Barb Thomas Honored for Lifetime of Activism

Barbara Thomas, who had been president or co-president of the League of Women Voters of Saratoga County for 20 years, was honored with the Kathryn Starbuck Lifetime Achievement Award and recognized for a lifetime of activism on behalf of equality, the environment and other social justice issues. The Starbuck award is named for a prominent Saratoga Springs suffragist. Below are the remarks of Patricia Nugent, another past president of LWV Saratoga, introducing Barb at the awards luncheon on June 23, 2024..

Introduction of BarBara Thomas
Kathryn Starbuck Lifetime Achievement Award Ceremony

by Patricia Nugent

Gideon Putnam Hotel, Sunday, June 23, 2024

Thank you. It’s a true privilege and a pleasure to be introducing Barbara Thomas today.  She’s always had my admiration, and I’m happy to publicly share the reasons for that. Thank you for the opportunity.

The timing of this event is good, even though a few of us arrived back from NYC around 11:00 last night. Our League of Women Voters took a busload to Broadway to attend the musical SUFFS about the courageous women who led the women’s equality movement in the early 1900s. The theater yesterday – and I hear this is true every day - was filled with sobbing women; women who are so tired of being marginalized and minimized as they continue to fight for equality in our current culture. So, celebrating Kathryn Starbuck’s legacy today is the perfect follow-up for remembering our own power. As is honoring my friend and colleague, Barb.

I’m going to take you way back - to the dark ages (no, that’s not when Barb was born) – take you to that dangerous era when we used to answer the telephone without knowing who was on the other end. (To remind you, phones also had cords that were attached to walls, not attached to people!) I can tell you from personal experience that there was nothing worse than saying “Hello” and hearing, “Oh, hi, Pat. It’s Barb Thomas.” (I worked on that imitation – I want you to appreciate that!) It was bad to hear her voice because Barb always had a knack for matching people’s interests with organizational needs. It’s not only hard to personally turn her down; it’s hard for chronic activists, like me, to decline the well-suited opportunity to make a difference that she offers others.

Because that’s what Barb has been known for in Saratoga County and beyond for more than half a century: Taking action on issues that impact the quality of life for every American. The League of Women Voters, with which much of Barb’s activism is closely associated, advocates and lobbies for fair and equal representation in our democracy, and now, even more so, protection of that democracy. We are a nonpartisan, yet political organization that studies issues, seeks consensus from diverse stakeholders, and then promotes a position – not a party or a candidate, but a position. For that reason, we’re in the unenviable position of offending either major political party at any given point in time. And we have. And we will. But in this hyper-partisan political climate, it gives the League the opportunity to come down on the side of how a representative democracy should always function no matter who’s in charge.

When Barb stepped down as our LWV president in 2011, after 20 consecutive years (who does that?), I had the terrifying honor of stepping into the role. To step into her little tiny shoes that were so huge to fill. I don’t know how she did it so well for so long - with a family, including four sons! I was exhausted after two years and, like LBJ, did not seek a second term. At various junctures, we’ve had as many as four people serving as a steering committee to do the job that Barb did single-handedly for 20 years!  As a League president, you have many stakeholders who are passionate and not shy about expressing their views. I suspect this group knows a little something about that dynamic.

Part of why it’s hard for anyone to fill Barb’s shoes is that she not only carries passion for diverse social issues from climate change to gun safety, she also has the increasingly-rare tendency to speak in terms of facts and data.  She can rattle off the reasons for League positions without notes. Some of us go on instinct as to what feels right; Barb remembers the nuts and bolts, and can clearly articulate them. She doesn’t mince words – she’s a straight talker. If she thinks you’re wrong, she’ll tell you. (Her kids can probably attest to that.) For these reasons and more, she’s also been a valuable League leader at the state level for decades. She is a treasured resource in many circles.

Barb is small but mighty. She puts her money where her mouth is. She walks the talk. She’s a generous donor to the League and beyond. She and her late husband Bob donated 13 acres of their personal property to Saratoga Plan to help preserve public access to Kayaderosseras Creek in West Milton and protect it from development. (Again, who does that?) She also self-funded an annual celebration of Roe to remind us of the importance of that victory to women’s lives. Little did we know the peril we’d be in today. I’m so glad Sasha will be speaking more about that shortly.

Barb’s current mission is to advocate for the right to die peacefully, without undue suffering. She lobbies the NYS Legislature to advance the legalization of medical aid in dying. I’m told everyone who passes her in the hall knows her by name.

I’ve said to her (somewhat seriously), “Barb, you can’t ever die!” to which she calmly replies, “Well, I have to someday.” I’m not convinced…she’s already conquered a couple serious diagnoses. But when that time comes, my world will be smaller and scarier. But certainly better because she was here.

When we recognized her on the bus yesterday for the honor you are bestowing today, she said, “The best way to honor me is to continue the work.” We must all continue the work.

So, I celebrate her today with all my heart. I’m grateful I have a Barbara Thomas in my life. And grateful to this committee for honoring her today. Thank you.

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See the Daily Gazette article on June 21, 2024 about Barbara Thomas’s 50 plus years of activism:
”Walking the walk: Community activist Barbara Thomas still striving toward equality: Schuylerville resident will be honored this weekend with the Kathryn Starbuck Lifetime Achievement Award “

Make Women's History

Make Women's History: Add the ERA to the Constitution

As we turn the calendar to March, I find myself reflecting on the role of women in our democracy from the beginning.

