League of Women Voters of Manatee County

Hot Topics and LWV of Manatee Presentations

(about 1 hour each)

March 11, 2024 Voting Accessibility and the Disabled
People with disabilities have long faced some of the greatest barriers to voting in our elections. From inaccessible polling places and a lack of working accessible voting machines to onerous restrictions on absentee voting, their right to the ballot has often been ignored or forgotten.
This presentation covers Disability Pride month and flag, opportunities to honor the history, achievements, experiences, and struggles of the disability community. The laws governing required accommodations to enable those with disabilities to vote will be covered and what challenges and barriers still exist.

February 2, 2024  National Popular Vote is a method to assure that the candidate that wins the popular vote becomes President without a US Constitution change. Speakers:

  • Daniel Lishansky explains NPV and the status and advantages.
  • Patrick Rosenstiel is a nationally recognized figure in the world of public affairs. Rosenstiel presently serves as a senior consultant to the National Popular Vote campaign and was instrumental in getting NPV passed in Minnesota in 2023.
  • Deb Mazzaferro believes the NPVIC is the best way to ensure every vote counts in electing the president and vice-president. Since 2017 she has been an advocate, Subject Matter Expert and founding member of Floridians for NPV.

January 8, 2023 The Status of Women in Florida  Excellent speakers cover the current status of women in Florida, what are the issues that most affect women and girls in Florida, what are the recent legislative changes and what are the bills filed for the upcoming legislative session that impact women and how. The speakers are: Ashley Brown, CEO/President of Women’s Resource Center and Liv Coleman, PhD, Political Science Professor at the University of Tampa. Additional referenced material links are below:

November 13, 2023 Ranked Choice Voting
Ranked choice voting (RCV), also known as instant runoff voting, allows voters to rank candidates in order of preference. How it works, advantages and issues involved and current status in Florida covered by Vilia Johnson. Anna Kellar, a Maine civic leader, spoke about the Maine RCV experience. Maine was the first state to implement RCV in 2018.

Oct 9, 2023, Victims of Sexual Exploitation and Trafficking – This program covers the problem, it’s sources, what research shows and how effective are current efforts and resources to tackle the problem of human trafficking. What is the impact of those that are being sexually exploited, what happens to those individuals and are there adequate avenues to rebuild her or his life?

Our three speakers include two researchers from the USF Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Risk to Resilience Research Lab, located on the USF St. Petersburg Campus, and the Awareness Coordinator from Selah Freedom, an anti-trafficking non-profit organization headquartered in Sarasota. Dr. Joan Reid, Director of the TIP Lab, is an internationally recognized expert on the topic, and Dr. Sandra Stone has been working with Selah Freedom since 2017. Yvonne Lefebre represents Selah Freedom, which was established in 2010 and serves victims of human trafficking and the larger community through awareness, prevention, outreach, residential and consulting programs.

Sept 11, 2023  Clean and Accurate Voter Rolls and the ERIC System

The Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC) system, which can be part of the solution to both cost effective maintenance of voter rolls, and reinforcing the perception fail elections. It is also an effective tool for voter outreach. Florida joined the system and then withdrew in March. Learn about the system, the results and why it is struggling now to retain member states. Speakers Shane Hamlin, Executive Director of ERIC and Mike Bennett, Manatee Supervisor of Elections

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  • Equal Rights Amendment, March 13, 2023 Rebecca Goldman, LWVUS Justice Reform Legislative and Policy Specialist, gives the ERA background, why it is important and what the League and others are doing to complete ratification of the ERA amendment.
  • Click here for the Equal Rights Presentation Powerpoint.  There are many links to useful information including items such as the League’s positions and congressional testimony, action alerts and the League ERA toolkit.  
  • What You Need to Know About Gun Laws! Feb 13, 2023 Patti Brigham, cofounder of Florida Coalition to Prevent Gun Violence, covers gun violence in the state, covers the current gun laws and gave us insights into what may be proposed in the next legislative session and their implications.
  • Florida Medicaid Expansion –  Jan 9, 2023 What are the pros and cons of Medicaid expansion including impacts on Florida government fiscally, on businesses and on individual Florida residents? What have been the legislative efforts to pass expansion and where are they now? Why isn’t there a citizen’s initiative to get expansion on the ballot?
  • Speakers are:
    * Scott Darius, Executive Director of Florida Voices for Health (FVH). FVH is a coalition of diverse community-based organizations working to improve health care outcomes for all Floridians.  
    * Jake Flaherty, Campaign Manager, Florida Decides Healthcare (FDH). FDH is an organization established to get Medicaid expansion as a constitutional amendment on the ballot.
  • Local Poverty and ALICE Households, November 18, 2022 – To View Click Here  Of Florida’s 7.8 million households (21.2 million people), about 13% earn below the Federal Poverty Level. While those families certainly struggle, they are not the only ones who do.  There is another group of people who are technically above the Federal Poverty Level but by no means have the funds to get by in our community. Defined as ALICE (an acronym for families who are Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed), these households are working and working hard, but still struggling to make ends meet. 

