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Spotlight on Issues

The League of Women Voters of Vermont, through Onion River Community Access (ORCA) Media (Montpelier) and CCTV (Burlington), interviews guests as we seek to spotlight issues of interest to viewers.

May 8, 2024

Ranked Choice Voting in Vermont: Impact, Considerations and Opportunities
Brattleboro Town Clerk 

Hilary Francis and Burlington Assistant Town Clerk Sarah Montgomery discuss administering and implementing ranked choice voting elections in Vermont and answer questions presented by Secretary of State Sarah Copeland Hanzas. This is the second of two webinars co-hosted by the Office of the Vermont Secretary of State and League of Women Voters of Vermont.

MAY 1, 2024

Ranked Choice Voting: An Overview

Ryan Kirby, Director of Policy at Ranked Choice Voting Resource Center explains the basics and benefits of Ranked Choice Voting, a new and powerful way of choosing our leaders. He also demonstrates a live simulation tabulation of a ranked choice election in the 2028 Presidential Primary and joins the Vermont Secretary of State, Sarah Copeland Hanzas, in answering audience questions. This is the first of two webinars co-hosted by the Office of the Vermont Secretary of State and League of Women Voters of Vermont. 

FEBRUARY 25, 2023

WHAT IS NON-CITIZEN VOTING? 

Presenters: Marguerite Adelman, LWVVT Board of Directors. Chair of LWVVT Non-citizen Voting Committee and John Odum, Montpelier City Clerk.

Co-sponsors: Central Vermont Refugee Action Network, Universalist Society of Montpelier Racial Justice Team, Kellogg-Hubbard Library, ORCA Media.

FEBRUARY 18, 2023

WHAT IS NON-CITIZEN VOTING?

Marguerite Adelman, LWVVT Board of Directors. Chair of LWVVT Non-citizen Voting Committee presents information about non-citizen voting: the two cities, Winooski and Montpelier, that allow it, historical facts, what is happening in other states and across the nation, and arguments for and against it.

Co-sponsors: Chittenden Asylum Seekers Assistance Network, Immigration Justice Team of the First Unitarian Universalist Society of Burlington, Fletcher Free Library, Town Meeting TV.

FEBRUARY 6, 2023

THE PRIVATIZATION OF MEDICARE

Dr. Marvin Malek, past president of Vermont Physicians for a National Health Program, reviews Medicare Advantage, Direct Contracting Entities (DCE), and Accountable Care-Realizing Equity, Access, and Community Health (ACO/REACH) as he leads a discussion about the impact of privatization initiatives on the care that Medicare beneficiaries receive, the costs Medicare beneficiaries will face, and financial stability of the Medicare program.

Co-sponsors: League of Women Voters of Vermont, Vermont Physicians for a National Health Program, Vermont Health Care for All, Vermont State Employees Association, and Vermont Workers’ Center.

AUGUST 2018

ICELANDIC MODEL FOR REDUCING SUBSTANCE ABUSE (CCTV)

Sonja Schuyler, League of Women Voters, interviews Dr. Catherine Antley, community physician.

DECEMBER 2016

ELECTORAL COLLEGE

Betty Keller, League of Women Voters, interviews Paul Gillies, Attorney and Historian, Former Deputy Secretary of State.

NOVEMBER 2016

ELECTION PROCESS

Sue Racanelli, League of Women Voters moderates panel. Jim Condos, Secretary of State, Mark Johnson, VTDigger, Susan Clark, League of Women Voters.

JANUARY 2016

ETHICS COMMISSION

Kate Rader, League of Women Voters of Vermont, interviews Secretary of State Jim Condos on the need to create an independent Ethics Commission which would address ethical issues across all branches of government. Vermont remains one of only a handful of states without an ethics commission.

NOVEMBER 2015

AMENDING THE CONSTITUTION

Claudette Sortino, League of Women Voters, interviews Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine.

WHOSE DEMOCRACY IS IT? MONEY IN POLITICS

Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine.

SEPTEMBER 2015

WHERE THINGS GO WHEN YOU TAKE THEM TO THE LANDFILL

Sonja Schuyler, League of Women Voters, interviews Bryn Oakleaf Agency of Natural Resources.

JUNE 2015

CAMPAIGN FINANCE

Sonja Schuyler, League of Women Voters, interviews Attorney General William Sorrell.

MARCH 2015

UNIVERSAL PRIMARY CARE BILL H. 207 AND S.88

Jean Hopkins, League of Women Voters, interviews Dr. Deb Richter, Vermont Health Care for All.

FEBRUARY 2015

ENERGY BILL H.40 & PORTFOLIOS OF RENEWABLE STANDARDS

Kate Rader, League of Women Voters, interviews Representative Tony Klein.

DECEMBER 2014

CAMPAIGN FINANCE REPORTS FOR PUBLIC AND CANDIDATES ON SOS WEBSITE 

Kate Rader, League of Women Voters, interviews Jim Condos, Secretary of State. 

OCTOBER 2014

STATE ATTORNEY CANDIDATES DEBATE

Lindy Biggs, League of Women Voters, interviews Washington County State’s Attorney Thomas Kelly and challenger Democrat Scott Williams, Williams & Gray, LLC.

AUGUST 2014

UNIVERSAL RECYCLING ACT 148

Jean Hopkins, League of Women Voters, interviews Josh Kelly, Agency on Natural Resources.

JULY 2014 (CCTV)

EFFICIENCY IN VERMONT’S ENERGY FUTURE

Sonja Schuyler, League of Women Voters, interviews Scudder Parker, Vermont Energy Investment Corporation.

APRIL 2014

PUBLIC BANKING FORUM

Claudette Sortino, League of Women Voters, moderate panel, Public Banking. Is It A Fit For Vermont? Beth Pearce, Vermont State Treasurer, Senator Anthony Pollina, Chris D’Elia, Vermont Bankers Association, Gwendolyn Hallsmith, Global Community Initiatives. 

FEBRUARY 2014

CLIMATE CHANGE AND ITS IMPACT ON VERMONT FARMERS

Kate Rader, League of Women Voters, interviews Joshua Faulkner, Farming & Climate Change Program Coordinator, UVM Center for Sustainable Agriculture.

SEPTEMBER 2013

VOTING AND VOTER REGISTRATION

Susan Clark, League of Women Voters, interviews John Odum, City Clerk of Montpelier.

AUGUST 2013 (CCTV)

FOOD DESERTS

Sonja Schuyler, League of Women Voters, interviews Linda Berlin, University of Vermont Center for Sustainable Agriculture

JULY 2013 (CCTV)

MENTAL HEALTH AND COLLABORATIVE CARE IN VERMONT

Janet Cramer, League of Women Voters, interviews Peter Albert, Vermont Collaborative Care.

JUNE 2013

HOME WEATHERIZATION, WHY IT MAKES SENSE, AND HOW YOU CAN DO IT

Kate Rader, League of Women Voters, interviews Paul Markowitz, Efficiency Vermont and Keil Corey, Vermont Energy and Climate Action Network .

MAY 2013

HEALTH CARE. AFFORDABLE HEALTH CARE ACT AND UNIVERSAL SINGLE PAYER SYSTEM

Claudette Sortino, League of Women Voters, interviews Peter Sterling, Vermont Campaign for Health Care Security.

APRIL 2013

CAMPAIGN FINANCE

Sonja Schuyler, League of Women Voters, interviews Senator Anthony Pollina, Government Operations Committee.

MARCH 2013

MEASURES TO MITIGATE CLIMATE CHANGE

Kate Rader, League of Women Voters, interviews Representative Tony Klein, Chair, House National Resources Energy Committee.