September- October 2026 Bulletin Issue 60
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Scan down this issue of the Bulletin to find opportunities for fellowship, learning, service to our communities, and standing up for democracy. Join us in them. | LWVAC Member Meeting to Discuss the Report on Ranked Choice Voting Albany, September 29, 7 pm, via Zoom. LWVAC’s study group will explain their report and recommendations so that you are prepared to vote on the recommendations at our October potluck supper member meeting.
|  | | The Last American Newspaper - A Matinee with the League
Saturday October 10, 2026 1- 6 pm
Support the League's work as you join us at a premier Cap Rep performance for a social meet and greet, the performance, and an after-play social gathering.
- 1:00 Meet and Mingle with League leaders, volunteers, donors and media folk Paul Grondahl, Melissa Hale-Spencer, Marcello Iaia and others.
- 2:00 The Last American Newspaper, a passionate memoir of local news journalism that's received wide acclaim.
- 4:00-6:00 After show party, drinks, discussion and hors d’oeuvres at Yono’s DP
Publishing Stars $500 - Media Mavens $250 - Avid Newshounds (after show party not included) $100 - Special LWVAC Member Rate available
|  | LWVAC Harvest of Friends & Food
Potluck Supper and Membership Meeting
October 14, 5:30- 8:00 pm
Members and their guests are encouraged to join us for our annual potluck dinner and membership meeting at Delmar Presbyterian Church, 585 Delaware Ave, Delmar. Meet, eat, and learn about League opportunities.
This year, we will vote on the recommendations in LWVAC's City of Albany Ranked Choice Voting study. Every member's input is important! We also will hear about our Cohoes Library Study. (More about both studies below.)
Bring your own dishes and utensils, and a dish to share that's enough for 6+ people. (Donations may be made in place of a potluck dish.) Please be sure to register!
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Voter Services
NYS Assembly District 108 Candidates Forum. October 7, 2026, 7 - 8:30 pm, at Hudson Valley Community College’s Bulmer Telecommunication Center Auditorium, 80 Vandenburgh Ave, Troy. The candidates, Mr. John McDonald III and Mr. Joseph Adamo, will answer questions presented by the Leagues of Women Voters of Rensselaer County and of Albany County, who are hosting the forum. Free parking is available in any of the campus parking lots.
Voter Registration and Information Events To volunteer for any of our "tabling" events, contact Voter Services Director Wendy Dury-Samson.
- September 25, afternoon, West Community Fall event, West Com. Ctr, 520 Livingston Ave. Albany
- September 27, 12-5 pm, Upper Madison Street Fair on Madison Ave, Albany
- October 7. 10 am- 2 pm,, UAlbany Community Service Fair, Main Campus Lecture Center Concourse
- October 8, 5-7 pm, Albany Law Black Law Students Association, Albany Law School
- October 10 & 11th, LUSH cosmetics, Crossgates Mall store, times to be determined
- Oct. 18th, Moms Demand Action Halloween Give-away, Cultural Center, 64 Quail St. Albany, 12- 3 pm
High School Voter Registration Team is “Back to School!" Over the summer, our team has been planning for this busy semester of teaching and registering students to vote and here we go! To date, we have scheduled commitments at the following schools:
We will be present at many other Schools this semester. There is always a need for LWVAC members to shadow our work and help out. Please consider being a part of this most important effort to register our youngest voters this semester. Contact Marggie or Maureen at their emails above. | Thank you to all who participated in National Voter Registration Day
Thirty two volunteers tabled at Price Chopper/Market 32 and Shop n Save stores on September 15, 2026. They helped carry out our mission, ensuring an informed electorate and registering eligible persons. Some comments from them included:
- “We met 2 individuals who were once incarcerated, who did not know that they may now be eligible to vote!”
- “We did many address changes both online and on registration forms with people who hadn't updated their addresses and needed to know where they could vote based on the new address.”
- “I was sad that so many people say they have never voted before.”
- “We didn’t get as many registrations as I expected, but I felt so great helping people clarify the 4 ways to vote.”