    United Way Suncoast’s Douglas Griesenauer, Senior Director – Workforce Development & Financial Stability, and Nichole Peña, Senior Manager, Financial Stability Initiatives, covers what has changed since the 2020 ALICE report was published, covered the United Way Suncoast Eviction Mitigation and Housing Crisis Dashboard, and shared the housing policies they are advocating for our counties in order to address the crisis in our community. 
  • Robinson Preserve Expansion Planning and Execution, Nov 17, 2022 To View Click Here  Damon Moore, Restoration Ecologist with Environmental Science Associates, shared his experience as lead in an extreme restoration project. Considerations of habitat and wildlife, recreation, and costs were a balancing act that presented Damon and the county many challenges. Damon is a Certified Ecological Restoration Practitioner through the Society for Ecological Restoration.
  • Impact of Hurricane Ian on Bays and Estuaries, October 22, 2022  To View Click Here Excellent program by Dr. Dave Tomasko, Ph. D., Ex. Director of the Sarasota Bay Estuary Program with the impacts of many factors on the bay as well as changes due to Ian.  Dr Tomasko  has more than 30 years of experience in water quality assessments and the Vi of science-based natural resource plans in the Gulf of Mexico and international locations. 
  • Ethics and Open Government, November 10, 2022   To View Click Here  What is the Florida Sunshine Law, the Public Records Law and the Code of Ethics in layman terms? Speaker Krista A. Storey, Esq, Partner Emerald Law
  • Recently, unmet public records requests, transparency problems and lawsuits by The Florida Center for Government Accountability (FLCGA) have make headlines. Who are they, how do they work? Speaker Michael Barfield, Director of Public Access, Florida Center for Government Accountability.
  • Building a Multilingual Community in Public Schools, January 10, 2022. To View Click Here. The challenge of providing an excellent education for Manatee students, when they speak no English, or English is not their first language is daunting. 13% of our students fit this category and, although Spanish is the most frequent first language, Manatee students have 95 different languages as their first language. Our speakers help us understand the nature of these members of our community and the current and proposed programs in Manatee County schools, their challenges and successes.
  • Cintia Elenstar, ESL Certified, MNM candidate, Program Director of UnidosNow, who provided an overview, historical and current, of the varied demographics of Spanish speakers in Manatee County and their needs and resources.
     
  • Debra Estes, M.A., Director ESOL (English to Speakers of Other Languages), Migrant, Federal Programs, who shared the Manatee School District’s efforts to support achievement of ELL (English Language Learners) students.
     
  • Ruby Zickafoose, Ph.D., MSA Charter, who described their proposed PreK through Grade 5 Arts-infused Dual Language (Two-Way Developmental Bilingual Education) program, as an example of innovative efforts to improve literacy.
  • Gun Safety, November 8, 2021 – To view click here. Historically, gun sales increase with an election or a mass shooting.  Now, with the pandemic, George Floyd protests and the assault on the Capitol, gun sales have soared.  Hear the experts talk about the scope of this problem, in general and also specifically in Manatee County and common sense solutions to reduce gun violence risks. It could save a life.

