Tag: Fairfax

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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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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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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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Fairfax Democrats prepare to challenge themselves on race

By Sean Perryman:

Following the election of Donald Trump, the Democratic Party at both the local and national level continues to grapple with race and the role it should or shouldn’t play in its platform and organizing.

In that vein, on September 12th, the Fairfax County Democratic Committee (FCDC) will hold a Racial Equity Workshop for its membership. The workshop is designed to give members a greater understanding of structural racism and its impact on day-to-day interactions.

Essential to any understanding of race is an examination of racism. The construct of race after all was conceived to justify maltreatment of people of color. But it does not end there.

So, what is racism?

With Nazis, Klansman, and white supremacists running for office, taking center stage in our media, and organizing marches on the nation’s capital in a sequel to their violent gathering in Charlottesville, it’s easy to point and say “that’s racism.”

This overly simplistic definition of racism absolves us of deeper self-reflection because “at least, we’re not them,” but it fails to capture the insidious and pervasive nature of systemic racism. To point to examples of explicit racism as the only form of racism make us accountable for only our intentions and not the consequences of our actions or inactions. This simplified understanding that racism is explicit, intentional, and stems from ignorance, however, fits within the popular conception of the term.

Let me offer a more thoughtful definition: In his award-winning book, “Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America,” scholar Ibram X. Kendi flips that ahistorical definition on its head.  “[S]elf-serving efforts by powerful factions to define their racist rhetoric as nonracist has left Americans thoroughly divided over, and ignorant of, what racist ideas truly are,” he writes.

Instead, Kendi posits that racism is better understood this way:

“Racial discrimination -> racist ideas  ->  ignorance/hate”

That is, we discriminate based on self-interest, we create racist ideas to justify that discrimination, and people internalize those racist ideas. In this understanding of racism, it is critical that we tackle how we all have internalized racist ideas, even people from traditionally marginalized communities.

If we want to be serious about being anti-racist, we cannot pat ourselves on the back for merely not ascribing to the ideology or not adopting the language of the lowest among us. We should strive for better in both policy and practice.

Can we say we have done that?

From The Blue View

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Election Alerts help Democrats win by defeating voter drop-off

By Todd Thurwachter:

When Democrats vote, we win. And in Virginia, we vote every year! That’s why Fairfax County Democrats have put into place tools like Voting: What you Need to Know and Elections Alerts. They can make a huge difference in fighting the biggest impediment to Democratic victories: Democratic drop-off in non-Presidential elections.

Voting: What you Need to Know is a handy gripcard with essential voting information on managing one’s voter registration, voting early, finding one’s polling place – just about everything one needs to know to register and vote successfully. Election Alerts emails voters before each election with updated information, including the Voting: What you Need to Know gripcard, harnessing the power of social media to maximize reach to even more voters.

This year, Fairfax Democrats are taking aim at the 40% of our voters who often don’t show up to vote in non-Presidential years. We stress the dire consequences of not voting with powerful stories that motivate our voters to take action:

* In 2010, 26 million of Barack Obama’s 69 million 2008 voters didn’t vote and Dems lost control of Congress, effectively killing Obama’s program of Hope & Change.

* That same 2010 Democratic drop-off enabled Republicans to sweep state houses and pull off the worst nationwide gerrymandering in history. That hit home– in 2012, Democrats won only 3 of Virginia’s 11 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives even though Tim Kaine won his Senate race by 6%!

* Last year, a single vote in VA’s 94th District assured continued Republican control of VA’s House of Delegates, allowing Republicans to keep blocking even debate of Democratic bills.

If those three dire consequences can’t get Democrats motivated to vote, what can?  But convincing voters to vote in every election is just half the battle — we need to make sure they actually cast their votes, successfully. And that’s where Voting: What you Need to Know is so critical. After all, voting in Virginia isn’t always easy. Most voters don’t know they can register to vote or update their voter registration record online at www.vote.virginia.gov. No need to waste time at the DMV.

From The Blue View

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Time to vote for politicians who support gun safety

By Karen Kirk:

“VOTE THEM OUT” was the rallying cry of speakers and protesters as more than 100 people gathered outside of the NRA Headquarters in Fairfax Saturday in support of gun safety.

“This nation breathes the oxygen that is the promise of liberty and right now, our people are suffocating,” said speaker Micaela Lattimer, a 17-year-old Latina from Maryland. “We’re not free when gunshots pierce classrooms. We’re not free when people are criminalized just for being black or brown. We’re not free when gun violence in Atlanta, Chicago, St. Louis, Baltimore and Detroit goes ignored,” said Lattimer, speaking in English and Spanish.

“We point cameras to schools whose windows are shattered but muffle the voices who cry black lives matter. When black activists protested police brutality they were met with full riot gear and teargas,” said Lattimer, who helped organize the rally.

“To my fellow young people, it is now our job to actively urge those around us to vote and to lobby legislators and question authority,” she said. “Eternal vigilance is necessary to protect our freedom.”

“To elected officials, we the people are calling on you to develop and carry out policy that prevents a firearm from getting into the cold grip of a domestic abuser, policy that prevents the phone call telling a family their child was gunned down at age 16, policy that protects black youths from the shackles of criminalization and policy that keeps hateful people from committing a massacre. Most of all, policy that promotes humanization and education.”

“If you wish to stay in office, we demand that you actively protect our inalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” Lattimer said.

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