Author: huntermill

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Stopping the ICE Deportation Pipeline in Fairfax County

Tomorrow, June 6, four outstanding panelists from Fairfax for All will discuss the current situation and their past and current efforts to keep the county from assisting ICE in deportations. It is not over with the end of the jail detention agreement. The event will be a report from the Fairfax for All Coalition of 10 immigration groups that have been working with the county. The panelists will discuss what Democrats should know and what we should do.

When: Wednesday June 6,  7 – 9 PM

Where: Fairfax County Democratic Committee (FCDC) Headquarters

Sponsored by the State and Local Committee of the Fairfax County Democratic Committee

Free. Sign up here. Space is limited.

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Medicaid Expansion, Huge Win for Virginia

You may have heard that yesterday the Virginia legislature approved a budget that includes an expansion of Medicaid, making it the 33rd state in the country (including the District of Columbia) to do so since passage of the Affordable Care Act.

It is hard to overstate the impact of this victory. In Fairfax County alone, 15,000 families will be eligible for health coverage. At least 27,000 individuals could receive health care. Throughout Virginia, over 400,000 people are eligible for coverage.

Thank you to every member of the Hunter Mill Democrats for your part in helping make life better for everyone in Virginia. Your work will literally save lives. Check out Fairfax County Democratic Committee Chairman Dan Lagana’s statement on this incredible victory.

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Write for the Blue View

By Brad Swanson

Since going live on 3 April, The Blue View has posted 52 stories, an average of 1 a day. FYI, we also post links to stories on Facebook (both FCDC Group and a dedicated page) and Twitter.

The success of the publication depends on the efforts of  volunteer writers and photographers, whether inside or outside FCDC. We need more contributors to keep up the pace, and, hopefully, accelerate it. For encouragement, and in response to some queries, we have put together a guide for writing for The Blue View. We hope you find it useful. Please feel free to circulate to others who may be interested in writing or taking pictures for us.

Karen Kirk (Blue View deputy editor) and I are happy to discuss story ideas and content guidelines at any time. Please don’t hesitate to reach out.

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School Board weighs changing sex ed to make it more LGBTQ inclusive

By Karen Kirk:

The Fairfax County School board heard spirited comments both for and against changing the public school sex education curriculum to make it more LGBTQ inclusive at its regular meeting Thursday, May 24.

The discussion was a precursor to the vote on June 14 on changing wording in the Family Life Education (FLE) curriculum. The proposed changes include using the term  “sex assigned at birth” rather than “biological sex” and informing high school students about a pill that was recently approved for adolescents to reduce the risk of HIV transmission.

Paul Wooldridge, who has two children who attended the Fairfax County Public Schools system, one of them transgender, spoke movingly of his son’s experience.  “Now FCPS has many teachers and administrators who recognize the rights and needs of transgender students. However my son’s experience showed that there are plenty of students and a few teachers that were not so understanding and accepting of the person he is.”

“He was teased and degraded in the halls by fellow students,” continued Wooldridge. “He was also intimidated by a few faculty members in apparent attempts to make him feel shame or lesser of a person. This unsolicited treatment was dished out in spite of my son’s attempts to proactively educate the faculty and fellow school students about the transgender issues and human rights.”

Read the rest at The Blue View

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Defend Fairfax County Public Schools on May 24 and June 14

WE NEED YOUR HELP TOMORROW, THURSDAY MAY 24 AND THURSDAY, JUNE 14!

The Fairfax County School Board is considering changes to the Family Life Education (FLE) curriculum that will make it more LGBTQ-inclusive and help protect the health of ALL students. As a result, powerful anti-equality forces are mobilizing to stop this from happening. They will be showing up at the School Board meetings on Thursday, May 24 and Thursday, June 14. We can’t let them succeed!

DOWNLOAD THIS FLYER (PDF)

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Immigrants have been a big part of Virginia’s success

By Karen Kirk:

Immigration has helped Virginia rise from poverty to affluence, notes Sen. Tim Kaine.

Kaine does the numbers: In 1968, only 1% of Virginians were immigrants and the state ranked 38th in income per person. Today, immigrants make up 11% and we have shot up to become the 12th richest state  in terms of per capita income.

Although correlation is not necessarily causation, Kaine believes that “people from other nations have found Virginia to be a place where they can come and find opportunity” and that this “has been such a huge part of our success.”

Kaine was speaking at a press conference for Asian and Latino news outlets on May 21 at the Fairfax County Democratic Committee headquarters.

Read the rest at The Blue View

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Sue Langley and Tae Chang Woo honored at Democratic Asian Americans of Virginia dinner

The Democratic Asian Americans of Virginia (DAAV) honored former Fairfax County Democratic Committee (FCDC) Chair Sue Langley and President of the Korean American Society of Virginia Tae Chang Woo at its Fourth Annual Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month Awards Dinner on Sunday May 20, 2018 at the Pakistani restaurant  Sapphire in Tysons. Elected officials including Gov. Ralph Northam spoke at the award ceremony.

Sue Langley and Tae Chang Woo were presented with the 2018 Joe Montano Community Engagement Awards.  Joe Montano was a prominent Virginian community organizer and activist who served as Northern Virginia Regional Director of Constituent Services for Senator Tim Kaine, and worked on a number of campaigns for the Democratic Party of Virginia.

Sue Langley was FCDC Chair for two terms, from 2014 to 2017.  She started in politics as a volunteer with the Wesley Clark campaign in the 2004 primary and then worked for John Kerry in the general campaign.  She was active with the Hunter Mill Democrats and served as FCDC Vice Chair for Precinct Operations.  Sue has hosted numerous canvasses, phone banks, picnics, and fundraisers at her home in Flint Hill precinct.  Sue Langley grew up in Thailand, received her Ph.D. in economics from Iowa State University and was a senior economist and branch chief at the Department of Agriculture.

Read the rest at The Blue View

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Help Register Voters at Viva Vienna!

Come join the Hunter Mill Democrats’ Voter Registration and Education team on Sunday May 27 or Monday May 28 at Viva Vienna! We will be working out of Del. Keam and Sen. Petersen’s booth, #92, which is located near Bard’s Alley on Church St. in the heart of Vienna.

You can find more details and sign up for a shift here!

Contact Christine Rohrer if you have any questions – christinefrohrer@gmail.com.

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Red and Minor Terry take fight against pipeline across Virginia

By Karen Kirk:

After spending 34 days living in trees to block the Mountain Valley Pipeline from being built on their property in Roanoke County, Red Terry and her daughter Minor are taking their fight around Virginia this week. They were joined by Virginia Delegate Mark Keam, 35th District, Delegate Sam Rasoul, 11th District and attorney and activist Jonathan Sokolow at a briefing to the public in Fairfax County on Wednesday.

“Today we want you all to understand a major environmental crisis is happening and it is becoming more of a threat every single day and we want you to understand what you can do about it,” said Keam at the event at Northern Virginia Community College.

Read the rest at The Blue View.