NOVEMBER 16, 2025

Thanks to everyone who was able to participate in our first annual Book Exchange! We had 15 members participate and exchanged over 90 books. 

NOVEMBER 4, 2025

Thanks to our Voter Services Committee and our Election Day volunteers, we distributed more than 200 six-page voters' guides to help voters make informed choices.

SEPTEMBER 25, 2025

The League of Women Voters of Falls Church and the Village Preservation and Improvement Society (VPIS) co-hosted a forum on Thursday evening, September 25, for candidates for the Falls Church City Council. More than 100 people attended the event where the candidates first answered questions from VPIS and the League, and then responded to questions from a very engaged audience. 

The League is very grateful to the volunteers who made our candidate forum a success: Annie Rhodes-Kline was our moderator and explained the rules of the forum and posed questions to the candidates. Kristin Stamilio sorted and organized a large number of questions submitted by our audience. Wendy Frieman served as timekeeper and kept the forum moving on schedule. Barbara Lipsky helped organize the event and gave a brief introduction, and Patrick Herbst ensured that the audience members were able to submit questions throughout the discussion. Many thanks also to the many volunteers from VPIS who helped plan and staff the event, including VPIS President Lorraine O'Rourke, forum organizers John Murphy and Tom Clinton, moderator Karen Kasmauski, and question sorter, Ellen Gilmore.

SEPTEMBER 21, 2025

League members and prospective members gathered on September 21 for a Wine and Cheese reception and to learn about the League of Women Voters. Twenty-eight attendees heard presentations on what the League does at the local, state, and national levels. There were also presentations on how to use the new League of Women Voters membership portal and how to find other resources and information about the League. The afternoon also offered a lovely opportunity for members and interested community members to socialize and get to know each other better.

Many thanks to Membership Chair Liza Nelson for planning this event and opening her beautiful home to members and prospective members. Thanks also to the presenters who included Liza Nelson, Sabeena Rajpal, Kristin Stamilio, Stacey Vagoun, Barbara Lipsky, and Wendy Frieman.

And a special welcome to our newest members who joined following the Wine & Cheese event: Aime Ballard-Wood, Stephanie Calabrese, Jennifer Dean, Leah Kuo, Hue Morrison, Deborah Meshulam, Stacey Nahrwold, Sue Pearce, and Gwenda Wilson. 

SEPTEMBER 16, 2025

The LWV Falls Church held a voter registration drive at Mary Riley Styles Public Library on Tuesday, September 16, from 10:00AM until 8:00PM. The Library celebrated National Voter Registration Day by hosting the League of Women Voters of Falls Church for an all-day voter registration event. The Library also put together a display of books related to elections, voting, and the Constitution, and an exhibit of materials from their collection related to achieving suffrage for women. The Library also showed the PBS series, The Vote, from 3:00PM to closing. Library patrons were invited to drop in during that time and watch a portion of the series.

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2025

Once again, LWVFC greeted parents attending Back-to-School nights at the Falls Church City Public Schools and reminded them to register to vote or update their voter registration. (Anyone who has moved since the last time they voted needs to update their registration with their new address.) Members met outside each of the City schools on their respective Back-to-School nights and handed out a postcard-size flyer with a QR code and a website address that members of the public could use to check their voter registration status or to register to vote. 

At the Annual Meeting, Renee Bergmann Andrews (left) was awarded LWVFC's first Community Impact Award for her outstanding contributions, spanning more than two decades, to protecting the right to vote and ensuring free and fair elections in the City of Falls Church and beyond.

In accepting the award, Renee said that she was honored to be recognized for work that has been a life-long passion. Renee recalled, "I was born on Election Day, but only after my parents, both naturalized citizens who fled to this country from Hitler's Germany, had voted. When I was a child, celebrating my birthday often involved supporting our local League of Women Voters in Tuckahoe, NY. Our League's fundraiser was an Election Day bake sale held outside our Village Hall polling place. So my mother and I would go to vote, and then I would pick out a birthday cake."

Renee has served on the Falls Church Electoral Board since 2003. Her many accomplishments on the Electoral Board included recruiting and training Officers of Election and helping guide the Board through the challenging years of the COVID-19 pandemic and adjust to new voting laws and procedures. She has been a participant in forums that explained the voting process and reassured the public about the safety and security of our elections. Her public service has extended beyond Falls Church as she served on state and federal advisory bodies charged with improving elections. Renee has also been a frequent volunteer with League voter registration drives and offered her expertise in reviewing the League's election-related publications. Find more information on Renee's contributions here.

MAY 1, 2025

The Falls Church League of Women Voters and the Citizens for a Better City co-hosted a program on "How to Be a Candidate for Local Office." David Bjerke, the City's Director of Elections and General Registrar of Voters, reviewed the legal requirements and procedures for becoming a candidate, and City Treasurer Jody Acosta discussed the required financial reports that candidates need to file. They were joined by a panel of past candidates for City Council and School Board who shared tips on how to run a successful campaign. 

The panel of experienced candidates included current City Council Members Erin Flynn and Justine Underhill, former School Board Member Erin Gill and candidate in last year's City Council Special Election John Murphy. The program was moderated by LWV Member and Past President Ellen Salsbury and CBC President Hal Lippman. Program attendees received a handout (attached below) that included information on the deadline for filing to be a candidate and also a preview of the November elections.