League of Women Voters Huntington NY

Empowering Voters. Defending Democracy

Issues & Advocacy Committee

Call to Action from LWV Huntington and NY State

LWV of Huntington strongly encourages all our members to get involved. We must all do what we can to Defend our Democracy.  Democracy dies in Darkness. 

Light for Our Democracy & April 5 Hands Off Mobilization

  • Leagues and over 24 partners mobilized 79 events nationwide.
  • LWV is joining national organizers for “Hands Off” events, a national day of action currently with over 200 events planned. Leagues are welcome to join or create events using this sign-up link.
  • A Community Field Call will take place on Thursday, March 27 at 5:30pm ET. This call is an excellent opportunity for local and state Leagues to learn more and coordinate on upcoming LWV activities and actions. Register for next week’s call here.

Congressional Recess Actions

Congressional Action

Upcoming Elections + VOTE411

  • Clearly there’s A LOT of important things happening right now, AND it’s still an election year; there’s really no “off-year” for elections.
  • Many of our communities’ most pressing issues hang in the balance, and Leagues have a chance to make some of their greatest impact in these local and special elections.
  • We have over 2,000 races on VOTE411 right now.
  • Election Prep Toolkit: https://www.lwv.org/league-management/voter-services/election-preparation-toolkit

Guest Essay by Pilar Moya-Mancera, Executive Director of Housing Help Inc.

“In this election, make sure you ask your candidates about housing”

It is not a surprise that there is a severe lack of housing on Long Island. It has been affecting the cost of housing for years — both sales and rentals — and it has now become a crisis, especially for those who cannot find a place they can afford. Call it lack of inventory, call it inflation, call it greed. Overall, 35% of Long Island households are overburdened by housing costs, and that number climbs to 62% of renters. 

Long Island officials have not done enough to increase housing, let alone low-and-middle income housing. Proposals to address the issue with solutions that are fiscally and environmentally responsible are consistently shut down with zoning regulations, minutiae of requirements, and strings of hearings. Not to mention the officials who fall prey to the NIMBY wails against any kind of housing creation.

Advocating for safe, accessible and affordable housing is an important part of our mission at Housing Help Inc. We receive calls every day from desperate people of all walks of life. Many of them never expected to find themselves unable to afford where they live and then unable to find a place to go. This affects everyone — seniors, veterans, single parents, people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, young professionals, essential workers. Communities cannot subsist without essential workers. Young professionals are leaving Long Island with our school tax dollars in their brains, taking with them our dreams of future local leaders. In fact, the median age in Suffolk County increased by 10% between 2011 and 2021.

With the 2023 election a few days away, many Long Islanders have been attending dozens of “Meet the Candidates” events across the Island. Whether it is the long list of issues to be discussed or the number of candidates invited, discussions about the housing crisis have been inconsistent. And while a small number of good actionable ideas have been mentioned, Long Island voters have the right to know more. 

If you feel access to housing is as important as we do, contact your candidates. Nothing should be as important to them as speaking with a potential voter about the issues that concern them. If time no longer permits that, check their websites. Among the questions they need to answer are:

What approach do you propose to address younger residents fleeing from our high cost of living and reduce our brain drain?

As elected officials across the U.S. recognize that affordable housing is a nonpartisan issue, they are making decisions to rezone and allow housing. How will you approach and support much-needed affordable housing in the county? 

Candidates running for elected office often pledge to create affordable housing for local workers and residents. Why don’t they follow through on that and what would you do differently?

Do you support zoning reform that will both protect local residents from being pushed out of the area and protect our environment by allowing innovative examples of environmentally friendly habitats like accessory dwelling units, tiny homes, or recycled container dwellings?

Local elected officials have the power to make changes and open the road to create more housing. Exercise your right to learn more about their stands on the housing issue and vote. Then keep them accountable.

This essay appeared in Newsday

Statement to Suffolk County Legislature on Water Quality

Keeping our waterways and drinking water clean is a critically important issue for ourselves, our children, and their children’s children. Residents should be allowed to vote this November on whether they want to invest in this effort.

Professor Christopher Gobler from SUNY School of Maritime and Atmospheric Sciences says 75% of the nitrogen in our waterways comes from wastewater from outdated sewage and septic systems. Nitrogen pollutes our waterways and leaches into the land to pollute our groundwater aquifers.  Nitrogen causes harmful algae blooms and dangerous toxins, affecting marine life and the quality of life by closing beaches and fishing.  It threatens our health. It affects commerce – fishing, shell fishing, tourism, and recreation on the waterways and waterfronts. County surface waters are about 7% of the economy annually.  Nitrogen pollution in our local waterways must be reduced.

We need to manage our sewers and replace our septic systems. It is expected to take decades to convert our 380,000 septic systems on LI. Funding can speed up that process by offsetting the cost of the septic systems to the resident. We cannot put the financial burden on the residents to upgrade these systems.   

NYS offers us funding, but the county must provide a 25 % matching contribution.  A 1/8% increase in sales tax will provide a matching contribution and an ongoing source of revenue. It is a long-term plan, and it will take decades to upgrade the sewers and install and maintain the nitrogen-reducing septic systems.       

The Countywide Wastewater Management District (CWMD) is proposed as the administrative structure required to implement the Suffolk County Clean Water Plan.  It is also where we look for the appropriate financial controls and transparency.  

If we don’t take significant steps now to reduce the pollution of our waterways and aquifer, we may lose the New York State contribution, and we will all suffer the consequences.  

Therefore, the voters must decide if they want a 1/8% tax increase to protect our waterways and aquifers. This is critical to the future of Long Island. The League of Women Voters supports putting this on the ballot this November.

Climate Change

State and local Leagues, and individual League members, have a critical role to play in helping to limit future climate change and protect the planet.

Position In Brief: 

The League is calling for prompt action to cut this country’s GHG emissions, invest in a clean energy economy, and help the world’s poorest countries tackle the challenges of climate change.

The League believes that climate change is a serious threat facing our nation and planet. The League believes that an international approach to combating climate change — including through energy conservation, air pollution controls, building resilience, and promotion of renewable resources — is necessary to protect public health and defend the overall integrity of the global ecosystem. The League supports climate goals and policies that are consistent with the best available climate science and that will ensure a stable climate system for future generations. Individuals, communities, and governments must continue to address this issue, while considering the ramifications of their decisions, at all levels — local, state, regional, national, and global.

Read more about our Climate Change Position in our Toolkit for Climate Action.