Early Voting Has Begun!

You can help Democrats get out the vote by voting early and removing your door from the ones volunteers must knock before election day.

Where and When to Vote:

North County Governmental Center, 1801 Cameron Glen Dr, Reston

From now – October 30th
Monday – Friday: 12:00pm – 7:00pm
Saturdays, October 23rd and October 30th: 9:00am-5:00pm
Sunday, October 24th: 1:00pm – 5:00pm

Fairfax County Government Center, 12000 Government Center Pkwy, Fairfax

From now – October 30th
Monday – Friday: 8:00am – 4:30pm
Saturdays, October 23rd and October 30th: 9:00am – 5:00pm
Sunday, October 24th: 1:00pm – 5:00pm

The Coordinated Campaign needs help NOW to get out the Democratic vote by knocking doors and calling voters.

To sign up to canvass, use one of these links:
Reston / Herndon: https://www.mobilize.us/virginiaturnoutproject/event/410404/
Reston: https://www.mobilize.us/virginiaturnoutproject/event/409498/
Vienna: https://www.mobilize.us/virginiaturnoutproject/event/410428/

Join the DPVA Northern Virginia phone bank by using this link: https://www.mobilize.us/virginiaturnoutproject/event/403445/

Hunter Mill Democrats need help to staff the Democratic visibility tables at the North County Governmental Center Early Voting site and at the polls on Election Day. If interested, please contact hmdprecinctoperations@gmail.com

Candidate Petition Signing Event!

DATE: Saturday, January 30

TIME: ​​Noon – 2:00pm

LOCATION:​ North County Health Services parking lot
1850 Cameron Glen, Reston,
Across from the North County Governmental Center (police station)

The Hunter Mill District Democratic Committee (HMDDC) recognizes the difficulty Democratic campaigns may be having collecting petition signatures in the pandemic environment.  We want to help.

On Saturday, January 30, HMDDC will be staging a multi-campaign, drive-up event to facilitate signature gathering. All statewide campaigns have been invited to participate. House campaigns for announced candidates serving the Hunter Mill District have also been invited to participate. Confirmed campaigns include:

Governor 

  • Justin Fairfax
  • Jennifer Carroll Foy
  • Terry McAuliffe
  • Jennifer McClellan

Lieutenant Governor

  • ​​Hala Ayala
  • Elizabeth Guzman
  • Mark H. Levine
  • Andria McClellan
  • Sean Perryman
  • Sam Rasoul
  • Xavier Warren

Attorney General

  • Mark Herring
  • Jay Jones

House of Delegates

  • ​​Jennifer Adeli
  • Ibraheem Samirah

We are very aware of pandemic restrictions on outdoor gatherings. Therefore, we are going to set up three areas well-spaced apart where campaigns can be staged to collect signatures from people arriving in their vehicles.

Participants must arrive by car, must stay in their car, and are required to be masked. No walk-ups.

Participants wishing to sign a petition for a House of Delegates candidate must live in that District. You should know in which House District you reside, or at least the candidate’s name.

Participants wishing to sign a petition for a statewide candidate do not have to live the Hunter Mill District. To expedite the process, you should know in which Congressional District you reside.

Participants can sign petitions for more than one candidate in a race!

No registration is required.

Hunter Mill 2021 Virtual Straw Poll Results

On January 7, 2021, the Hunter Mill District Democratic Committee held the first-in-the-Commonwealth straw poll for statewide candidates.

HMDDC had three primary goals for this event: 1) raise money for the committee, 2) present statewide candidates to HMDDC members and volunteers, and 3) get an early look at how the candidates lined up against each other. By most accounts, we achieved all three goals.

The event was open to all, and the individual campaigns were encouraged to bring supporters to participate. Participation did require pre-registration and the purchase of a “ticket.” Over 250 tickets were sold, which exceeded the Committee’s expectations, as did the total amount raised ($6,100+), which included contributions in excess of the ticket price.