    We are pleased to have as our speakers:
  • Carol Rescigno, President of Sarasota Manatee Brady United Against Gun Violence
  • Manatee County Sheriff  Rick Wells
  • Barbara Markely, LWV Broward County, Lock It Up! Program
  • Katie Hathaway, Jacksonville Moms Demand Action, Be SMART
  • Water Water Everywhere. Will we have enough safe water to drink? October 11, 2021 Manatee County experienced a 24% increase in population between 2010 and 2020. We expect a 50% growth in our population in the next 25 years. Manatee and Sarasota are the 10th fastest growing regions in the United States. The pressures this will put on our infrastructure and the availability of potable water will be immense. Learn what we are doing in Manatee county to deal with this issue today and into the future. Hear from experts on the water distribution as well as water usage. Panelists are: Dennis Ragosta, Government Affairs Regional Manager; Southwest Florida Water Management District Katie Gilmore; Water Division Manager, Manatee County Utilities Department; Jack Merriam, Retired Environmental Scientist To view the Water, Water Everywhere presentation Click Here
  • Clerk of Court and Comptroller Angel Colonesso, April 24, 2021 Angel shares a little of her journey, and introduced the incredible range of duties and services of the Clerk of Court and Comptroller office, give a few pointers on accessing their services and even covered historic properties that are under this office. Angel guarantees you will not be bored.  To view presentation on Clerk of Court click here
  • Returning Citizens 2020 Election and Beyond – March 8, 2021
    Until 2020, anyone convicted of a felony was barred from voting in Florida for life unless given clemency. Florida Rights Restoration Coalition (of which the Florida League was a primary partner) lead a citizen’s initiative that enabled many returning citizens were able to vote for the first time in many years. Hear about the 2020 election and future steps needed to secure the vote for felons who have completed their sentence.  
    Speakers are:
    Cecile Scoon – a civil rights lawyer and First Vice President of the League of Women Voters of Florida and chair of the state League’s efforts for the restoration of voting rights.
    Neil Volz is the Deputy Director and co-founder of the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition and a returning citizen whose vote was restored in 2020. Florida Rights Restoration Coalition is the organization that is dedicated to securing voting rights for returning citizens.
    To View the Returning Citizen presentation Click Here
    Returning citizens seeking legal clarity can call the League’s hotline dedicated to this program at 407-710-5496 or email CanIVote@LWVFL.org.
    For information on two Florida Bar-approved webinars, eligible for up to 4 hours of Continuing Legal Education (CLE) credit, go to http://lwvfl.org/cle/
  • Dark Money in Manatee County – February 8, 2021 
    Learn how dark money (special interest money where donor is unknown) has it affected local Manatee County elections and influenced the decisions of our County Commission. What, if anything, can be done. Speakers are Cathy Antunes, researcher and commentator and Joe McClash, prior County Commissioner and publisher.  To View the Dark Money Presentation Click Here
    Additional Information
    Article on Constitutional Amendment to overturn Citizen’s United
    E-Book Local Dark Money by Cathy Antunes
    Instructions on How to Use the Florida Campaign Finance Database
    Florida Campaign Finance Database
  • Plastics – Recycling is Not Enough – January 11, 2021
    Learn the disturbing truth about plastics and local recycling management. What needs to happen to strengthen our regulation on waste disposal, plastic use and recycling. Learn what you can do to reduce your waste footprint. Get practical suggestions. Speakers are Mary DeJesus, Recycling Program Coordinator, Manatee County and Jana Hoefling and Cat Dillard, Co-Founders of Rethinking Plastics
    Additional Information
    Manatee County Recycling Information Click Here
    Recycling Do’s and Don’ts from Manatee County Click Here
    PDF of Presentation by Rethinking Plastics Click Here
    Summary of Break Free from Plastic Pollution Act of 2020 Click Here
    550 Groups Ask Biden to Solve Plastic Pollution Crisis with 8 Executive Actions (English/Español) Click Here
    Planet Money Wasteland Podcast Click Here
  • The New World of Health Care and A Business Case for Universal Health Care – December 12, 2020 The first speaker is Wendell Potter, an American advocate for health insurance payment reform, New York Times bestselling author, and former health insurance industry communications director. The second speaker is Ray Fusco is a retired healthcare administrator with over 40 years of experience managing for profit and not for profit healthcare entities. To view the Health Care For All Presentation Click Here.
  • Innovative Solutions for Attainable Housing – November 9, 2020
    The moderator is Diana Shoemaker, President and CEO of Habitat for Humanity of Manatee County. The speakers are Bethany Snyder, Built for Zero (data driven approach to ending homelessness), Frank Wells, Chief Impact Officer of Bright House Community Trust, Geri Lopez, Manatee County Redevelopment and Economic Opportunity Director. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEicFNUkAHY