the Northern VA delegation of the General Assembly regarding LWVFA's concerns for the 2011 Session. Click here to read full testimony.
Ginger Fitz Shea's Letter to the editor about Fairfax schools was published in the Fairfax Connection on January 6, 2011; click here to read letter and school board vote on January 6 to allow the Superintendent to set the school day.
- the WRT be a forum for the exchange of information;
- the WRT be inclusive of every interested woman in the state;
- the WRT not advocate specific action on any issue, but alert participants to the facts of pending legislation affecting women with information on the possible impact;
- the WRT involve as many Virginia Delegate and Senators as possible; and
- a sitting Senator or Delegate sponsor the WRT so that we may reserve a room in the General Assembly building and be listed on the day's calendar.
To read the notes of the Women's Legislative Roundtable for 2011 General Assembly session click here.
LWVFA Supports Transportation Bond Referendum on the November 2nd, 2010 Ballot. The League of Women Voters of the Fairfax Area supports the use of general obligation bonds for financing transit capital improvements in providing an effective, well-coordinated and adequately financed system of public transportation for Fairfax County residents. The proceeds from bond sales will be needed to replace and buy necessary rail cars and buses, address safety concerns, finance road and pedestrian improvements, and make the County's required payments for Metro service. A failure to obtain bond funding for its required Metro payment would require major cuts to other areas of the County budget.
The LWVFA's 62nd Annual Meeting was held Saturday, April 24, 2010 at the Mason District Governmental Center, in Annandale. Anita Kumar from The Washington Post was the luncheon speaker. The business meeting included approving Amendments to LWVFA and LWVFA Ed Fund Bylaws; adopting a budget for FY2010-11, adopting local program for the next biennium (2010-12) and electing new officers and directors. In addition to approving the recommended program, the not-recommended item "Fairfax County becoming a City" was also adopted as a study for 2010-12. Links to the some of the foregoing are: Proposed Amended LWVFA Bylaws, Proposed Amended LWVFA Ed Fund Bylaws and Summary of Amendments [3 documents]; Proposed Budget Transmittal Memo with Statement of Condition at End of Fiscal Year, Proposed LWVFA Budget for FY2010-11 and Proposed LWVFA Ed Fund Budget for FY2010-11 [3 documents]; and Proposed LWVFA Recommended Program for 2010-12.
LWVFA gave Testimony to the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors regarding the proposed FY 2011 Budget on April 8, 2010. Click here to read.
LWVFA received annual briefing from Fairfax Co. Office of Management & Budget at its board meeting March 17, 2010, at the Packard Center.
LWVFA sent a letter to the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors on March 5, 2010 about the FY2011 Advertised Budget. Click here to read the letter. League Testimony about the budget will be given at the BOS public hearing on April 8, 2010.
At the LWVFA General Meeting on January 24, 2010, attendees heard about the latest plans for developing Tysons Corner. A summary of Clark Tyler's presentation is published in the March 2010 Fairfax VOTER. Click here for Part 1 of the March Voter to read Mr. Tyler's remarks.
LWVFA gave input to Fairfax Co. School Board on proposed FY2010 schools budget at public hearing on January 25, 2010. click here to read the testimony.
LWVFA gave testimony on League Legislative Priorities to General Assembly Delegation for Fairfax County & City on Saturday, January 9, 2010 click here to read the presentation.
LWVFA celebrated its 60th Anniversary in April, 2008 with a new 60th Anniversary display board and updated publications:
LWVFA Board members help to present Women's History Month Proclamation to the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. (photo)
The League of Women Voters of the Fairfax Area (LWVFA) Court Observation Report 2006 reflects League members' observations and surveys prepared in Fairfax County Juvenile & Domestic Relations Court (J& D) from May 2005 to April 2006. Leaguers observed over 900 cases in the J & D Court. The six-page report is divided into three sections: (1.) background information, (2.) survey results and (3.) court watchers reflections. The report is in a Portable Document Format (pdf). Click LWVFA Court Observers Report (pdf 184kb/6pp) for the complete report.