Twenty eight percent of our volunteers had never done voter registration. Many were concerned about their lack of knowledge but came out of the experience feeling that it was a rewarding, educational opportunity to meet the public. |  | | Anna Gaeta, Ella McGrail and Mary Berry at the Madison Avenue Market 32.
|  | Susan Ball and Carol Dillon at Slingerlands Market 32. | | |
| LWVAC Cohoes Public Library Study
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● the Cohoes Public Library had the least funding of all libraries in Albany County?
● it receives less City funding than recommended by their Board of Trustees?
● the Mayor’s support for the library has waned since he was elected in 2020?
● it has been in a temporary location at the Cohoes Senior Center since 2021?
These issues and the city’s apparent lack of transparency with regard to the current and future status of the library, prompted LWVAC to undertake this study of the library. Because of the Library Board of Trustees (BOT) lack of interest in the recommendations, the study committee has decided the League cannot move forward at this time with our recommendations on improving the library and its services.
We ask that you review the report, including the lessons learned. You will be able to ask questions and offer any suggestions at the October 14 member meeting. | Coming Events
Banned Books Readout Let Books Be. Protect the Freedom to Read, Tuesday, October 6, 6- 7:30 pm. Washington Avenue branch Albany Public Library. Hear local performers read passages from books that have been challenged or banned, presented by the New York Civil Liberties Union and Albany Public Library, with LWVAC and other community organizations. To help at LWVAC’s table at the Readout, contact Joanne Shawhan, at president@lwvalbany.org.
Authentic News or Misinformation? Wednesday, October 6, 7 - 8 pm, Bethlehem Public Library, Delmar. An interactive presentation to help you navigate today’s fast-changing media landscape, by Mary Miller from the New York Newspapers Foundation’s News Media Literacy Program.
No Kings Vote Early Activation, Saturday, October 17. LWVAC will partner with the AlbaNY Visibility Brigade to promote Get-Out-The-Vote messages. Details to come.
What About Ranked Choice Voting? Tuesday, October 20, 6:30-8:30 pm. Voorheesville Public Library, 51 School Road, Voorheesville. Video and speakers presented by the library and LWVAC. No registration required.
10th Annual Nellie Bly Award, Wednesday, October 21, 6:30 pm reception, 7:00 program at the Hearst Media Center at the Times Union. Honoring investigative reporter Julie K. Brown, in conversation with Marty Baron and Brendan Lyons. Tickets.
Memorial Lecture in Honor of Richard Rifkin. Monday, October 26, 5:45-7:30 pm Dean Alexander Moot Court Room (Rm 421) at Albany Law School, 80 New Scotland Ave., Albany. Richard Rifkin was a career public servant, former Legal Director of the Government Law Center at Albany Law School, and a League of Women Voters of Albany County board member and leader. Registration. | | Save the Date! Saturday Nov. 21, 11 am- 1 pm
Our 250th Year as a Nation
LWVAC Brunch with Jack McEneny
Albany County Historian & former NYS Assemblyman
At Four Points by Sheraton Albany, 3 Mount Hope Way (Rte 9W near 787)
$45 for members / $50 for non-members
Registration information will be available soon. For information, email lwvac@lwvalbany.org. | | | | Anne Shibata, Athens
Ronnie Siegel, Delmar |
| Melinda Burns, Loudonville
Mary Ellen Bolton, Albany
Lee Newberg, Albany |
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| Dorian Solot, Albany
Joan Disare, Delmar |
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| DEI Bookshelf
Sisters of the Midnight Sun: a Murder in Arctic Alaska by Rebecca Wright Stevens
In this absorbing blend of memoir, travelogue, and courtroom drama, a former public defender in Utqiagivik, the northernmost town in Alaska, recounts the story of a brutal murder of two sisters and her defense of one of the suspects. Besides her description of life in the far North, in an isolated town with no roads and majority population of Iñupiat, a striking aspect of the book is the discussion of contrasting systems of justice. The Anglo one believes guilt or innocence is decided based on evidence presented to a jury, while the Iñupiat one believes that guilt or innocence is decided by the community. This compelling account leaves us to think about what is just and what is fair.
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and bookmark our calendar in your browser so you can find it again. | The League of Women Voters is a nonpartisan grassroots organization that encourages informed and active participation in government, works to increase understanding of major public policy issues, and influences public policy through education and advocacy.
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