Seminole County League History
The League of Women
Voters of Seminole County
began in April 1966 with an
ad in the newspaper. Nancy
Bowers and I met two young
women in Altamonte and unfortunately,
never saw them
again.
Luckily we tried again in
Sanford where I met with
Arlene Tetenbaum who persuaded
Betty Smith to hold a
tea to which about 40 women
came and heard Betty Ann
Statin of Orlando LWV explain
League. With that, we
were off and running.
We began by studying and
visiting various aspects of
County Government. Our
efforts were later published as
Seminole County—its History
and Government.
Looking back that was just a
smidgen of how much we
learned and accomplished!
Our League members
undauntingly jumped right in
and helped draw the lines for
the new school districts some
42 years ago.
We were also instrumental
in getting Head Start funded
and up and running in our
County and initiated the bond
issue for seven new schools to
be built. To do this we created
newspapers and stage
presentations, and worked
with the PTA to help get the
bond issue passed.
Today we are facing added
challenges with Pre-K for all
our four-year-olds.
The Seminole League was
also there to insist that a Juvenile
Detention Center be built
in our county.
Nancy Bowers always tells
the Seminole County Planners
that they owe their jobs to
our advocacy efforts-- that is
true and now there is a whole
Planning Department.
LWVSC sparked the
County Library System. Earlier
there were only two libraries
in the county-one in
Sanford and one in Altamonte
Springs. Kudos to our own
leader Helen Smith and other
leaguers.
Our League advocated
tirelessly to get a bond issue
for a park system passed,
which resulted in 17 parks.
Pat Burkett of the Environmental
Studies Center (one of
our members) led the way ...
and all of this happened
within the first five years of
our League being formed!
Since then we've given two
members to the State League:
Marilyn Crotty and Deborah
Carswell.
All throughout our existence
we were registering
voters, holding candidate forums,
interviewing state legislators,
publishing newsletters
and the County Government
Guide. We've done much
more since those early days.
League pushed for our original
simple 911 system to be "
enhanced" so that callers
could be instantly physically
located. Past President Debbie
Carswell says, “I was
more or less a committee of
one, but I had the League's
clout to back me up and make
it happen."
Other LWVSC projects
through the years have included
spearheading the drive
to switch from an elected
(popular) to an appointed
(professional) school superintendent;
publication of the
Who's Who in Local Government;
and the Election Extra,
which preceded web page
information.
It is impossible to give
credit to all the people and
groups who helped with these
projects from other organizations
to every voter who has
signed our petitions or exercised
his/her right to vote, but
we certainly would like to do
so. And of course, I have to
give much credit to the
County Commissioners because
without their support
and vote many of these accomplishments
could not have
been attained.
Submitted by Sarah McClendon
National League History
The League of Women Voters was founded by Carrie Chapman Catt in 1920 during the convention of the National American Woman Suffrage Association. The convention was held just six months before the 19th amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified, giving women the right to vote after a 72-year struggle.The League began as a "mighty political experiment" designed to help 20 million women carry out their new responsibilities as voters. It encouraged them to use their new power to participate in shaping public policy. From the beginning, the League was an activist, grassroots organization whose leaders believed that citizens should play a critical role in advocacy. It was then, and is now, a nonpartisan organization. League founders believed that maintaining a nonpartisan stance would protect the fledgling organization from becoming mired in the party politics of the day. However, League members were encouraged to be political themselves, by educating citizens about, and lobbying for, government and social reform legislation.
This holds true today. The League is proud to be nonpartisan, neither supporting nor opposing candidates or political parties at any level of government, but always working on vital issues of concern to members and the public. The League has a long, rich history,that continues with each passing year.
As written on the National LWV website