Board members in attendance: Phyllis Gates, Betsy Jacobson, Loren Reich, Janalyn Travis-Messer, Stephanie Zinger. Absent were Ann Brunswick and Mary-Faith Healey.

Non-Board members in attendance: Mary Dwyer, Cathy Kenny, Barbara and Chuck Olton, Marilynn Pysher and Carolyn Willberg.

The business meeting was convened at 6:15 p.m. following a successful and well-attended town forum with Shelter Island Police Chief Jim Read, hosted by the LWVSI. Both events were held at the Center Firehouse.

There were two items on the agenda: Mock Election and Annual Meeting.

Mock Election: Ms. Cathy Kenny and Ms. Janalyn Travis-Messer provided information on this initiative which is still in fruition. Ms. Kenny began by briefly describing the genesis of the project and indicating it had undergone some initial revisions which were still being fleshed out. She provided members in attendance with a memo outlining the initiative’s rationale, objective, plan, activities and method of evaluation. Ms. Travis-Messer reported that she has met with the School’s Assistant Principal as well as with the PTSA, and indicated the latter was “very excited” about it since it would inter alia give the participating children the opportunity to “think outside the box” – i.e., have the opportunity to practice speaking in front of groups of people, open their minds to issues of relevance to their peers and to the Island community, as well as learn about the electoral process. Ms. Travis-Messer indicated Assistant Principal Santella echoed many of the PTSA’s feelings and provided the names of two teachers who could serve as points of contact at the school should the initiative go forward.

Essentially, the project is currently envisioned to include:
- An assembly with the students in grades 8-11 (who will be students of the 9th through 12th grade next year) to be held some time in May or June, aimed at introducing the concept to the children and gauging their feedback;
- Meeting with the students at some point during the summer recess to get them thinking about which roles they wish to play, issues they would like to address, etc.
- Meeting with the children again in September to educate them about the electoral process, campaigning, the mechanics and importance of voting, the role of the Board of Elections, etc. Ms. Travis-Messer reiterated that she has made the acquaintance of someone from the Islip Republican Committee Women’s Club who works with the Board of Elections and who is willing to bring in a voting booth to teach the children about the mechanics of voting.
- Holding an evening forum with the participation of students, teachers and parents at which the candidates will make opening statements about their platforms, take questions from the audience, etc.
- Holding mock elections some time in October; results to be released after the actual local election in November.

Meeting attendees requested clarification of certain issues, including:
- Party affiliations – Ms. Kenny indicated she will allow the children to name themselves whatever party they wish;
- Platforms – Ms. Kenny stated the students will be allowed/encouraged to choose the issues of most interest to them;
- Time constraints/faculty support – Ms. Travis-Messer stated she is awaiting the outcome of a recent faculty meeting. In response to some concerns that the children are extremely busy at this time of year with finals, state exams, etc., Ms. Travis-Messer replied she thinks they will view it as a diversion. Other members expressed doubts that children will agree to convening during the course of the summer.
- Number of children involved – the four grades (9-12 in the class of 2008) have an estimated total of about 60 children;
- Roles of children – those not chosen as candidates will serve on party committees, BOE representatives, assist with posters, etc. and each and every child will be an informed voter in the mock election.

Ms. Jacobson requested Ms. Travis-Messer send an email to the Board once she has received feedback from the faculty meeting.

Annual Meeting: The meeting is scheduled for Saturday, June 2, at 10:00 a.m. Ms. Jacobson is researching possible venues and asked the members whether they would prefer to pay for lunch/brunch or make it “pot luck.” The consensus was to have attendees pay for their meal. It had been agreed at a previous meeting that there would not be an invited speaker, but rather it would be more of a social event. Ms. Jacobson distributed the slate of candidates, as well as a listing of draft proposed programs for 2007-8 which she asked the members to review/provide suggestions before the annual meeting. There was some discussion about the LWVSI’s advocacy position on certain issues versus on the national level. She also distributed and provided some explanation of the proposed budget and requested any recommended changes be brought to her attention before June 2.

Two members in attendance offered their congratulations on the recent programs undertaken by the LWVSI and on its very successful Observer Corps.

The meeting was adjourned at 7:00 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,
Loren S. Reich

 

Prepared by Adam Gaus
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Updated June 10, 2008