A message from the League of Women Voters of Falls Church:
Like many others in Falls Church as well as in the country at large, the Falls Church League of Women Voters worries about the diminishing pool of people willing to seek political office. At the national level, the reasons may be primarily financial, but in our own jurisdiction they appear to be a combination of lack of time and perceived lack of knowledge regarding the issues. Therefore, the League’s interest was piqued recently when we were approached with a project designed to increase citizen involvement and education, and ultimately perhaps, increase the number of citizens interested in active candidacy. Another appealing aspect of the project is that it would specifically include high school students, and through them, involve younger and newer-to-the-city residents as well.
The project will operate similarly to a charrette, in which many Falls Church residents have participated in the past, but with a broader scope. It will bring approximately 100 citizens together for four to five hours of deliberation on either two shorter weekday evenings or one longer Saturday. Emerging from the discussion will be a series of questions to ask our elected officials, followed by additional discussion of their responses. If appropriate, action plans could also be considered.
The League feels strongly that the way to make such a
project successful is to build a steering committee of organizations active in
the City, which will make continuing decisions regarding organization, topics,
and a variety of other issues.
For more information on our organizational efforts, which are just beginning, e-mail us at leagueofwomensvotersfallschurch
@lwvfallschurch.org
We look forward to working with you.
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