The Voter: December 2025 Newsletter

Posted by & filed under Uncategorized, Voter.

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Stay up to date on LWV happenings in Topeka and Shawnee County!

Calendar of Events

Tuesday | December 2 | Noon | Marvin 101BC at Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library
Tuesday Topics Speaker: Topeka City Manager

Monday | December 8 | 11am | Zoom
The Climate Committee will hear from Johnson County Planning Dept. Assistant Director Sean Pendley, via zoom about regulating battery storage components of solar installations. Members who wish to attend can contact Vicki Arnett for more information and the Zoom links.

Friday | December 12 | 11am | Zoom
Sarah Plinsky, with the Douglas Co. Planning Department will discuss with the Climate Committee their planning process for solar energy installations. Members who wish to attend can contact Vicki Arnett for more information and the Zoom links.

Friday | December 12 | 11am | Anton Room 202, Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library
LWVTSC Book Club (Details below)

Tuesday | December 16 | 11:30 am – 1 pm | Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library
Climate Committee Meeting – all members welcome to join, please contact Vicki Arnett.

For dates of upcoming Voter Education, Voter Registration, Board Meetings, and more, please view the events calendar on our website.

President’s Perspective

Greetings! If you thought the Topeka and Shawnee County library primarily offers books, no doubt you were totally surprised by the Executive Director, Marie Pyko’s, Tuesday Topics presentation! From converting VHS tapes to digital devices and arranging for personal delivery of your library goods, we found out about an array of free services available to the public. Many thanks to Marie for sharing updates with us. The library’s outreach is quite expansive.

Read the most recent President’s Message.

 

Local Observer Reports

LWV observers keep you informed about what is happening in local government. The Local Observer Corps volunteers attend city, county and school board meetings and take notes.
 

Each month, LWV volunteers attend city, council, and school board meetings. Their observer reports help keep us informed.

Observer Reports will be posted on our website to help get our members this useful and actionable information in a more timely manner.  

It’s Time to Renew Your League Membership
(At least for the vast majority of us!)

 

Renewing has never been easier, just follow this link to the Join/Renew section of our website. Everything you need to know is there.

Become a Member Today | LWVTSC

If you’re not sure its time for you to renew, send me an email and I’ll check for you: allanpqz@gmail.com
-Allan Foster, Membership Chair

Community News

Members from the League of Women Voters Topeka Chapter attended “60 Years Towards Freedom: Fighting for Civil Liberties in Kansas.” The evening was full of energizing speakers who filled the room with hope and a plan to secure democracy in the years to come.

November Tuesday Topics: Marie Pyko, CEO, Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library

Marie Pyko, CEO of the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library, spoke about the library’s Strategic Plan focused on connection, space, joy, learning, and people.  In addition to sharing updates about library services, resources and building improvement projects, Pyko specifically addressed the governance and support of the library in her presentation so the attendees could better understand those aspects of the organization.

“The library is governed and supported by three separate groups. The Board of Trustees- 10 members, appointed by the Mayor, approved by the City Council and the County Commission

As our own taxing municipality our board of trustees establishes the budget. The primary support for the library is through property tax. We are not permitted by statute to charge any fees for use of the library.

The Friends organization is a 501c3 primarily a membership organization, they have their own board of directors and they run three lines of business- the quarterly book sales, the Booktique and online sales.

The Library Foundation is also a 501c3 and it the organization that manages gifts given to the library, organizes fundraising initiatives, oversees endowment funds, and planned giving strategies. It also operates independently but its whole purpose is to enhance the library’s resources and services.”

Pyko concluded by sharing that she hoped  she had sparked our curiosity and that everyone learned something new that they didn’t know about the library and discovered something to explore.

Learn more:

Join the LWVTSC Book Club

The LWVTSC book club meets at 11 am on the second Friday of every month. We’re currently in the Anton Room on the 2nd floor of the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library. Lunch in the Millennium Café following the discussion is optional. Anyone is welcome. Contact Carole Jordan for more information.

Upcoming titles:
December 12 – Talk about books for 2026 and in general

A Message from the Topeka Voter Collaborative

While Topeka Voter Collaborative (TVC) set an ambitious goal of 25% voter turnout for the local mayoral and city council elections this month, they were still excited to see a 22+% actual turnout because that means we have continued to increase turnout in mayoral elections! With the help of local groups like the LWV-TSC, we mobilized many Topekans to start thinking about how to increase voter turnout, and what else we may need to do as a community if we want to ensure that every eligible voter is registered and every registered voter has access to cast their ballot and has access to information about the candidates and issues to make informed decision with their vote.

TVC is nonpartisan and any person or organization can join. Their Facebook page is here, where members of the collaborative and other local civic engagement groups share updates on how to be civically engaged in local government and local elections. 

Unite and Rise 8.5: A LWVUS Initiative to Defend Democracy

Unite & Rise 8.5 aims to build a movement of 8.5 million individuals to unite and rise up against the anti-democratic actions of this administration. Launching in May 2025 and running until the 2026 midterm elections, this initiative is part of our Women Defend Democracy campaign. 

Unite and Rise 8.5 will fight for our democracy on multiple fronts, from the courts to the streets. More actions will be outlined in the future, but there are several actions along with more information at https://www.lwv.org/uniteandrise.

LWV Board Updates

  • We will receive palm cards from the State League to help share understanding of the constitutional amendment on the August 2026 ballot.
  • Plan to show up for the League’s Legislative Day at the Capitol in late January, most likely in late January! 
  • The Health Equity Committee has begun background reviews but is still adding members.

State League Action Alerts & Newsletter

Stay informed of State League of Women Voters activity.