TWELVE MUNICIPALITIES ARE HOLDING VOTES | Twelve municipalities in Palm Beach County will conduct elections on Tuesday, March 11. Early voting will not be available, but Vote-By-Mail ballots will be sent to voters who pre-register for a mail-in ballot. If any runoff elections are needed, they will be held Tuesday, March 25. The municipalities are:
Boynton Beach
Golf
Highland Beach
Jupiter
Lake Park
Lake Worth Beach
Lantana
Loxahatchee Groves
Pahokee
Palm Beach Gardens
Riviera Beach
Royal Palm Beach
The municipality’s clerk is the supervisor and qualifying officer for all candidates in its election. Questions about a particular municipal election should be directed to that clerk's office. Similarly, information on campaign contributions and expenditures can also be obtained from the municipal clerk. Municipalities are responsible for securing the polling places for their elections. Voters will be notified by mail if the polling place being used for the municipal election is different from the polling place used during countywide elections. Each municipality's canvassing board is made up of members as outlined in its charter. | New Membership Renewal Procedure Starts Feb. 3
| The membership renewal process for every local chapter and every member will change on Feb. 3. When it is time to renew your membership, it will be done on the LWVUS website. You will still begin by clicking the JOIN/RENEW button on the LWVPBC website. Then you will be automatically forwarded to the LWVUS website to enter your renewal information and make your payment.
|  | The new membership renewal system does not stop you from making donations by check or credit card to the League of Women Voters of Palm Beach County. You can and should continue to donate directly to your local League. The only change is that you cannot merge your donation into your membership dues payment. Donations must be made separately.
Are you over age 70½ and take a Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) each year and use part of that money to make a charitable donation to the League or other nonprofits? If so, have you considered a Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD)?
There is a full explanation of Qualified Charitable Distributions on the “Donate” page of the LWVPBC website. Please check with your tax professional about the benefits and requirements of a QCD for you.
— Daniel Lishansky
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PRESIDENT'S
MESSAGE
Stand with the PBC League
at its Feb. 26 fundraiser | | | As always, the League has many exciting programs and activities coming up. I am asking you all to join us for these events.
February Fundraiser: Join renowned MSNBC anchor Katie Phang and Dr. Robert Watson, author and historian, on Feb. 26 for a memorable event that will feature an exciting silent auction and a chance to contribute directly to the League. Don't miss out on an afternoon of conversation, generosity and community spirit.
The event, at the West Palm Beach Marriott, aims to raise significant funds for LWVPBC to continue our efforts to educate voters and defend democracy.
You can contribute by:
* Purchasing tickets online at LWVPBC.org. You’ll have an afternoon filled with meaningful conversation, entertainment and a chance to make a difference.
* Contributing to the Silent Auction. Whether you donate an item, service or experience, your generosity will help raise valuable funds.
* Making a Donation. For those unable to participate, direct donations are always welcome. Gifts of any size make a tangible difference.
* Becoming a Sponsor. Information how is online at LWVPBC.org.
Don’t miss your chance to be a part of this impactful afternoon. Your participation will help the LWVPBC further its mission of empowering voters and defending democracy.
Our March Hot Topic will be held Thursday, March 27, at the Supervisor of Elections Office. Yes, it is a Thursday rather than our usual Wednesday because of the municipal election runoff earlier that week. There will be a box lunch; the menu is being planned. Supervisor Wendy Link will give us a tour of the new facility.
— Kathi Gundlach, President |  | Connect with League Members and Friends
to Reboot for the New Year
This event also will feature an explosion of tasty delights, the joyful product of Brazil’s carnival meeting New Orleans’ Mardi Gras. Invite your friends.
Admission is free, but registration is needed.
| GOT TREASURES YOU CAN PART WITH?
Fundraiser team collecting items for silent auction | The Feb. 26 fundraiser luncheon, featuring Katie Phang and Dr. Robert Watson, is fast approaching, and our Committee has been hard at work to ensure its success. We are thrilled with the progress so far: tables and tickets are being purchased, and enthusiasm is building.
At the last fundraiser, the silent auction was a highlight, with guests actively bidding on a wonderful selection of items.This year, we hope to make it even more successful — we already have some fantastic auction items but would love to expand our offerings.
