Tag: fairfax democrats

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Money in politics emerging as top issue in Virginia 2019 elections

By Abby Fox:

The heated topic of money in politics in Virginia drew a star-studded list of speakers and a large, boisterous audience to a forum on Nov. 28th at the Mason District Government Center.

State legislators, candidates and activists took turns detailing the corrosive effects of corporate money on politics throughout the Commonwealth, calling out Dominion Energy, the NRA, the Koch industrial family, tobacco giant Altria, and private prison company GEO Group, among others.

The speakers agreed that the topic is sure to play an important role in elections in Nov. 2019 in which all 40 state senators and 100 state delegates will be chosen.

Event sponsors included: People Demanding Action, the End Corporate Rule Issue Organizing Team of People Demanding Action, Progressive Democrats of America-Virginia, Our Revolution Northern Virginia, Our Revolution Arlington, American Promise – Virginia, Our Revolution Alexandria, Activate Virginia, and Loudoun Progressives.

(Photo: Yasmine Taeb says she will take a leave of absence for six months to wage an electoral battle for Virginia state senate)

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Hunter Mill Democrats Volunteer Appreciation Party Saturday!

Well, we did it. We worked together and we built a Blue Wave last week. Democrats had a great night across the country, and the first signs of a good night came right here in Northern Virginia. Jennifer Wexton comfortably defeated Barbara Comstock in one of the first big flips of the night. We also propelled Tim Kaine and Gerry Connolly to decisive statement victories in their races. And none of it would have happened without our incredible volunteers. It’s time to raise a glass to you, and take an evening to revel in victory!

The annual Hunter Mill Democrats Volunteer Appreciation Party will take place this Saturday, from 5pm-7pm at Reston Community Center Lake Anne, located 1609-A Washington Plaza N., Reston, 20190.

Join fellow volunteers and elected officials, including Janet Howell, Chap Petersen, Mark Keam, Ken Plum, and and more to celebrate everyone’s hard work and our electoral success this year! Please click here to RSVP.

Light food and beverages will be provided, though if you would like to contribute a side dish, it would be welcome. Please note this in your RSVP.

There is no cost to attend, but an RSVP is appreciated so we can make sure we have enough food. Please click here to RSVP.

Questions? Email huntermilldems@gmail.com

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Get on the bus for ERA ratification

By Susan Laume:

Supporters of the Equal Rights Amendment are sponsoring a 10-day bus tour across Virginia to urge legislators to make Virginia the 38th and final state necessary to achieve ratification. The bus stopped in several locations in Fairfax County on Veterans’ Day, Nov. 11, after visiting Richmond, and continued on to Fredericksburg.

The bus tour is run by VAratifyERA, a non-partisan, single issue campaign focused on this issue.  In Fairfax County, the third day of the tour, the bus stopped at George Mason University, Clifton, Falls Church and Fairfax.

At the Clifton stop, state Sen. George Barker (D-39) and his wife Jane were on the bus. Sen. Barker first introduced the ERA in the state legislature in 2012 and has been a strong supporter ever since. Mrs. Barker is co-chair of the Democratic Women of Clifton and Northern Virginia, and a leader in the bi-partisan effort to build a memorial to suffragists near the former Lorton Reformatory location where many suffragists were imprisoned.

Also on the bus were state Delegates Jennifer Carroll Foy (D-2), Hala Ayala (D-51) and Kaye Kory (D-38).

From The Blue View

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Hunter Mill Volunteers Needed for Wexton in VA-10

One of our best opportunities to take back Congress is in Virginia’s 10th District where we are working to elect Jennifer Wexton as our next U.S. Representative and to defeat the Republican incumbent. With less than 2 weeks to go, you can sign up today to help take back the 10th District. There’s so much excitement around this campaign that many of our volunteer shifts are full in the eastern parts of the district. However, if you are able to go west, there are five locations that still need volunteers for both this weekend and in the final days before Election Day. These are important areas of the district that may hold the key to victory!

What: Volunteer for Jennifer Wexton for Congress

When: Weekend of October 28-29 and November 3 thru 6

Where: Choose a location below:

The campaign has asked Hunter Mill volunteers to assist at the Ashburn location, first on the list below. Help is welcome anywhere, but please make your best effort to help in Ashburn if you can.

