Though we are a small group, the LWV of Klamath County has been in existence for many years. Below are some of the accomplishments we have achieved over the years.
See also About Us and Studies and Reports
CANDIDATES NIGHT in election years: all local candidates appear in a non-partisan forum with a question asked by LWV Klamath County and answered by all candidates, along with questions from the audience. We partner with AAUW for both primaries and general elections for multiple candidate races.
2013- NON-PARTISAN ELECTION OF KLAMATH COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
We sponsored an initiative effort to elect Klamath County commissioners on a non-partisan basis. This measure passed on May 21, 2013.
2010-2011 – ENERGY EFFICIENCY FORUMS
Co-sponsored with Klamath Sustainable Communities in January 2010, October 2010, and October 2011. These forums provided education and encouraged the sustainable use of energy and materials in homes and businesses.
2009 – COMMUNITY MEETING ROOMS
Promotion of free use of new community meeting room. We obtained a grant for new TV and VCR for this space through Oregon Cultural Trust and Klamath Cultural Coalition.
2003 – TRANSIENT ROOM TAX
After a study led by Kate Marquez in 2002, the Transient Room Tax appeared on the local ballot in 2006. Due to successful voter information campaigns, the ballot measure passed. It is now adding over $300,000 in on-going funding for the Klamath County museums and promotion of tourism in Klamath county.
1998 – A DEFINITION OF SUSTAINABILITY
This definition was adopted by the League of Women Voters of Klamath County on April 25, 1998.
A SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITY
- respects its own diversity,
- values the complexity of the natural world,
- accepts responsibility for the social, economic, and ecological well-being of present and future generations through individual and collective actions.
It balances regenerative and degenerative processes by applying the following principles:
- renewable resources do not exceed their rates of regeneration.
- nonrenewable resources do not exceed the rate at which sustainable renewable substitutes are developed.
- pollution emission do not exceed the assimilative capacity of the environment.
A sustainable community advocates an economy that equitably provides satisfying livelihoods in a safe, healthy environment. It protects its natural resource base and the viability of natural systems on which all life depends.
Specifically, sustainable communities:
- Have levels of pollution, consumption, and population size that are in keeping with regional carrying capacity;
- Share an ethic of responsibility to each other and to future generations;
- Reflect the social and environmental costs of the provision of goods and services in the prices charged for them;
- Encourage informed democratic participation and deliberation in their system of governance, education and civic leadership;
- Enhance neighborhood livability and access to greenspace in their design of markets, land use, and architecture;
- Make sure that housing is affordable and interrelated with employment, recreation, and shopping areas;
- Integrate principles of sustainability into the community’s Comprehensive Plan and into other planning policies and procedures
- Foster business development policies and procedures that support a sustainable community;
- Encourage inter-jurisdiction planning that supports sustainability; and
- Encourage innovative and creative approaches to sustainability.
1995 – COMMITTEE FORMED TO PROMOTE SUSTAINABILITY
A study on Children At Risk, chaired by Leslie Lowe in 1995, led to a study on sustainability and a community forum. Later, a committee was formed to continue this work. It went on to collaborate with Klamath Basin Audubon Society and Klamath Wingwatchers on various aspects of sustainability in the Klamath Region. In 2003, this committee wrote a 501 c3 application that was finalized in November 2005. Klamath Sustainable Communities was created as a separate entity from its LWV Klamath committee.
In 2011, there were 26 voting members in Klamath Sustainable Communities and an email list of 345 addresses.
1991 – AIR QUALITY STUDY
Air Quality study in 1991, led by Carol Yarbrough, looked at the need to replace wood stoves as major contributors to smog in the Klamath Basin. The study created better air quality standards, a burn/non-burn days program, and a measuring device at Peterson school.
1975-76 – JAIL STUDY
This study formed the basis for changes 10 years later. It encouraged the passage of a Jail Bond to build a new jail for joint City and County use. Nina Pence, LWV member and Jail Advisory Committee member, helped choose an architect and oversaw construction. Zon Gerbert, LWV member, was commissioner in 1984-88 and was also involved in this jail construction project
1956 – CHARTER FORM OF GOVERNMENT FOR CITY OF KLAMATH FALLS
The first LWV local study focused on Home rule in 1953, which led to a published brochure for the community regarding local government resources. The LWV Chapter officially started in 1956-57 and helped pass the Charter Form of Government for the City of Klamath Falls in 1958. This first League disbanded in the early 1960’s.