We are reaching out to you, our valued members, for help in securing additional silent auction items. Here are a few suggestions:
* Gift cards for restaurants, Costco, Publix, Starbucks, Dunkin’ Donuts, or other businesses you frequent.
* Vintage handbags or costume jewelry that are gently used or in excellent condition.
* Donations from businesses or organizations you have a relationship with.
We also welcome your ideas for unique auction items and your support in helping us gather these contributions. Together we can make this fundraiser a success and continue to support our mission of “Empowering Voters. Defending Democracy.”
Thank you for being part of this effort. Your involvement is what makes our League strong and impactful.
— Linda Kramer, LWVPBC Administrative Assistant | | This directory is almost ready for print. Our Speakers Bureau stressed the need for these directories, so we have planned to accommodate them with additional copies in 2026.
We have some new information in this directory:
* Municipal election deadlines for 2025
* Deadlines for the 2026 General Election
* Link to the League of Cities: We hope to become an associate member with the help of Advocacy Chair Rich Bartholomew.
Link to Discover PBC for more government information.
Of course we have information on the local, state and federal legislators for Palm Beach County. We were just waiting on Sen. Marco Rubio’s confirmation as U.S. Secretary of State and then his replacement, now Sen. Jeanette Nunez.
The Directory also will be available on our website, and will have live links to each legislator.
Our print quantity will be between 8,000 and 10,000. It should be available the first week of February.
Christene Campbell-Gabor has volunteered to chair the Distribution team. If you can deliver some directories, please contact her at Christene.LWVPBC@gmail.com.
— Joyce Sullivan, Publications Chair | | | KRISTINA SERBESOFF-KING,
NATURE CONSERVANCY SCIENTIST | League member Kristina Serbesoff-King, director of science and planning for the Nature Conservancy’s Florida Chapter, spoke to the West Palm Beach Garden Club Jan. 13 at the Mounts Botanical Garden. In her position, she directs a team of scientists to ensure the Florida chapter applies the best available conservation science and science-based rigor to set priorities, make decisions, take action and measure results.
Among other areas, her presentation detailed the conservancy’s Center for Conservation Initiatives, which has a statewide scope and includes Blowing Rocks Preserve in Martin County. The Center is a science and strategy platform that investigates conservation questions, demonstrates strategy and connects people to science. It advances conservation through education and training, outreach and volunteerism, science and research, and land stewardship.
Serbesoff-King has worked in the environmental field in Florida for almost three decades, and joined the Nature Conservancy in 2004. Previously she was a wetland biologist for the Miami-Dade Department of Environmental Resources and a scientist at the South Florida Water Management District.
At the League, she is a team leader for Candidate Contact for the Voters’ Guide. She has been a League member since 2020 and on the Guide team since 2022. She resides in West Palm Beach. | THREE PBC LEAGUERS
NOMINATED FOR AWARD
FROM WOMEN’S CHAMBER
Congratulations to our League of Women Voters of Palm Beach County volunteers Claudia Mendoza, Becky Haltermon Robinson and Geanine Wester for their 2025 Giraffe Award nominations. The Women’s Chamber of Commerce of Palm Beach County has hosted this event since 1996 to recognize women who have “stuck their necks out” for other women in the workplace and community. Nominee Wester is a former president of the Palm Beach County League. Ashley Cacicedo-Surdovel, chair of the Young Leaguers, is a co-chair of the event. The Giraffe Awards, with 28 nominees in five categories, will be announced at a Women’s Chamber luncheon March 19 at the Kravis Center Cohen Pavillion. Get tickets.
| | | Returning Citizen Postcard Project events to resume
The Florida State League has restarted the Returning Citizen Postcard Project and the Palm Beach County League will resume events as well. The PBCLWV has been very involved with the Returning Citizen effort since 2016. A Constitutional Amendment in 2018 passed with 64 percent of Florida voters in agreement that citizens who had been imprisoned for a felony offense should regain their voting rights. However, subsequent legislation included the provision that returning citizens must pay any outstanding fees and fines related to their felony conviction.