Despite Abigail Adams’s famous advice to her husband to “remember the ladies,” he and the rest of the founders left any mention of women out of the founding documents. As a result, the U.S. Constitution does not mention women at all.

This is ironic, to say the least, in our current day and age, when women fill the halls of Congress and hold leadership positions, from Speaker of the House to Vice President of the United States.

It's been 101 years since the 19th Amendment granted women the right to vote.
It's been 98 years since the Equal Rights Amendment was first introduced in Congress.
It's been 49 years since the ERA was passed by Congress.
And it's been one year since the ERA was ratified by the required 38 states.

But the Equal Rights Amendment still needs to be added to the Constitution.

This year, after a century in the making, the ERA is closer than ever to taking its rightful place in the supreme law of our nation. What stands in our way is an arbitrary, ambiguous and legally questionable deadline for enactment imposed on the ERA at its passage.

Learn more about the history of the ERA and why we need it on our blog.

In a nutshell, the Equal Rights Amendment states that “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.”

It is important to recognize that, while women’s rights are inextricably linked to the ERA, inequality hurts everyone. The ERA represents a promise that our government will not pass laws or take any official action that discriminates against its people on the basis of sex.

We need the ERA because we need equal pay, fair healthcare coverage that addresses maternal mortality and coverage for caregivers, protection against gender testing laws, prevention of discrimination against LGBTQ+ persons, protections for men in occupations and roles traditionally held by women, and protection against rollbacks in women’s rights.

We need the ERA because, just as many women of color faced added barriers for voting until the Voting Rights Act, today women of color are more likely to be under-paid and discriminated against than white women. The ERA would make the Constitution prohibit discrimination on the basis of race AND sex.

But more than that, we need the ERA because our nation must close the book once and for all on the idea that equality of rights is a debatable issue. Because a constitution is not only a set of legal protections: it is a proclamation of a nation’s values. And little girls should not grow up in a country where they question their rights simply because they are a girl.

This Women’s History Month, tell Congress to remove the ERA ratification deadline, and let’s establish gender equality in our Constitution, once and for all.

Sincerely,

Dr. Deborah Ann Turner
Board President, LWVUS

Keep an Eye on Your Local Governments

August 5, 2020

We have so many local governments in NYS. If you live in a town in Saratoga County you have a Town Council with a Supervisor. That supervisor also represents your Town as a member of the Saratoga County Board of Supervisors. And then you have a school district with a school board. And most likely you have a fire district, water district, sewer district and maybe even a park district. And every one of those districts has a board that meets periodically. Cities and villages have a more unified government, but they do have at least a council with a Mayor and a separate school district. And all those governments could benefit from watching! But it is sure hard for one person to watch all those local governments. That’s why the League encourages you to become an observer of ONE of your local governments.

Right now, in the time of COVID-19, it is easy to become an observer. That’s because many of these governments are making it possible for the public to attend meetings remotely. The Saratoga County Board of Supervisors has arranged a phone line for the public to listen in on their meetings. This month it is 1-978-990-5145 and the access code is 1840389. So you can be doing the dishes or knitting and know what is happening. The City of Saratoga Springs has for years broadcast City Council meetings live. Use their website http://www.saratoga-springs.org/ to access the meetings. Or https://townofwilton.com/government/town-board/town-board-meeting-videos/. Or your own Town’s Council or your School District. Just by being “present” you improve the quality of your government.

Linda Gush coordinates our Observers, so contact her for more information on being an observer at president@lwvsaratoga.org and also let her know what government you will be observing.

by Barb Thomas, Steering Committee of the League of Women Voters of Saratoga County

Coronavirus, COVID 19, and YOU

April 20, 2020

Social distancing and wearing a mask are getting to be a habit. We tend to think that these are things we are doing to protect others from sickness and death – without squarely facing the fact that we, ourselves, really could die. And soon – if we get the coronavirus. Have you made plans for that contingency?

League members support Medical Aid in Dying, but we don’t yet have it in NYS. However, many of us have completed health care proxies and advanced directives that will help us achieve the kind of death we desire. But will your survivors be able to find them when the time comes? Will they know where your will is, and how to access your financial accounts? As the old adage goes, “Don’t put off till tomorrow, what you can do today.”

There are some special things to think about with the coronavirus. What kind of care do you want? In a hospital or at home? The League’s lobbying partner for medical aid in dying, Compassion and Choices, has put together a tool kit specific to choices with respect to coronavirus care. Find it at
https://compassionandchoices.org/resource/covid-19-understanding-your-options/ and while you are at it poke around on that website.

Barb Thomas

Time for Caring

This Is A Time For Caring For Each Other

How are you? This is a time for caring for each other. Personally, I have been in frequent contact with my family and friends to assure myself of their well-being. These conversations also bring the added benefit of knowing I am not alone.

The LWVSC is a group of neighbors who come together to make a better community. Each time I see a message from one of our members I am grateful for the information but also rejoice in the feeling of connectedness.

Combatting COVID-19 brings challenges and also opportunities to strengthen our relationships. We have been strong in our mission to strengthen democracy so let us now resolve to stay strong as we help each other. If you need anything, reach out by emailing me or another member of the steering committee. We will find assistance for you.

Linda Gush, On Behalf of Your BOD 3/18/20