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August 2006
President's Message (Marianna Scheffer)
National Convention (Marianna Scheffer)
Upcoming Candidate Forums
LWV of Hawai'i County Member Roster
Helene Hale's legacy: a good pain in 'okole (David Shapiro)
Helene Hale Honored (Lois Cecil)
LWV Hawaii County Treasurer's Report August 2006

National Convention

Sue Irvine, President of Hawaii League of Women Voters, and I attended the national LWV Convention from June 10-13 in Minneapolis. We were presented with a slate of candidates headed by Mary Wilson, our new president, which won easily, but there was dissension; some delegates voted for the alternates as a protest against the current vetting of candidates. Candidate selection could become a larger issue by next Convention.

I am pleased to report that the Convention voted to back accountable voting tallies with paper trail voting. This is an important stance for the League to take, since our previous position was not well understood. There are grave doubts among the public about the honesty of elections and the possible miscounting and downright theft of votes.

For us outdoor Hawaiian types all this sedentary activity meant more sitting in conference rooms and listening to many more discussions than we really cared for. I wished we could do this sort of thing while hiking or swimming. We did manage to walk around downtown Minneapolis, and we ate in some very nice restaurants.

As we were entertained and informed, Garrison Keillor provided us with one his clever, but, to my ear, somewhat patronizing, extemporaneous monologues; Brookings Scholar Thomas Mann spoke on his worries about the future of democracy; and Ann Reed, singer and songwriter, sang us songs both romantic and political, including a satirical song about George Bush Jr. set to the melody of “On the Bayou.”

I was pleased by the outcomes of this Convention and I know that the hard sitting work was necessary. I hope more members can attend the next Convention. Our Mainland sisters could use more of our Aloha spirit!

Marianna Scheffer

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