Three winners have been chosen in the city’s first Law Day coloring contest, City Attorney Heather McLaughlin said.

Bee Hartmann, 8, Morgan Fry, 9, and one anonymous artist submitted the winning works, McLaughlin said.

“The City Attorney’s Office will be awarding prizes to the winners in the coming weeks, and implore the anonymous submitter to come forward to claim a prize,” she said.

The contest, sponsored by her office in celebration of the freedom to vote, welcomed artists of all ages and skills to create artwork with a voting and election theme.

“With this year’s elections, the contest served as the city’s local reminder to celebrate the American heritage of liberty, justice and equality and to vote at the upcoming election because ‘every vote matters,’” McLaughlin said.

Law Day originally was conceived in 1957 when American Bar Association President Charles Rhynes envisioned a national day to mark our commitment to the rule of law.

The next year, President Dwight D. Eisenhower established the first Law Day.

Law Day was made official in 1961 by a Congressional joint resolution that designating May 1 as the official date for an annual celebration.

McLaughlin said this year’s theme is “American Democracy and the Rule of Law: Why Every Vote Matters.”

“As we approach the 50th anniversaries of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the 2014 Law Day theme calls on every American to reflect on the importance of a citizen’s right to vote and the challenges we still face in ensuring that all Americans have the opportunity to participate in our democracy,” McLaughlin said.

Mayor Elizabeth Patterson proclaimed May 1, 2014 as Law Day at the April 29 City Council meeting, and she presented the proclamation to Carol Langford, vice chairperson of the Open Government Commission, as well as an attorney and active community member, McLaughlin said.

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