Talk about wonderful synergy Raymund V. Nolan attended the dedication of Turning Point Plaza in Occoquan Regional Park, along with approximately 170 other people on Sunday, July 27, 2008, and ended up completing his great-grandmother's legacy by joining the League of Women Voters of the Fairfax Area (LWVFA). Why is this special? Read on.
Turning Point Plaza, located in Occoquan Regional Park (a part of the Northern Virginia Park Authority - NVRPA), was named for a "turning point" in the suffragists' movement to obtain the right to vote for women in America + the incarceration of more than 100 women at the Occoquan Workhouse in Lorton, near today's Occoquan Regional Park. Raymund's great-grandmother, Mary Nolan from Jacksonville, Florida, was the oldest suffragist to be held at the Workhouse; she was 75 years old and suffered the same mistreatment as the younger women.
Turning Point Plaza (TPP) was originally created by NVRPA and LWVFA to serve as a memorial to the suffragists who were arrested, incarcerated and physically abused at the [then-nearby] Occoquan Workhouse, as well as at the D.C. jail, for picketing President Wilson's White House in 1917 for the right to vote. (The Workhouse was part of the DC jail system and across Route 123 from where Lorton Prison was later built. Today, Fairfax Water Authority's Griffith Water Treatment Plant sits on the land where the Workhouse was located.) Mr. Nolan says that his great-grandmother, similar to many of the suffragists, was arrested ten times and jailed five times, both in D.C. and in the Workhouse at Lorton.
The Plaza also was created to be a physical reminder, with three wayside displays that tell the suffragists' story and park benches for contemplating the implications of their story, of the need to be vigilant about equal rights for women in America today and into the future; in other words, the need to continue the suffragists' work. Plans are to enhance the Plaza with a brick "Suffragists Memorial Wall" and gardens. See artist's depiction of Phases I and II (current and future, respectively). LWVFA is raising funds to construct the wall by 2010, the 90th anniversary of passage of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution giving women the right to vote. Sponsorship levels and details about how to donate to this important memorial are specified in the fundraising letter on this website.
NVRPA board members, dignitaries and elected officials attended the dedication and ribbon cutting ceremony on Sunday, including "President Wilson," "Alice Paul," "Lucy Burns," and others [played by re-enactors]. "Mrs. Walker," [wonderfully portrayed by LWVFA's Lynne Garvey-Hodge] a suffragist who was incarcerated at the Workhouse in 1917 also told her story of her experiences as a suffragist held at the Workhouse
NVRPA board Chairman Jim Mayer, conducted the ceremony and recognized officials in attendance including Virginia Senator George Barker (39th District); Virginia Delegate Dave Albo (42nd District); Fairfax BOS Vice-Chair Sharon Bulova; and other NVRPA board members including Jean Packard (also an LWVFA member). Paul Gilbert, NVRPA Executive Director; John Houser, Occoquan Regional Park Manager; and Fairfax Water Board Vice Chair Connie Houston (also past president of LWVFA and the Virginia LWV) attended. League folks in attendance and recognized included Nancy Tate, Executive Director of LWVUS and President of the Arlington League, Mary Grace Lintz, Acting President of LWVFA, Sherry Zachry, Incoming President of LWVFA, Jane Barker (wife of Senator) and energetic TPP project supporter and Suffragist Memorial Wall fundraising co-chair; Janey George, LWVFA Voters Service Director and TPP project supporter; Lynne Garvey-Hodge (mentioned earlier) and Memorial fundraising co-chair.
Although a typically hot and humid summer day in late July, the spirits of those in attendance were not wilted! Raymund Nolan says that on his great-grandmother's gravesite in Jacksonville is a marker with the words she told a D.C. judge in 1917 when she was asked if she was guilty or not guilty: "I am guilty if it is guilty to want freedom." A fitting epitaph for all of the women who fought so long and hard for women's rights in America and the battle is not over yet!
Click here to learn about the Turning Point Suffragist Memorial (TPSM) today.