Vote on Huntington League’s Name Change
Huntington Supervisor Election Investigation Underway
By Barbara Raisch
November was quite a month, marked by a contentious election season and heightened
attention on the Huntington Town Supervisor’s race. LWVNY advised us to make a thorough,
fact-based investigation of that race, so we have been gathering information through FOIL
requests and examining the nomination process in detail. When we reach a conclusion, we will
share our findings with all members. We would like to thank Judie Gorenstein for her continued
guidance and support on this process.
Our League has been growing with new members from Babylon and Islip, and to reflect that growth,
we plan to vote to change our name from LWV Huntington to LWV Huntington, Babylon and Islip. We
will be voting at our Holiday Dinner at Spuntino’s in Dix Hills, December 10, at 6 pm. Spouses and
friends are warmly invited. We ask that you bring a non-perishable food to the event which will be
donated to a local food pantry.
Over the past month, we strengthened relationships with several partner organizations,
including the NAACP (through participation in their Meet the Candidate Forum), the
Women’s Diversity Network, Sigma Psi Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha
Sorority, Inc. (where we presented Your Votes, Your Rights, Your Power), and From
Harm to Healing. These partnerships continue to expand our community reach and deepen our impact.
With 75% of the inmates in New York State prisons black or brown, and 98% convicted after plea deals, members
of the Huntington League’s Issues & Advocacy Committee rallied in October and November to support prison reform and register voters.
I&A co-chair Elise Antonelli also joined members of the Smithtown and Brookhaven Leagues at a meeting with Suffolk County
Sheriff Errol Toulon to press for greater efforts to register prisoners and give them access to absentee ballots. She also
organized, with the Healthcare Education Project of the 1199 Service Employees International Union, a webinar on Dec. 9 that
will examine the effects of the budget bill on Medicaid, SNAP, Social Security and more.
Leading the prison reform effort is I & A Committee member Jayette Lansbury. She was a panelist at an Oct. 28 event organized
by Communities Not Cages, and spoke at a Nov. 18 demonstration outside the New York State Office building in Hauppauge.
She added her voice to calls for passage of reform bills that would provide prisoners with a second chance by directing
parole boards to consider the length of their sentences and their efforts to rehabilitate themselves.
These bills include the Second Look Act, the Earned Time Act and the Marvin Mayfield Act. The Marvin Mayfield Act
would, according to the New York City Bar association, eliminate the injustice and huge costs of mandatory minimum
sentences, “allowing judges to consider the individual actions and mitigating circumstances in a case. In doing so,
the act will go a long way towards ending mass incarceration…and help reorient the system…away from purely punitive
prison sentences.”
Jayette Lansbury adding her voice to calls for passage of prison reform bills at a Nov. 18 demonstration outside the NY State Office Building in Hauppauge.
One of the most rewarding activities of the Huntington League is registering new citizens at naturalization ceremonies. But recently,
the U.S. Immigration Services and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security took action to prevent us from doing that, on the grounds
that they could not be sure that we, and other civic groups, are not partisan.
Now, the League of Women Voters of US, along with five states including Local Leagues have struck back with a lawsuit against those
agencies and other federal officials.
(Note: the Huntington League continues to schedule voter registration activities at the Federal Courthouse in Central Islip. This
was not affected by the actions of the other federal agencies.)
The lawsuit argues that the prohibition violates the First Amendment rights of the national, state, and local leagues to engage in
political expression and civic activity. The lawsuit also claims the agencies failed to follow the Administrative Procedure Act,
which requires clear, transparent steps when creating new policies to prevent harm to the public.
“Purposely excluding groups like the League from administrative naturalization ceremonies is a deliberate move by this administration
to deny new citizens access to the democratic process and attack the League’s very mission to register and support new voters,” said
Celina Stewart, CEO of the League of Women Voters of the United States. For decades, the League has been a fixture at naturalization
ceremonies across the country, helping new Americans register to vote on the first day of their citizenship. The League will not be silenced.”
Kerry Hager, Sharon Shapses and Jan Allen registering voters at the LWV Huntington table at the Fall Festival
in Huntington’s Heckscher Park. More voters were also engaged at Cow Harbor Day in Northport.
Masterminded by Kerry Hager, and with input from the rest of the team, the Youth Committee has created a new slide show for teens, “Democracy & Voting: Why and How.”
The teen program, which included several videos, was later modified for an adult audience for a Voter Services presentation to the Women’s
Diversity Network and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority. Barbara Raisch, Loretta Chillemi and Deb Cosher conducted the program, on the history of
voting from the 1960’s to the present.
Before November’s election day, the committee registered voters three times at Suffolk Community College Brentwood Campus and three times
at Farmingdale State College.
The committee is now providing local high schools with information about the opportunity for a student to spend three days in Albany
learning about New York State government.
League members engaged about 40 students at Suffolk Community College in discussion about voting and resources.
Many students were already registered voters. L-R: Darlene Reese, Eileen Marquardt, Patsy Hirschhorn and Loretta Chillemi
The delicious results of the Pastry Cooking Class donated by
Angela Crocci — a former professional pastry chef — as a fundraiser
for the LWV Huntington. From L-R, Back Row: Maureen Dwyer, Angela,
Brian Cleary, Kathy Gris. Front Row L-R, Mary Speed-Perri, Frances
Whittelsey
I’ve often said about the strong, organized women I know: She could run General Motors!
Of course, Mary Barra has been doing just that since 2014. Hurrah for Mary!
But I really do mean that women, with their critical role in running their households, usually while
holding down challenging jobs; with their involvement in PTA’s and their churches; and with their
leadership of non-profits on the ground taking care of their communities: so many women have the
skills and persistence and sensitivity to run just about anything, including General Motors.
This is on my mind as we leave the chaotic year of 2025 behind and continue our work with the League
of Women Voters. The women who power all the activities mentioned in this newsletter are nothing less
than remarkable, admirable examples of women’s leadership and commitment to all that is good. I am
privileged to be part of this group. As we begin the challenging year of 2026, I want to cheer all of
you and thank you for giving me and each other the strength to carry on.
