Wilton League of Women Voters (LWV) member Pam Klem was one of eight honorees who received the 2020 Political Courage Award at the annual League of Women Voters CT convention on May 30. Klem was recognized and honored for her tireless work on organizing and coordinating several state and municipal debates, community forums, and programs.
As one WLVW member described Klem, “Pam works in a nonpartisan manner and is able to draw different viewpoints and opinions to a final consensus”. In addition, as LWVCT campaign finance specialist, Klem has worked closely with the CT League’s Legislative Advocacy Team, working on behalf of clean elections, campaign contribution transparency, and equitable competition among candidates for political office.
More than 56 participants representing 25 Connecticut regions, including Wilton LWV members Tina Gardner, Anne Pettigrew Nunes, and Virginia Gunther, attended the convention via a virtual meeting.
“We shared experience and bore witness to the many programs and actions that Chapters across the state have undertaken over the past year both in celebration of the Suffrage Centennial as well as regular activities focused on women’s empowerment, voter education and registration. It was exciting to be part of decision-making as we shift into a new way of connecting and communicating within the League network,” Wilton LWV delegate Nunes explained.
Cindy Wolfe Boynton and Brittany Yancy were the Convention featured speakers. Boynton is an award-winning writer, playwright, college professor, and current president of the CT Chapter of the National Organization for Women and sits on the steering committee of the Governor’s Council on Women and Girls. Yancy is an assistant professor of Humanities at Goodwin University whose research focuses on 20th century U.S. social movements, women’s activism, and black women’s political and intellectual history. Selected as one of the 100 Women of Color in Hartford, she was appointed to the Board of CT’s State Education Resource Center and currently serves on the steering committee for the Governor’s Council on Women and Girls.
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the LWV, an organization that worked on behalf of and supported the passage of the 19th amendment. The LWV with its state and local chapters maintains its mission to inform voters, leading its work with its nationwide People Powered Fair Maps Campaign. Despite challenges with the COVID-19 pandemic, the nonpartisan mission of the state LWVCT as evidenced by its convention theme “Empowering Voters, Defending Democracy” endures. Its programs keep CT citizens informed. The LWVCT urges CT citizens to participate in democracy by its CTVOTES! Campaign that fosters voter information and registration, working together with other community organizations and groups. This year LWVCT has provided voting information publications and advocated on campaign finance and media transparency, and environmental issues.
Visit the Wilton LWV website to learn more information about activities, events, and membership.