Ashburn
(Hunter Mill Volunteers are asked to assist here, if possible)
20937 Ashburn Road, Ashburn, VA 20147 (map)
Click here to sign up

Aldie/South Riding
25700 Success Drive, Aldie, VA 20105 (map)
Click here to sign up

Manassas Park
170 Market Street, Unit 124, Manassas Park City, VA 20111 (map)
Click here to sign up

Leesburg
315 Ayrlee Avenue NW, Leesburg, VA 20176 (map)
Click here to sign up

Springfield
6442 Lake Meadow Drive, Burke, VA 22015 (map)
Click here to sign up

You can view a custom google map that plots each of these locations, here.

If you’re looking for other ways to help, here are a few resources:

Thanks and feel free to contact Fairfax Democrats (703-573-6811) if you are looking for any other information or resources.

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Fairfax Dems Mount Massive Latino Outreach

By Todd Thurwachter:

Ahead of the Nov. 6 election, Democrats have made a sustained effort to register and educate Latino voters in Fairfax County – who now constitute 16% of the population, and are heading higher.

The campaign has contacted tens of thousands in Fairfax and neighboring counties, led by the Voter Registration & Education Committee of Fairfax County Democratic Committee (FCDC).

The project began last May with printing and distributing 5,000 voter information cards in Spanish, “Todo Sobre el Voto” (click here to view).

The cards, and other information in Spanish on voting, were also posted on the FCDC website. Also available in Spanish, for the first time, is the free Election Alerts service, which sends emails to subscribers before every election with key information including a sample ballot.

Committee Chair Janice Yohai also created and launched a special Latino outreach pilot program for Back-to-School-Nights in September. The committee targeted 16 Fairfax schools with over 50% Latino populations, mostly elementary schools, and recruited 13 Spanish speaking volunteers, who engaged close to 1,000 Latino parents of schoolchildren.

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Old technology is newest tool to energize voters

Reported by Janelle Hartman and Stephanie Witt Sedgwick:

Postcards may be old technology, but they are being revived as an effective tool in the arsenal of Fairfax County Democrats to get a robust turnout at elections on November 6th.

Numerous postcard parties have been held in Fairfax County throughout the campaign season to target registered voters with personal appeals from writers urging recipients to come to the polls and vote for Democrats. The total number of postcards from area volunteers flooding the US Postal Service is unknown, but estimated at tens of thousands.

The cards are all hand written and addressed. There’s no set script, but each reminds voters of the date of election and the Democratic candidates in their district and urges the voter to have their voice heard on election day.

As volunteer Eileen Shropshire wrote, “It took me longer to write this card than it will take you to vote. Your vote matters!”

Two recent postcard parties with big turnouts:

On Sunday, Oct. 21, more than 30 volunteers from Lee District Democratic Committee  turned the back room of Fiona’s Irish Pub in Alexandria into a postcard writing factory — filling more than 1,000 postcards with personal appeals to voters who cast ballots in 2016 but skipped last year’s state election. Even Fairfax County Supervisor Jeff McKay and School Board Member Ilryong Moon squeezed into crowded tables to help.

A few days later, on Thursday morning, Oct. 25, more than two dozen volunteers filled the Whole Food Vienna café area (see image at top) to complete a three-month program organized by Vienna Neighbors United that has resulted in almost 10,000 postcards urging Virginia voters to go to the polls on November 6 and vote for the Democratic candidates in their districts.

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GMU students demand end to Koch influence over faculty and curriculum

By Brad Swanson:

George Mason University (GMU) students delivered a 2,000-signature petition to the office of university President Angel Cabrera on Thursday demanding an end to influence by donors such as radical libertarian Charles Koch over academic appointments and course material.

The protest was part of a National Day of Action sponsored by UnKoch My Campus, an organization dedicated to exposing and repealing  “pay to play” gift agreements from Koch and other radical right wing donors that give them power to pick professors and shape the content of their research.

Koch has given GMU an estimated $50 million, and a total of $150 million to universities nationwide. Many of the agreements are secret but some have been revealed to give the donors an unusual amount of discretion. In the case of GMU, Cabrera admitted in April that some GMU donor agreements with the Kochs “fall short of the standards of academic independence”.

