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A Conversation with Congressman Jake Auchincloss

Jake Auchincloss
Jake Auchincloss

The League of Women Voters of Newton, together with Brookline, Needham, Sharon-Stoughton, and Wellesley Leagues of Women Voters, invite you to join them for a conversation on Zoom with Congressman Jake Auchincloss on Monday, December 6, 2021,  7:30-8:30 pm.

We will hear about the Congressman’s legislative accomplishments from the past year and discuss the upcoming congressional session and redistricting of the 4th district. Q&A will follow.

Advance registration is required.  Register Here.

See our flyer below.

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The League Presents: The Newton Housing Partnership and the Fair Housing Committee

In this information-packed two-part program, LWVN President Marcia Johnson had a very interesting and enlightening conversation with Lisbeth Heyer, Newton Housing Partnership Chair, and Ted Hess-Mahan, Ward 3 City Councilor-at-Large for 14 years and recent chair of  the Joint Advisory Planning Group for the West Newton Armory project.

Lizbeth HeyerEnsuring everyone has a safe, affordable home is Lisbeth’s life’s work. She brings more than 35 years of nonprofit and public sector experience in affordable housing development, planning, policy, and advocacy to her service as the Chair of the Newton Housing Partnership. Lizbeth is currently the Vice president of 2Life Communities.

Ted Hess-MahanTed has been a member of the Fair Housing Committee since 2010 and the chairperson for the last two years and  was a member of the Massachusetts Housing Appeals Committee from 2010-2017.

The conversation covered many topics, including:

  • The Housing Partnership and Fair Housing Committee:
    • What is the Core Mission? How do they compare & contrast with each other?
    • How does one go about becoming a member?
    • When would citizens want to connect with each body?
    • How do these bodies work with the Mayor, City Council, other boards & commissions, and the Planning Department?
  • How these bodies become involved in affordable housing projects, initiatives, issues and what is working well and what can be improved in this process.
  • The actions that they are taking to have input into how the city’s ARPA funds will be spent on affordable housing in Newton.
  • How these advisory bodies can help a citizen who has limited to basic understanding of affordable housing in Newton become more educated about the challenges the city faces and how s/he can help.

Watch the videos now! Part 1 | Part 2 Read more →

Educational Forum: American Rescue Plan Act

LWVN is pleased to co-sponsor an educational forum, together with U-CHAN, on Thursday, December 9 at 7:00pm, regarding the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and the eligible uses of funding by the City of Newton.

Advance registration is required.  Register HERE.

Lizzi Weyant, Director of Government Affairs at the Metropolitan Area Council, will be presenting.  Ms. Weyant will give an overview of ARPA and discuss the eligible uses of ARPA funding in support of an actionable plan to lay the groundwork of a strong and equitable recovery to the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic impacts in Newton.

To enrich the conversation and follow-up questions, please review the ARPA Fact Sheet issued by the U.S Treasury.

Community Book Group: Where Do We Go From Here

Save the Date! Sunday, January 9, 2022 3-4:30pm

LWVN invites you to a community book group discussion of the book, Where Do we Go From Here: Chaos or Community, by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 

This book is being discussed more broadly among other community groups as part of community-wide MLK Day events.

Stay tuned for more information about this event. 

Read more about the book, and where you can get a copy below.

 

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The League Presents: Hattie Kerwin Derrick, Newton’s Director of Community Engagement & Inclusion

Hattie Kerwin Derrick, Newton’s Director of Community Engagement & InclusionMarcia Johnson had the pleasure of speaking with Hattie Kerwin Derrick, Director of Community Engagement & Inclusion for the City of Newton.  Hattie is relatively new in her position, however, her life, work and Newton community experience as a member of the Human Rights Commission positioned her well to take on important issues that the murder of George Floyd and pandemic brought into the public’s consciousness. We hope that you will find this conversation interesting, engaging, and thought provoking.  We talked about the following:

  • Her role as Director of Community Engagement & Inclusion
  • How racial reckoning following the murder of George Floyd impacted her and how it influenced her decision to accept this position.
  • A brief update on  police reform in the City of Newton regarding DEI
  • Information on the Request for Proposal (RFP) for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion consultant.
  • Diversity, Education & Inclusion education & training for city employees, boards & commissions, and city council.
  • Her role in assisting the city and community members, who often feel our world to be very  divided and uncivil, bridge groups together and bring about civil discourse.
  • How her role differs from that of Linda Plazonja, Resident Assistance Officer.

Watch the video now!

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