League of Women Voters issues appeal for community volunteer observers

||| FROM NECIA QUAST for LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS |||

Four years ago, the League of Women Voters of San Juans stood up a local Observer Corps. Many local Leagues have one; members attend local public meetings to follow what is happening in local government and to ensure that public business is conducted with public oversight.

What was unusual was that our Corps offered to provide local media outlets with short notes on what took place at the meetings. The Washington State LWV had completed a study that found the struggles of local news organizations to remain in business and to cover local government were hurting civic engagement and democracy.

The Journal and The Islander and soon other outlets were happy to publish the notes. The councils and commissions that we attended welcomed our presence. The community welcomed our work; the observer notes made it easier to follow what our
elected representatives were working on. Observers Corps of other local leagues in the state are interested in following our example.

I coordinated the Observer Corps and personally covered the County Council, but I am leaving for a two-year assignment as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Kosovo. While the LWVSJ has observers for the Town of Friday Harbor, the Port of Friday Harbor, the SJI
School, Fire and Public Hospital districts, and the Board of Health, we do not have anyone to cover the County Council, which has more frequent and longer meetings and a more variable schedule.

Given the strong support in the community for this program and the importance of the County Council, the LWVSJ wants to continue to cover these meetings. LWVSJ needs your help. We need volunteers to be part of a small team to take this on. The meetings are livestreamed and can be observed remotely, so observers do not need to always be physically present or to reside on San Juan Island.

I hope the LWVSJ and the community will be able to keep the Corps both running and covering the County Council while I am away. If you are interested in being part of this work to support our democracy, please e-mail: Co-Presidents Susan Martin and Barbara Sharp at pres.lwvsji@gmail.com.