HomeMy WebLinkAboutResolutions - 2019.03.14 - 30996MISCELLANEOUS RESOLUTION #19044 March 14, 2019
BY: Commissioner Nancy Quarles, Chairperson, Legislative Affairs and Government Operations
Committee
IN RE: BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS — ESTABLISHING CELEBRATION OF WOMEN'S SUFFRAGE
AD HOC COMMITTEE
To the Oakland County Board of Commissioners
Chairperson, Ladies and Gentlemen:
WHEREAS women of every race, class, and ethnic background across America have made historic
contributions to the growth and strength of the United States in countless recorded and unrecorded ways;
and
WHEREAS the women of this nation initiated the most significant women's movement in history — the need
for women's suffrage; and
WHEREAS despite the strong opposition, the inspiration and determination of women nationwide brought
about the extraordinary accomplishment — the right for women to vote; and
WHEREAS the demand for women's suffrage gained strength in the 1840's and women emerged across
the nation to join forces in the struggle; and
WHEREAS Susan B. Anthony, a powerful voice for women's suffrage said, "there never will be complete
equality until women themselves help to make laws and elect lawmakers"; and
WHEREAS in 1846, Ernestine Rose, a Michigan resident and one of the major intellectual forces behind
the women's rights movement in nineteenth-century America, set the path for equality and spoke to the
Michigan legislature about the need for women's suffrage; and
WHEREAS a step forward for women's suffrage occurred in 1867 when the Michigan Legislature granted
women taxpayers the right to vote for school trustees, but total women's suffrage was rejected; and
WHEREAS on May 8, 1917, a significant achievement for women in Michigan, Governor Albert E. Sleeper
(R) signed a bill granting women the right to vote in presidential elections, three years prior to the ratification
of the 19th Amendment of the Constitution; and
WHEREAS Alice Paul was a women's rights activist known for her leadership in the women's suffrage
movement, most notably when she and 1,000 other "Silent Sentinels" picketed the White House under the
Woodrow Wilson administration in 1917 resulting in imprisonment where she and her colleagues engaged
in hunger strikes, eventually inducing President Wilson to reverse his position against women's suffrage
and declaring his support in 1918; and
WHEREAS Michigan male voters on November 5, 1918, approved the state constitutional amendment that
granted women the right to vote; and
WHEREAS on March 5, 1919, women of Michigan exercised their right as Americans and victoriously cast
their vote in their first Michigan statewide primary election; and
WHEREAS the momentum continued to April 7, 1919, when the women of Michigan voted in the general
election in the State of Michigan; and
WHEREAS on June 10, 1919, Michigan women cast their vote when Michigan voters ratified the 19th
Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, and
WHEREAS the State of Michigan was the second state to ratify the 19th Amendment, giving women the
right to vote; and
WHEREAS on August 26, 1920, voters across the nation secured the right for women to vote when the
19th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States was ratified, empowering American women and
declaring for the first time that they, like men, deserve all the rights and responsibilities of citizenship stating,
the right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or
by any State on account of sex"; and
WHEREAS August 26, 2020 will mark the 100th anniversary on the passage of the National Suffrage
Amendment, the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, guaranteeing women the right to vote; and
WHEREAS women comprise more than 52% of the total registered voters in Oakland County.
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Oakland County Board of Commissioners remembers and
celebrates the historic women who fought for their right to vote and recognizes the courage and inspiration
of these bold women to change the course of history.
LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS COMMITTEE VOTE:
Motion carried unanimously on a roll call vote with Gingell absent.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Oakland County Board of Commissioners hereby establishes the
Celebration of Women's Suffrage Ad Hoc Committee to coordinate and celebrate the centennial
anniversary of the Women's Suffrage Movement and bring awareness to this momentous achievement.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the ad hoc committee shall be appointed by the Chairman of the Board
and consist of two (2) Commissioners from the majority party and one (1) Commissioner from the minority
party to serve as the Celebration of Women's Suffrage Ad Hoc Committee leadership.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that other interested individuals, community organizations, and non-profits
may be invited to offer assistance by the Chairperson and Vice Chairperson of the Celebration of Women's
Suffrage Ad Hoc Committee.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the appointments and length of service to the Celebration of Women's
Suffrage Ad Hoc Committee will be at the discretion of the Chairperson and will not exceed the term of the
County Commission.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED to celebrate this significant achievement for the women in Michigan, the
Oakland County Board of Commissioners authorizes the one-time appropriation of $25,000 available in the
General Fund Assigned Fund Balance (G/L Account #383313) to the Board of Commissioners General
Fund, Administration Division, Special Projects Account.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED the budget is amended as follows:
GENERAL FUND (#10100)
Revenue
9010101-196030-665882
FY 2019
Planned Use of Balance $25,000
Total Revenue $25,000
Expenditures
5010101-180010-731822 Special Projects
Total Expenditures
$25,000
$25,000
Chairperson, on behalf of the Legislative Affairs and Government Operations Committee, I move the
adoption of the foregoing resolution.
CômmissioØe1Nncy Quarles —, District #17
Chairpers n egislative Affairs and
Government Operations Committee
Resolution #19044 March 14, 2019
Moved by Miller seconded by KowaII the resolutions on the amended Consent Agenda be adopted (with
accompanying reports being accepted).
AYES: Jackson, Kochenderfer, KowaII, Kuhn, Long, Luebs, Markham, McGillivray, Middleton,
Miller, Nelson, Powell, Quarles, Spisz, Taub, Weipert, Woodward, Zack, Gershenson,
Hoffman. (20)
NAYS: None. (0)
A sufficient majority having voted in favor, the resolutions on the amended Consent Agenda were adopted
(with accompanying reports being accepted).
DOES NOT REOURE COUNTY EXECUTIVE ACTION
STATE OF MICHIGAN)
COUNTY OF OAKLAND)
I, Lisa Brown, Clerk of the County of Oakland, do hereby certify that the foregoing resolution is a true and
accurate copy of a resolution adopted by the Oakland County Board of Commissioners on March 14, 2019,
with the original record thereof now remaining in my office.
In Testimony Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the seal of the County of Oakland at
Pontiac, Michigan this 14th day of March, 2019.
Lisa Brown, Oakland County