League of Women Voters Houston Celebrates 91 Years of Equality August 26, 2011

Historic Day in History: On August 26, 1920, the 19th amendment to the United States Constitution went into effect giving women the right to vote.

Earlier this week, The League of Women Voters Houston gathered to celebrate the “courage, perseverance and achievements of women who fulfill the promise of the 19th Amendment.”

The Houston League is led by President Linda Cohn and Executive Director Christina Gorcynski.

Dozens of elected officials along with political candidates, civic and business leaders attended the Women’s Equality Day event at John Palmer Fine Art Gallery in the Heights.

The League Houston also recognized several rising stars. Recipients included: METRO’s Russ Frank,
environmental queen Catarina Gonzalez Cron, Shelly White Millwee of the American Heart Association and Cameron Waldner, Chief Service Officer for the City of Houston.

During the last decade, the Houston League distributed 1.5 million printed copies of its signature publication, The Voters Guide. Local League volunteers have also registered over 50,000 new voters.

You can sign up to volunteer or learn more at http://www.LWVHouston.org.

Will Sheriff Thomas Meet the Debate Deadline? September 30, 2008

UPDATE: Sheriff Thomas DID debate Council member Garcia.

Sources tell 2 on the Beat that Harris County Sheriff Tommy Thomas has until the close of business this Tuesday to decide whether he will participate in a televised debate.

The League of Women voters has tried to organize the debate between the Republican incumbent sheriff 

and his Democratic opponent Houston City council member Adrian Garcia.

Garcia has accepted,  but citing his busy schedule in the aftermath of Hurricane Ike, Sheriff Thomas hasn’t committed to the debate.

Mary Easterly, the sheriff’s campaign manager, told 2 on the Beat that the Sheriff never committed to the debate.

“Sheriff Thomas is willing to debate Mr. Garcia, that’s not the issue,” said Easterly, “The issue is the Sheriff’s schedule. He and deputies are working twelve hour days as a result of the storm.”

She says they have proposed October 30 as an alternate date for the debate.

Meanwhile, the debate is scheduled to be taped on Wednesday, and broadcast this Thursday night, October 2, on Channel 8/PBS.

A source tells 2 on the Beat that if the Sheriff doesn’t show, Garcia will answer questions alone.

An empty chair will be left on stage to note the sheriff’s absence.