Tag: outreach

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2019 VICTORY!

A huge thank you to all of our volunteers who called voters, canvassed voters, donated money and helped all our candidates up and down the ticket this election cycle! We would especially like to thank our Fighting4Fairfax organizer Henry Pratt, and campaign manager, Jeremy Cullimore.

We had a Democratic sweep in Hunter Mill and we congratulate all of our winning candidates below, including Hunter Mill members Sen. Janet Howell, Del. Ken Plum, Sheriff Stacey Kincaid, Hunter Mill Supervisor-Elect, Walter Alcorn, and Hunter Mill School Board Representative-Elect, Melanie Meren!

Finally, thank you to Supervisor Cathy Hudgins and to Hunter Mill School Board Representative Pat Hynes for their many years of service to Hunter Mill District, Fairfax County, and also for supporting the Hunter Mill Democrats.

Senate of Virginia

  • Jennifer Boysko, 33rd District
  • Barbara Favola, 31st District
  • Janet Howell, 32nd District
  • Chap Petersen, 34th District

Virginia House of Delegates

  • Mark Keam, 35th District
  • Kathleen Murphy, 34th District
  • Ken Plum, 36th District
  • Ibraheem Samirah, 86th District

Fairfax County Board of Supervisors

  • Jeff McKay- Chairman
  • Walter Alcorn, Hunter Mill District Supervisor

Fairfax County School Board

  • Melanie Meren- Hunter Mill District Representative
  • Karen Keys-Gamarra- At-Large Member
  • Abrar Omeish- At-Large Member
  • Rachna Sizemore-Heizer- At-Large Member

Fairfax County Constitutional Officers

  • Steve Descano- Commonwealth’s Attorney
  • Stacey Kincaid- Sheriff

Northern Virginia Soil and Water Conservation District

  • Monica Billger- Director
  • Chris Koerner- Director
  • Jerry Peters- Director
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Democratic School Board Candidates Drop by the Reston Farmer’s Market

Democratic Candidates for School Board dropped by the Reston Farmer’s Market on Saturday! From left: Melanie Meren (Hunter Mill), Rachna Sizmore-Heizer (At-Large), Elaine Tholen (Dranesville), and Karen Keys-Gamarra (At-Large). Abrar Omeish (At-Large) was unable to attend.

You never know who will drop by the farmer’s market, and the Hunter Mill Democrats are there every weekend. If you’re interested in volunteering to staff the Hunter Mill Dems’ farmer’s market table, contact huntermilldems@gmail.com.

 

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Fairfax County Democratic candidates reach out to Muslim Community

Muslims are believed to be under-represented among Fairfax County voters, but outreach efforts by Democratic Party candidates for local office aim to change that equation.

The latest such effort took place Saturday, Feb. 16, at Dar al Hijrah Mosque in Mason District, where three school board candidates met with Muslim community members to describe the workings of the  Fairfax County Democratic Committee (FCDC) and urge membership.

Abrar Omeish, candidate for an at-large seat, and Jessica Swanson, Mason District candidate, addressed the audience and took questions while Jung Byun, Providence District candidate, also attended the event and mingled with participants.

“I’m excited to learn about how I can contribute to the party,” said participant Maura Yasin, who has volunteered in campaigns since the candidacy of Barack Obama but only recently became an FCDC member.

According to Omeish, Muslims are estimated at about 10% of the county’s population but only 4% of registered voters. While some are ineligible to become voters, she estimates that Muslims would account for at least 1-2% more of the electorate if all eligible voters registered.

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Urgent Need for Calls to Florida Voters

Please help make calls to Florida voters to ensure that their votes are counted.  These calls are SO important as each one of these voters that you help to cure their ballot is a vote for Democrats in an extremely close election. We can’t do it without your help!

Who we’re talking to: FL Democratic voters who voted by mail, but their ballot likely did not count, likely because the signature on their ballot envelope didn’t match their voter registration signature.

What we need them to do:

1. Confirm that they voted by mail in this past election

2. Go to this website for an affidavit: http://nelsonforsenate.com/voterform (OR, you send them an email with this link)

3. Fill out the affidavit (either print it, or fill it out online)

4. Locate a valid Florida ID (list of acceptable ID’s is in the script)

5. GO TO their county supervisor of elections OR email their county supervisor of elections their signed affidavit + a copy of their valid ID

THE DEADLINE TO DO THE ABOVE AND MAKE THEIR BALLOT COUNT IS SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 17th AT 5PM

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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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Long-term NoVa immigrants in TPS program face expulsion

By Brad Swanson:

Organized labor and allies rallied Saturday morning against Trump Administration plans to deport an estimated 20,000 protected status immigrants from northern Virginia.

“This is a cruel and vicious attack on families,” said Virginia Diamond, president of the Northern Virginia AFL-CIO. Many of these immigrants have been in the USA for a generation and have sunk deep roots into their communities, she pointed out.

Nationwide, the federal government plans to withdraw Temporary Protected Status (TPS) covering 400,000 immigrants from El Salvador, Haiti and Honduras in 2019 and 2020.

TPS was originally granted because of political turmoil and elevated violence levels in home countries but supporters say that after many years of living in America, TPS holders have become American in all but name – homeowners, job holders, valuable members of their communities. Moreover, 300,000 children, all US citizens, have been born to these families and raised in this country. Their fate if their parents are forced to leave is in question.

After hearing speeches outside the Northern Virginia Labor Federation office in Annandale on Saturday morning, rally participants dispersed to canvass for Jennifer Wexton, a Democratic state senator who is in a tight race against incumbent Barbara Comstock as representative for the 10th Congressional district – the second biggest region for protected status immigrants, after Long Island, New York.

“Comstock has been silent on the [TPS] program,” commented Jaime Contreras, vice-president of Service Employees International Union 32BJ. “Wexton has been a supporter of labor in Richmond.”

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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

More from The Blue View

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Sign-Up for Back to School Night

Summer is quickly coming to an end and Hunter Mill is gearing up for Back to School Nights at 21 schools from August 23 to September 26.  BTSN is a great opportunity for us to reach parents of school age children in our community to let them know about the November elections and the candidates.

Please consider signing up for one (or more) of our Back to School Nights through our Sign-up Genius link BTSN Hunter Mill 2018.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Christine Rohrer at christinefrohrer@gmail.com or 703.598.4918

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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.