League of Women Voters Brings Rich History to Modern Politics

Carol Cleven remembers when having spare time wasn't a luxury for the average woman; society wasn't addicted to Facebook, and driving the kids around from place to place wasn't a priority.

It was 1957 and most women in Chelmsford were college-educated stay-at-home mothers; looking for a way to make a difference, the League of Women Voters was born as a non-partisan organization dedicated to every voter in town making an informed decision.

It's a right too many people take for granted, Cleven said.

The former state representative is one of 10 current members of the Chelmsford League of Women Voters. Members used to amount to more than 100.

"I feel the league shaped Chelmsford. They were active and they studied the issues. They got up (at Town Meeting) with a lot of authority," she said.

The league, which never takes positions on candidates and only takes stances on issues once studied thoroughly, used to assign members to attend each town board and committee meeting as a liaison and report back at their monthly meeting.

The league used to put together an extensive bulletin with all reports and distribute it to everyone in town.

"We all had children in the school system and the town was growing. School issues were big because we were building them one after the other at that time," said Cleven. "The league started right before was built. It was a way to get get to know other women in the community and have a purpose with what you were doing. Women had more time, and really it was an outlet from the home to socialize and do meaningful things."

But in the internet age of e-mail and Facebook, busy schedules and long hours, membership started to wane.

"So many people were more active ... even five years ago, we had a membership of 30," said Janet Dubner, a longtime member. "Some have moved, some have died ... people are busy, with so many people working and when they have a family to take care of ... finding the time to come to meetings is hard."

Also when people can simply go online to be informed on particular topic, it's difficult to keep people engaged in the league. Still, Dubner hopes people will cast a meaningful vote with the league's help.

"I think for us, part of it is the historical attachment we have, but it has a modern current application. We'd like to see it continue into next generation," she said. 

Keeping the league non-partisan is important, Dubner said, and it is what sets their annual candidates debate apart from the Chelmsford Business Association and Democratic Town Committee debates.

"We’re the only ones with an unbiased look, we’re not Democrats or Republicans or the Chelmsford Business Association ... we bring them all together," said Dubner, adding that sometimes debate questions from other organizations are biased or slanted toward certain issues.

"We invite all candidates for town-wide office, whether it’s a contested seat or not, to say a few words. Sometimes they don’t follow up but they have the opportunity," said Walt Cleven, Carol's husband and one of two current male members of the league. Men are welcome to join the league and a handful of men have been members in the past.

 "We’ve been fighting now for 10 years to keep (the league) going because we feel no partisan orientation is important, it really is. We take that seriously and we work hard to maintain that," said Dubner.

Phebe Rand has been a member of the League of Women Voters since 2006, after she started getting involved in school-related issues.

"I think it’s really important people be able to vote and make informed decisions, and for me personally, it suits my personality well to be behind the scenes," she said. One of Rand's roles is to send out letters to all the candidates inviting them to the debate. "I’m not taking a stand or campaigning for people. I need to remain impartial."

For many members, the League of Women Voters is a symbol of the freedom to vote in America - a freedom many other countries do not have.

"I think people don’t realize how easy it is for extremists to take over, little bit by little bit. It doesn’t take much to have our freedoms taken away," said Dubner. "And then people will look back and wonder how that happened."

Dubner said the bottom line is if the league is to continue to exist, 10 members won't cut it.

"You need a driving force," she said.

Dubner said there's something important about asking questions of a candidate in person instead of on the Internet.

"That is what we offer. You can go online and see what people have said but (we give) the opportunity to talk to candidates in person, hear what they say and ask them questions within the format," she said. 

The league only screens questions for candidates to make sure wording makes sense and questions aren't inappropriate, or "gotcha" kind of questions.

These days, members communicate mostly by e-mail to organize candidates nights, which is their biggest event of the year. The league also has a presence at the town's annual wellness fair, registering people to vote. They also organize an annual night with all the local state lawmakers.

"If you value non partisanship in politics in town, and helping bring questions before the town or candidates in a non-partisan way, if you value being an informed voter making an informed decision, consider joining the league," said Rand.

Carol Clevens said the league has come a long way since the 50s and 60s, when league members were only allowed to refer to each other as "Mrs. (Husband's Name)."

"We didn't even know each other's first names back then," she said.

Dubner said there was something special about a group of women - nursing mothers, grandmothers, and everyone in between - gathering around issues and presenting them to townspeople so they could make a meaningful vote.

"We need people to continue these live events, and I think it is a struggle because there are so many sources of information now ... it's easy to feel information overload," she said.

The League of Women Voters will continue their annual tradition tomorrow night at their at 7 p.m. at the