The Florida League developed continuing education courses for Florida attorneys to stay up to date on the research to determine an individual’s indemnity; they serve on a pro bono basis. The postcard design is the mechanism used to inform returning citizens how to determine if they have outstanding fees and fines. The postcard includes an 800 number to call to be assigned a trained pro bono attorney.
The Palm Beach County League in 2024 held 10 postcard parties, where a total of 3,300 cards were written. The hosts for these events were various civil organizations, churches, synagogues and political parties. A Palm Beach County League representative attends every event and brings all the materials, including names, addresses and postcards. We ask only that the host organization provides the stamps and the venue.
For further information, and to schedule a postcard event, please contact Mary Jane Range at MJRange@comcast.net or (561) 339-9522.
— M.J. Range | Help League's
Gun Safety Issue
Group protect kids
We can’t change gun laws in Florida, but we can make their ownership safe in our community. We’re reaching out to preschools in Palm Beach County and asking them to share our Lock It Up! information and gun locks with the parents of children in their care.
Will you call one or more schools in our community with this important message? We have an easy script for your call and the names and contact information of schools.
If you know of a preschool you’d like us to contact, please let us know. Email GunSafety@LWVPBC.org.
— Marcy Brody & Kristen Murtaugh, Gun Safety Issue Group Co-chairs
| | |  | ANNUAL COUNTY GUIDE AVAILABLE ONLINE
Palm Beach County has just posted its annual, comprehensive Guide to Services that shows where to get information on County, Federal, State and Local officials and offices, as well as community service organizations. Put this link on your browser’s favorites/bookmarks list to get fast, accurate information about every public service.
— The Advocacy Committee | A WORD ABOUT ADVOCACY
FROM THE CULTURAL COUNCIL
| Thank you for being an arts advocate. There are lots of ways you can help us locally. Please consider writing a letter or email to members of our Palm Beach County Delegation, as well as the House and Senate Appropriation members, encouraging them to fund the Division of Arts and Culture grants this year.
* This is the link to the latest Action Alert.
* You can find contact information for the Palm Beach County Delegation here. They all have local offices that you can visit as well.
* Contact information for the key Appropriation members are here. Bolded names are the ones to start with.
* There is lots of helpful information about State grants and the impact of arts and culture on our website that you can source for your communication.
Be sure to tell your personal story to help make the case for support. Thank you!
— Jennifer Sullivan, Senior Vice President, Cultural Council for Palm Beach County | WELCOME THESE NEW MEMBERS TO THE LEAGUE | Their contact information is available in the Member Directory at LWVPBC.org.
Penny Bank (Palm Beach), Anna Darby Carroll (North Palm Beach), Sherri Heller ( Boynton Beach), Gaye Hirz (Delray Beach), Katherine Wagner Reiss (Boynton Beach), Sharon McGuire (Delray Beach) and Michele May (Lake Worth Beach).
— Darlene Kostrub, Membership Chair
| Always log in to the website before registering for any event. Even if you go to the website through a link in an email, log in before registering.
If you do not log in, the website has no way of knowing you are a member. If you register for an event without logging in, you will be registering as a non-member. That means you will not see member-only information and you will not receive member discounts.
If you log in before you register for an event, it will be significantly quicker for you and for the League volunteers who manage the website and each event. It matters.
If you can see the gold login button, you are not yet logged in. If you see your name in the top right corner of the website, you are logged in.
Your device can be set up so your password will be memorized in the system. Clicking on the gold LOGIN button will log you in automatically. We recommend you use this 1-click method every time you come to the League website. If it is not already set up that way, please let Darlene Kostrub or me know and we will send you directions to set this up.
If you have questions about how to log in, please email me and you will receive easy-to-follow directions.
— Daniel Lishansky, Web Manager | Once you log in to the website you can see who else is coming to an event. Just click on the event flyer on the home page. When the Event View is on your screen, in the upper right corner you will see an icon of two people. Click on that icon and you will see a list of everyone who has already registered.
Try it for Connect & Reboot (Feb. 8), and make sure you register too.
Note that members who do not log in to the website cannot see this list. And members who did not log in before registering will be identified as non-members in the list.
— Daniel Lishansky, Web Manager | UPCOMING EVENTS
Click on the flyer to see the event
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