SEPTEMBER NEWSLETTER
League of Women Voters of Fredericksburg
Forum Season | Volunteer Opportunities | Constitution Day
Dear LWVFRA Members,
September is shaping up to be one of our most active months yet! We have an exciting lineup of candidate forums, voter education events, and volunteer opportunities that will showcase the vital work of our League in the community.
Please note our monthly meeting date change this month, and I encourage everyone to sign up for our upcoming volunteer opportunities. Your participation makes these events successful and strengthens democracy in our area.
Thank you for your continued commitment to empowering voters and defending democracy.
Best regards,
Theodore Blackwell
Vice President, LWVFRA
September Monthly Meeting – Date Change
Our regular general monthly meeting, typically held on the second Monday of each month, must be postponed this month. Instead of September 8th, our meeting will be held on Tuesday, September 9th at 6:00 PM via Microsoft Teams.
Meeting Login Information:
Date: Tuesday, September 9, 2025
Time: 6:00 PM
Platform: Microsoft Teams
Meeting ID: 280 575 755 151
Passcode: NU2LQ3WX
If you have any issues accessing the meeting, please email me at vicepresident@fredericksburglwv.org and I can help you get connected.
An agenda with a reminder will be sent out before the meeting.
Critical Volunteer Opportunities – Your Help Needed!
We have several important events coming up that require volunteer support. These events are central to our mission of voter education and civic engagement:
🏛️ Fredericksburg City Council Candidates Forum
Thursday, September 11, 2025 | 6:30 PM
Central Rappahannock Regional Library Theater
Partnership with NAACP Fredericksburg Branch
🤝 Stafford County Candidates Forums
September 12-13, 2025
United Faith Christian Ministries, Stafford
Partnership with NAACP Stafford Branch
Schedule:
- Sept 12 – 6:00 PM: School Board Candidates
- Sept 12 – 7:30 PM: Board of Supervisors Candidates
- Sept 13 – 2:00 PM: House of Delegates Candidates
🗳️ Additional Upcoming Events
Fredericksburg Candidate Meet & Greet
September 29, 2025 | Fredericksburg Central Rappahannock Regional Library
Hosted by LWVFRA and NAACP Fredericksburg
65th House of Delegates Debate
October 2, 2025 | UMW Dodd Auditorium
Hosted by Dr. Stephen Farnsworth
Constitution Day High School Voter Registration
Tuesday, September 17, 2025 | Starting 7:30 AM
Location: Caroline County High School
We need volunteers to help with high school student voter registration and educational activities on Constitution Day. Volunteers can participate for half or full day.
Important Requirement: All volunteers must complete third-party voter registration training beforehand.
Contact to Volunteer:
Sue Botts: suebotts1@gmail.com or 540-376-2219
Featured: President’s Op-Ed in Fredericksburg Advance
We’re proud to showcase an important op-ed piece by our President Cathie Fisher Braman, published in the Fredericksburg Advance, titled “Why Are Candidates Seeking Partisan Support?”
“Why Are Candidates Seeking Partisan Support?”
By Cathie Fisher Braman, President, League of Women Voters of the Fredericksburg Area
For years the voters of Fredericksburg voted in May for the purpose of electing City Council, Treasurer, and the Sheriff to their respective offices. In 2022, then Governor Northam changed that – it became law that all elections for City and County offices would be in November. Fredericksburg changed its elections to November in the year 2023. This, it seems, has created a political furor that we have in the City this year.
Therefore, it is disappointing that a years’ long tradition has been violated. In the Editorial letter published in the Advance on July 14, 2025 written by Scott Vezina, the Fredericksburg Republican Chair, he claims that in March of 2023, Mayor Devine and Vice Mayor Frye both spoke about how hard the City had worked to keep the local elections non-partisan and their hope was to keep partisan politics out of the City elections.
What happened in the intervening years to change their minds and for most candidates to attend a partisan organization and seek their support?
Scott further claims in his article . . . “this is the second election in a row that non-partisan candidates have violated the City of Fredericksburg charter that requires local offices to run as non-partisan candidates. Furthermore, the Virginia Department of Elections states that, ‘Cities, either by charter or choice, have non-partisan city council and local elections.’”
According to a reading of the Fredericksburg Charter, there is in fact no mention of partisanship in local elections.
Let’s back up. In 2016 an overflow crowd met at the Central Rappahannock Regional Library, now known as the Fredericksburg Branch and unanimously voted to have a League of Women Voters League in the Fredericksburg Area. This National, State and local organization has been around for 100 years. It is, and always had been, a “Non-partisan” organization.
The Presidents of the National, State and Local Leagues do not attend meetings unless all representatives are at the table. That includes the Republican, the Democratic, the Independents and other parties who have candidates who will be on the ballot in the next election.
We don’t condone either party inviting these candidates to their meetings whether for a question and-answer forum or just a meet and greet.
What we do support is the candidates separating themselves from any party and representing their own Wards. City officials should remember the people they represent.
The history of this City is to keep a blind eye to politics. Candidates cannot assume everyone in their district are a Republican or a Democrat.
The League of Women Voters of the Fredericksburg Area will hold two Candidate Nights — one for the City Council and the other being a Meet and Greet for all local candidates. We endorse no candidate — we only bring to the City the hopes, dreams and aspirations of those wishing to seek office. May the candidates represent their Wards and Districts with the utmost integrity, and honesty.
September 11, 2025. Fredericksburg Branch Theatre. 6:30 p.m.
City Council Candidates
September 29, 2025. Fredericksburg Branch Theatre. 6:30 p.m.
Candidates Night Meet and Greet
This op-ed reinforces our League’s commitment to nonpartisan voter education and highlights the importance of keeping local elections focused on community issues rather than party politics.
League of Women Voters of the Fredericksburg Area
Empowering Voters. Defending Democracy.
Questions? Contact Vice President Theodore Blackwell at vicepresident@fredericksburglwv.org
