Making a Difference: The Island’s Political Women
Volume 49, Issue 10
By Nicole Pressly

Susan Greenhalgh spent this summer working from her house in Saltaire advocating for a voter verifiable paper trail. After a career in chemical brokering, Greenhalgh took time off to travel and began getting involved in politics to oppose the invasion of Iraq. In 2004, she worked as the Sen. John Kerry’s (D-Mass) Director of Jewish Outreach for Broward County, Florida. It readied her for her current position as consultant for various voter rights advocacy and lobby groups.

“The election astounded me,”she said. "We had people who said they were trying to vote for one candidate and another name kept coming up. And we counted how many people voted on a machine (638), then checked the machine and it registered less than 200. This is just terrifying for democracy.”

She been working with LIPC and New Yorkers for Verified Voting to lobby election officials for paper ballot and optical scan voting machines. The Help America Vote Act (HAVA) passed in 2002, offered federal funds to states so they may upgrade their voting systems by 2006. New York State has voted to accept the funds and upgrade the machines. However, the state legislature has passed the responsibility of choosing a system to the Board of Elections (BOE) in each individual county. The BOE’s are being lobbied heavily by the producers of ATM-style touch screen/push button machine that record votes electronically to chose this system.

"These machines are fairly new and are riddled with problems yet to be worked out, including failing to record ballots, tabulating results incorrectly, registering the incorrect choice, adding votes, subtracting votes and even malfunctioning to the point of requiring a new election," she said. "There is another option in paper ballots counted with optical scanners. This method has been used for over 20 years in states around the country and they have pretty much worked out the bugs."

According to Greenhallgh, they also provide a definitive paper record of voters' intent. Besides all this, paper ballots with scanners are about half the cost of the electronic machines.

“This should be an easy choice, except that the producers of the scanners all also produce touch screen machines, so they would much rather sell their expensive lemons (that also require costly vend maintenance up to $1000/day) than their reliable and cheap alternatives.”

Many election officials are not even aware of the option of paper ballots with optical scanners, which is why it has fallen on citizen activists to lobby and educate the officials. A recent meeting with a republican commission in the BOE received favorable feedback.

“Its not really a partisan issue. It makes no sense to switch to ATM like computers. The cost is huge, and they are unreliable,” Greenhalgh said.

A recent study in Miami Dade County Florida showed that after spending double the $24.5 million budget, they would actually save money if they threw out the new machines and bought the optical scanner technology.

Greenhalgh wants New York and other states to avoid this costly mistake. She is working to lobby the county election officials in Nassau and Suffolk to consider paper ballots with precinct tabulated optical scanners.

“We are working to get the word out to the public to sign petitions, make phone calls and call for a public hearing in the county legislation. I work on the state and the national level for federal legislation requiring a voter verified paper trail and open computer source code for electronic machines,” she said. “I care a lot about civil liberties, environment and other issues, but if people can’t have their vote count, nothing else matters.”

 

Is There a Nurse in the House?

Janet La Violette, or Nurse Janet as she is known in her hometown of Ocean Beach, practically runs by you in town. If you can get her to slow down, she talks so quickly that only a concentrated ear can interprete her words. Besides being in private practice as Nurse by the Sea, Janet is manager of health services at the Fire Island School, and creates annual health educational programs for the children, as well as organizing the first women’s Conference of the Islip Town Democratic Committee

After doing some political work for the Islip Democratic Committee she met Pat Halcrow, the chairperson, and was inspired by her dedication to democratic values.

“With my son Josh away at school now, it’s my time to give back. And I thought what do I do? I create programs.”

Nurse Janet, with Pat’s support, is organizing the first Woman’s Conference of the Islip Town Democratic Committee, titled “Creating Community Connections.” The conference is scheduled for September 18 at Dowling College. In addition to workshops, lunch and a networking opportunity, several local woman will be honored for their strengths and diversity. Groups expected to attend are diverse, from NOW, Planned Parenthood, NAACP, and local environmental groups such as Neighborhood Network. The letterhead is an ear of corn to symbolize their spirit of the Heaudenosaunee (Iroquois) woman who were early feminists in their own right.

“Iroquois woman had equal rights, they could divorce, keep their possessions, they were very respected. In the US, its 2005 and we still don’t make equal pay. Also our freedom of choice is threatened,” said La Violette.

The spirit of the Iroquois woman would certainly approve of this conference.

“It’s magic when people come together,” she said. “Like Hillary Clinton said, you plant a seed and it comes back later grown.”

 

A Wake Up Call to Action

Being a year-round resident of Lonelyville, a small business owner and a married mother of three small children, Tara McBride still finds time to get involved on a personal level. While most Fire Islanders were laying on the beach at the beginning of August, McBridecould be found at her local ferry dock gathering signatures against John Robert’s Supreme Court nomination.

“Things changed for me after September 11. I found I could no longer remain passive about the corruption and injustices I was witnessing on local, national and global levels,” she said. “Following these stories more closely and conversing more intelligently with others about current events led me to become more actively involved in pushing for change: peace, social justice, economic justice, human rights and freedom.”

Then came the walk.

The purpose of the walk, according to McBride, is to allow for thoughtful reflection on the tragic events of 9/ 11, remember those who lost their lives in the attack, those who risk their lives saving others and all the soldiers and civilians in harms way.

The idea is not political; it is merely an outlet for family and friends to share thoughts, experiences and insights in an intimate way.

“It’s a relief to be with like-minded people yearning for a peaceful, benevolent world. My instinct tells me my fellow Americans have hope for world peace and justice too. Those who are uninvolved have no right to judge the outcome,” she said.

And while the numbers are small, (35 people last year), the walk for peace, she believes, is a step in the right direction.

Also very interested in health issues, Tara McBride got a wake up call about four years ago when her husband Connor was diagnosed with a wheat allergy. “He basically just lived with stomachaches. I realized how highly processed food is and how inaccurate their labels are. I also have three children and worry about their health. You have to start somewhere.”

McBride now intentionally cooks organically, supports small farms, as well as staying actively educated on bills in Washington that are trying to weaken the organic label. She begins on a personal level by introducing friends and family to organic cooking at her own table.

“Look what’s on your own plate, literally. There is a lot of work to do, but you can’t be complacent,” she said. “You have to find a balance. How to reach people without being a buzzkill.”