It’s been nearly 110 years since woman fought for and attained the right to vote in New York State, and out of the movement that gave women a place at the polls has grown an organization committed to principals of democracy that are as relevant today as when it was founded more than a century ago.
Pictured Above: Representatives of the League of Women Voters of The Hamptons, Shelter Island & The North Fork at the March 5 event at Peconic Landing.
The League of Women Voters has been advocating nationally for voting rights since 1920, and here on the East End, an active chapter has been involved for 50 years in organizing non-partisan debates for local office, community forums on local issues and voter registration drives on the South Fork.
In 2019, the League of Women Voters of the Hamptons expanded to become the League of Women Voters of the Hamptons, Shelter Island & the North Fork.
Active members of the League chapter came to Greenport’s Peconic Landing March 5 for a session discussing the history of the chapter and its work to build a presence on the North Fork and Shelter Island.
The local chapter was organized in 1976, the Bicentennial of the United States, and held its meetings on members’ homes in East Hampton and Southampton, with its first president, Joy Butt, elected in 1977, said Chapter Co-President Terry Wildrick at the Greenport event. “Membership blossomed in the 1980s, under the leadership of Linn Duvall Harwell and Jacqui Lofaro. There were 400 members!”
“There was a very robust league in Southold many years ago. I’m not sure why it disbanded,” said former Chapter President Susan Wilson. She said that, prior to expanding, the Hamptons league had been working with North Fork residents to establish a separate chapter on the North Fork, but the people interested in starting it “were so involved in local politics that they could not be non-partisan.”
Ms. Wildrick said the chapter maintains its non-partisan focus on voting rights, voter education and civic engagement, and takes policy positions on local issues ranging from recycling and solid waste to nuclear power plants to the effort to create Peconic County.
She said the League as a whole takes policy positions “based on detailed research, which is approved at many levels, from the grassroots up.”
This chapter also maintains an active Youth Committee, currently chaired by Ms. Wilson. The chapter holds an annual November student session in Water Mill on how to run for public office, and is involved with student days at the Suffolk County and New York State Legislatures.
The local chapter also created a survey, Teens Talk, which is “now used by all the Leagues across New York State,” said Ms. Wilson. The survey covers topics ranging from the economy and the cost of living to the environment, health care, affordable housing, how and where they get their news and where they’re registered to vote. The Youth Committee also works to pre-register high school students to vote — they can register at the age of 16 to vote once they turn 18.
Andrea Gabor, a CUNY Journalism professor, serves on the chapter’s Government Committee, which runs public information events on topics ranging from misinformation and disinformation to the process of running for school boards to the state’s 2024 Equal Rights Amendment.
“We’re always looking for new members and new ideas on the Government Committee,” she said. “On the North Fork, we could use new members.”
Ena Pappas of Shelter Island serves as the chapter’s Voter Services Coordinator, and her committee is always looking for help setting up voter registration tables and candidate forums throughout the East End.
Ms. Pappas, who had a career in government engineering and program management, is also an immigrant who came to the United States when she was five years old.
She said she finds the work of “encouraging everyone entitled to vote to be an active voter” inspiring.
“Not all other countries have the right to vote,” she said.
For more information on how to get involved with the League of Women Voters of The Hamptons, Shelter Island & The North Fork, visit lwvhsinf.org.
To enable community members to learn more about citizen participation on non-elected Town Board committees, the League will also host a program titled “Learning About Serving on Your East Hampton, Southampton and Shelter Island Town Board Advisory Committees” on Monday, April 27 from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at the East Hampton Library, at 159 Main Street.
Editor’s Note: This meeting was initially scheduled for March 30 but was postponed.
Some committees to be included from the three towns are the Town Planning Board, Sustainability Committee, Community Housing Advisory Board, Housing Authority, Dark Skies Committee, Latino Advisory Committee, Board of Ethics, Historic Burying Ground Committee, Community Preservation Fund Advisory Board, and Hamlet Citizen Advisory Committee.
The program will include LWV members from the three towns speaking about how to participate on the town advisory committees, when they meet, what the committees’ responsibilities are, and what they’ve accomplished.
Attendees are invited to ask questions after the presentations, and refreshments will also be served.
For more information, visit lwvhsinf.org
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