Issue 2

VaDWC New sletter August 2010

Women’s Caucus Programs and Reorganization

Caucus Programs
The purpose of the caucus is to unite the women of Virginia in support of the
Democratic Party and its candidates, encourage full and equal participation of
women in the Party, educate, and finance Democratic women who aspire to
public office, while raising awareness of women’s issues in the
Officers
Commonwealth and the Virginia Democratic Party. To this end we need your
Chair help. We are proposing a number of activities that will raise money to help
Rachel Rifkind support the work of the Caucus.
st
1 Vice Chair  A Caucus Cookbook that will be divided into five sections with recipes
Linda Brooks
from Caucus membership, former Democratic first ladies of Virginia,
nd
2 Vice Chair
the Black, Latino, and International Caucuses. Books will be available
Julie Ann Turner for sale on the VaDWC and DPVA websites, local committees, and
bookstores. Recipes should be submitted to Julie Turner,
rd
3 Vice Chair jturnerdcc@verizon.net .
Maureen Markham  Our own Julie Turner, VADWC second vice chair, is running in the
Richmond Marathon or half on November 13th. This is a fundraiser for
Treasurer
the VaDWC. She needs the support of everyone in order to raise
Mattie Urquhart
money to fund the Phyllis Ander Political Leadership and Candidate
Secretary Training Scholarship. Our goal is to raise $3,000. Sponsorship levels
Deloris Thomas (Acting) begin at $26 and include Gold - $260 and Silver - $130 Medal levels.
 Our annual Silent Auction is fast approaching. Volunteers are needed
to assist with the labeling and set up for the auction. Hold on to those
things like vases, garden ornaments, and platters. Lunch with elected
officials, capitol tours and Obama memorabilia also move well. We
hope to complete the list of items and volunteers by November 15 th.
Congratulations to our
own Gaylene Kanoyton Send your ideas and suggestions for fund raising to Julie Turner,
on becoming DPVA Vice jturnerdcc@verizon.net or call 540 364-6240.
Chair for Outreach.

Gaylene is the Caucus

Representative to the
VaDWC Elections
Second Congressional Elections will be held at the September 11 State Central Committee Meeting
District. that will be held in Fredericksburg. Members in good standing as of July 13,
2010 are eligible to vote.
Page 2 VaDWC New sletter

Reorganization
Like most Democratic Committees, the Virginia Democratic Women’s Caucus
Representatives undergoes Reorganization every two years. Our by-laws set out the rules for this
process which involves the Election of Officers. The officers of the Caucus and the
Board include the Chair, the Immediate Past Chair, a First Vice-Chair, a Second Vice-
1st, Amy La Marca
Chair, a Third Vice-Chair, a Secretary, and a Treasurer. The current Third Vice-Chair,
Maureen Markham, also serves as the Chair of the Nominating Committee.
2nd, Gaylene Kanoyton
The by-laws say that the election of officers shall occur at the first regular meeting on
3rd, Deloris Thomas or after July 1 of even-numbered years. This year that meeting falls on Saturday,
September 11 in Fredericksburg. The election will take place at a Caucus meeting at
4th, Audrey Collins 9:00 a.m., before the full meeting of the State Central Committee convenes. Only
members who have paid their dues by July 13 (60 days prior to the election) are eligible
5th, Peggy Thome
to vote. Our Secretary, Deloris Thomas, has prepared a list of these eligible voters.
6th, Salome Baugher
Only members on the list may nominate, second nominations, be nominated, vote in
the election, or serve as officers. Nominations are now open and candidates seeking
7th, Robin Crane any office on the Caucus must complete a filing form and submit it to Maureen
Markham or Don Mark of DPVA at DMark@vademocrats.org by 12:00 p.m., September
8th, Diana Bedoya 7, 2010. A formal notice of the election with all these details will be sent out to the
membership by August 22, 2010, which is 20 days prior to the election.
9th, Mary Biggs
For more information, to see the official rules for the election including a list of duties
10th, Pam Kennedy
of the officers, and to download the filing form, please visit “Forms and Files” on our
11th, Bettina Lawton
website at www.vadwc.org

90th anniversary of the Vote

Votes for women were first seriously proposed in the United States in July, 1848,
at the Seneca Falls Woman's Rights Convention organized by Elizabeth Cady
Stanton and Lucretia Mott. By 1920 only one woman who attended that
VaDWC convention, Charlotte Woodward, was still alive to be able to cast a vote, though
Reorganization she was apparently too ill to actually cast a ballot.
Meeting
The movement to give women the right to vote was not restricted to the United
September 11, 2010 States, women in Great Britain and Canada received the right in 1918; Finland in
1906; Norway in 1913; Denmark and Iceland in 1915; the USSR and Netherlands
Fredericksburg in 1917; Austria, Czechoslovakia, Poland, and Sweden in 1918; and Germany and
Luxembourg in 1919.
9:00 a.m.
Black women did not get the right to vote until the passage of the National Voting
Rights Act of 1965. This landmark piece of legislation outlawed discriminatory voting
practices that had been responsible for the widespread disenfranchisement of African
Americans in the U.S.