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LWVN Programming

Defending our Democracy

Liberty 135 | Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island

On Wednesday, February 16, 2022, LWVN, and its co-sponsor the Charles River Regional Chamber (CRRC), gathered for a virtual presentation by the Leadership Now Project (LNP) on the state of our democracy nationally and in Massachusetts, followed by a robust conversation on the state of our democracy and the role business and associations can play in helping to uphold it.

We thank Sarah Rahman (LWVN, CRRC, and LNP member), and Zak Smith (Strategy and Program Manager for LNP) for a wonderful meeting.

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The League Presents: A Conversation with Three New School Committee Members

In the November 2021 municipal election, there were three School Committee candidates who were unopposed, Rajeev Parlikar (Ward 1), Chris Brezski (Ward 2), and Cove Davis (Ward 8).

According to League policies, unopposed candidates are not permitted to participate in our candidate forums.  Therefore,  the LWVN thought it important to invite these new School Committee members to The League Presents so that Newton can begin to get to know them, their thoughts, and priorities relative to the Newton Public School System.

Our conversation focused on the following three areas:

  1. Their highest priority for the 2022-23 term of office
  2. Their thoughts on how the NPS is and should be addressing the social-emotional health of students, at all grade levels.
  3. Given the strains that Covid-19 is putting on students, families, educators, and all staff, their thoughts as the changes should be done to mitigate/alleviate these strains?

Please join me in wishing them great success in the 2022-23 term.

Marcia Johnson

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Getting Newton to Zero Waste

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Thank you to  Karen Slote and Sunwoo Kahng of the Newton Sustainable Materials Management Commission for their impactful presentation on February 3, 2022. Karen and Sunwoo shared recommendations being made by the Commission to set Newton on the path towards zero waste (including measurable goals, variable size carts, ‘less cost for less trash’ programs, and citywide organics collection), and then answered over 20 questions posed by webinar attendees.

We encourage our members and the community to look over the Commission’s Report (Fall, 2021).  Questions can be sent to:  newtonsmmc@gmail.com.

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The League Presents: A Conversation with Congressional District 4 Director Dana Hanson

Dana HansonRecently, LWVN President Marcia Jackson had the pleasure of speaking with Dana Hanson, the District Director for Congressman Jake Auchincloss. As she and the Congressman are about to finish up their first year leading Congressional District 4, we thought it would be interesting to learn more about the district office.

Dana has been a community activist for a number of years, including serving as the city’s Director of Community Engagement & Inclusion from 2018 to 2020. Before that, she was a co-chair for Mayor Fuller’s 2017 mayoral campaign.

During the conversation, we learned a great deal about the…

  • Composition of the district
  • The district office’s operations, staffing, roles & responsibilities, and most important the culture
  • Interesting learnings, experiences and changes as she moved from City Hall to CD4
  • A bit of CD4 History
  • And her creative technique for learning about the district.

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