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Fairfax Young Democrats lead the charge

By Paul Davis:

You cannot miss the current enthusiasm of young people for a new political direction. Fairfax Young Democrats (FYD) is one of the most active and committed youth organizations in this movement.

Whether it is hosting speakers, canvassing, protesting or other displays of civic participation, FYD is there, representing the future — and many of the present — leaders within the Democratic Party.

Here is a sample of FYD activity:

  • Recently canvassed for candidate Abigail Spanberger in the 7th Congressional district, which extends from Culpeper south to below Richmond
  • Hosted panel on Criminal Justice Reform Sept. 26, examining how young people can effect change through legislative and other means
  • Will host Sen. Tim Kaine on October 17 for a discussion on policies and issues directly impacting young professionals in our region

FYD membership consists of individuals between ages 13 to 35 years old residing in Fairfax County and the City of Fairfax. FYD has partnerships or affiliations with state and national Young Democrat organizations, local high schools, George Mason University, Northern Virginia Community College and Fairfax County Democratic Committee.

FYD organizes its activity around four pillars:

1) Elect Democratic candidates for public office, especially fellow Young Democrats

2) Widen and increase the interest and knowledge of young people in government and the political process

3) Train and develop young people for positions of leadership; and

4) Serve those in need in our community

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Huge turnout to canvass for Wexton

By Stephanie Witt Sedgwick:

Volunteers packed the Sterling campaign of office of State Senator Jennifer Wexton (Loudon-Fairfax), candidate for Virginia’s Congressional District 10, kicking off a day of canvassing Saturday for them and an even longer day of campaigning for Wexton and her staff.

A crowd of over 140 people filled the office to capacity early Saturday morning and more volunteers were expected later in the day. John Begala, Wexton’s political director, said the turnout was so large that he could only compare it to what is normally the largest canvassing effort, the Get Out The Vote weekend right before the election: “We would be very excited if this was the GOTV turnout, and to see this five weeks before the election is really something.”

Before the group fanned out across the local area and Wexton took off crisscrossing the district, the group, which included volunteers from local progressive groups including Virginia Democracy Forward, Network NoVA, NOPE! Neighbors, Herndon Reston Indivisible and the Georgetown University Democrats, was welcomed by local politicians.

Looking back on the events of the past week, Delegate Jennifer Boysko (Fairfax-Loudon), urged the crowd to take “our energy and our anger and move this campaign forward.”

Delegate Mark Sickles, (Fairfax) promised that Wexton was a tireless worker, who “would get under the hood and fix what’s wrong in a bi-partisan way.”

Wexton had some parting words of her own. While incumbent Barbara Comstock, her Republican opponent, may have the backing of big money, including the Koch brothers, Wexton said she had more, “I love you guys, you are something better than Koch money.”

Some of the more than 140 people who came out to canvass for Wexton

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It’s all business in Wexton-Comstock debate

By Stephanie Witt Sedgwick:

On Friday morning, the candidates for Congressional District 10’s House seat met in Leesburg, Va. for a debate hosted by the Loudoun Chamber of Commerce. The debate, part of the Policy Makers Series, drew a sell-out crowd of close to 550, a high mark for the Policy Makers Series.

State Sen. Jennifer Wexton and U.S. Rep. Barbara Comstock faced off on questions that were all business-related over the course of the morning. The topics ranged from national issues, the Affordable Health Care Act and immigration to more local issues, such as Metro funding and the welfare of Dulles Airport.

The candidates opening statements set the tone for the debate. Comstock talked about her record in delivering tax cuts, reducing regulation and delivering for the district, saying she has focused on “results, not resistance.”

Wexton spoke of the challenging times we are living in, her point of view, the need for bipartisanship and the perils of a president who Congress has failed to check.

Among the many topics on which the candidates had clear differences was the tax bill. When asked what they felt were the benefits, short-comings and how it could improve, Wexton pointed out that four-fifths of the tax cuts went to the top 1%. She called for tax reform that is fair and benefits the working class, not this package which, she argued, is mortgaging the future of our children and grandchildren. As for District 10, she cited the cap on state and local deductions as an example of a part of the bill that has directly negatively impacted the district’s taxpayers.

From The Blue View