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Ninety years can be a long or a short time, depending on the context. This year marks the 90th birthday of the Constitutional amendment granting women the right to vote. It’s also the 90th birthday of the League of Women Voters, founded to help newly enfranchised women inform their own political choices.

Vivienne Spector (no relation to Arlen Specter) is the president of the League of Women Voters of Abington-Cheltenham-Jenkintown (LWV-ACJ). She’s NOT ninety! Spector says she was attracted to the League when her kids were young by “the wonderful, intelligent, vibrant women” performing such important roles in educating the public. For many decades now, the League has also embraced male members and officers as well. “The League gives non-partisan information about candidates’ positions and brings issues to the forefront,” says Spector.

For example, the League’s 2010 Government Directory is hot off the (courtesy of Abington Township) press. This annual publication is a handy little 8-1/2 x 14 fold-over, containing the current election calendar, absentee ballot information, contact information for local, county, state and national representatives, and local meeting information. Copies can be picked up free of charge at libraries across these municipalities, or by calling 215-887-6444.

The Government Directory is only one of many invaluable resources, long provided to our communities by LWV-ACJ. In addition:
• Twice a year, the League prints a Voter’s Guide with vital background about the candidates, ballot questions and polling information.
• The League conducts voter registration drives at Willow Grove Mall, Arcadia, grocery stores and street fairs. (Voters who move need to re-register in order to be eligible to vote in their new residences.)
• Every January, ACJ sponsors its “Legislative Interview” at which the broader area’s state representatives and senators answer questions posed by the League, and then the public, about legislative activity in Harrisburg.
• The League organizes numerous Meet the Candidates forums for school boards and other elected offices.
• Local league members organize studies on major issues in order to determine appropriate public positions. For example, over the past months, ACJ members have been researching natural gas extraction from the Marcellus Shale deposits across the state. They’ve discussed the research and sent their consensus viewpoints to LWV of Pennsylvania to be factored into the state League’s policy.

Spector’s background is in real estate. If your settlement package ever includes voter registration information and a Government Directory, you can thank her for that initiative. Meanwhile, she remains as impressed with the League today as she was when she originally joined. “Members are involved, and they’re always intent on learning more!”

It’s a rare organization that has the staying power of the League. You don’t have to be ninety to appreciate good information.