League of Women Voters of Darien 2020 – 2021 Annual Report

I am proud of all that the Darien League has accomplished with a small but dedicated team of volunteers. I want to thank our volunteer Board members and share some examples of our work this year.

In the fall,  we held an in- person televised Candidates’ Night highlighting  the contested Board of Education race. We published the Annual Voters’ Guide and collaborated with the Norwalk LWV on the statewide race among candidates for the General Assembly  who represent Darien  and Norwalk.  February brought a virtual  Candidates’ Night and  a new collaboration with the Stamford LWV  as we provided a forum for three candidates competing for the seat vacated by Senator Carlo Leone in the 27^th district.

Several of our members  , who joined the Darien League recently,  became active Board members as they  chaired  the membership / finance drive , compiled our  new online membership directory,  redesigned our website, and hosted our Zoom meetings.

We held the annual Legislative Coffee virtually in February with Representatives Terrie Wood and Matt Blumenthal.  Songs of the Suffragists , a video and documentary about the suffrage movement was shown virtually through the Darien Library.   Food for Thought continued to engage League members in thoughtful discussion on unannounced topics over lunch via Zoom.

In partnership with  New Canaan LWV and with the technical support of the Darien Library , we hosted Voting During Covid 19 and Voting in Connecticut , featuring Secretary of the State Denise Merrill.  We partnered with the Fairfield County Community Foundation to co-sponsor  the first in a series of discussions on the Future of Fairfield County: Darien.

The Annual Town Officials program was  offered virtually this year on May 20 at 7:00 p.m. Leaders of major Town Boards including the First Selectman. RTM Moderator and Chairmen of the Boards of Education , Finance and Planning and Zoning Commission joined us for a discussion of issues under consideration by their respective boards.  

We welcomed  Patti Russo , Executive Director of the Campaign School at Yale to speak on June 2 at 7:00 p.m.  A lively question and answer session followed Patti’s talk. More than 40 people attended virtually.

 Like many of our programs this year , these events were hosted by the Darien Library,  were open to the public and recorded for the community to watch on Vimeo and on  government access channel 79.  We could not have provided these programs for the community without the support of these two local organizations.

Since our founding in 1929  , the Darien LWV has been an integral part of the community earning a well-deserved reputation for promoting an engaged citizenry through programs that offer pertinent  information on Town issues and thoughtful and civil  dialogue among residents. As we look to plan ahead ,  we have appointed a strategic planning committee to analyze our strengths and  consider the most effective way of channeling our collective energy to continue to meet the needs of our members and the community.

Our membership roster includes 98 members; 65 are individual;  16 are household memberships and one is  honorary. Two members have passed away this year.  It is interesting to note that more than 25 % of our current membership includes women who are or have been elected officials on major boards in Darien and at the state level.