It is important to note that this straw poll was not a scientific poll of the candidates’ support across the Commonwealth. Roughly 60% of the ticket purchasers were from Northern Virginia. Fewer than 20% of purchasers were HMDDC members. Participants skewed heavy to the campaigns that recruited them to attend. And voting was done using the Zoom Webinar polling feature which may not be as secure as in-person paper ballots.

In the end, attendees came away excited at the prospects for 2021 in Virginia. Democrats have a strong field of competitive candidates in every statewide race.

Below are the results.

Governor

Three of the announced gubernatorial candidates spoke to attendees. Justin Fairfax and Terry McAuliffe did not attend.

  • Jennifer Caroll Foy: 36%
  • Jennifer McClellan: 36%
  • Lee Carter: 14%
  • Terry McAuliffe: 11%
  • Justin Fairfax: 2%
  • None of the above/No preference: 2%
Lieutenant Governor

Only one of the announced Lt. Governor candidates (Paul Goldman) did not attend the event. Due to technical and timing issues, Elizabeth Guzman did not have the chance to speak until after the poll had been conducted. In an effort to achieve a more equitable result, another poll was taken after Del. Guzman spoke. In the interest of transparency, the results of both polls are shown below. While the need for two polls came about by accident, seeing both numbers may provide some interesting insight. Notably, both polls reflected consistent number 1, 2, and 3, rankings.

First Poll (Before Del. Guzman spoke)

  • Sam Rasoul: 46%
  • Sean Perryman: 24%
  • Elizabeth Guzman: 8%
  • Mark Levine: 7%
  • Hala Ayala: 5%
  • Andria McClellan: 5%
  • Xavier Warren: 3%
  • None of the above/No preference: 2%
  • Paul Goldman: 0%

Second Poll (After Del. Guzman spoke)

  • Sam Rasoul: 45%
  • Sean Perryman: 22%
  • Elizabeth Guzman: 17%
  • Hala Ayala: 6%
  • Andria McClellan: 4%
  • Mark Levine: 3%
  • None of the above/No preference: 1%
  • Xavier Warren: 0%
  • Paul Goldman: 0%
Attorney General

Both announced Attorney General candidates spoke to attendees.

  • Mark Herring: 64%
  • Jay Jones: 30%
  • None of the above/No preference: 6%

Virtual Straw Poll Fundraiser—Statewide Candidates

StrawPollLogo

January 7, 2021 – 7:00 pm

Come Show Support for Your Preferred Candidates!

Please join the Hunter Mill District Democrats for their Virtual Straw Poll Fundraiser on the evening of Thursday, January 7, 2021. All current or expected candidates for Governor, Lt. Governor and Attorney General have been invited to participate. This event will be an excellent opportunity for these candidates to get a sense of their early support in NoVa.

Each candidate will be given an opportunity to make a statement regarding their candidacy. Because of our limited time and the number of candidates, there will be no Q&A. Once all candidates for a particular race have concluded their remarks, participants will be asked to vote virtually for their preferred candidate in that race.

This event is a low-dollar fundraiser. You will need to register in advance, and a non-transferable link will be sent to participants approximately 24 hours prior to the event.

REGISTER HERE

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

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.

 

A trio of stars puts sparkle in Hunter Mill’s lasagna dinner – and enthusiasm for a win in November

By Brad Swanson:

A trio of rising Democratic stars in the state legislature fired up the audience at the Hunter Mill District Democratic Committee’s 44th annual lasagna dinner fundraiser Saturday night with a consistent message– it’s time to take back the majority in both the House and Senate.

Hala Ayala (D- 51, left), Kathy Tran (D-42, center) and Jennifer Foy (D-2, right) each delivered short but punchy presentations at the Reston Community Center exhorting diners to seize the moment to replace long-standing, but now slim, majorities in both chambers of the state assembly in state-wide elections on Nov. 5.

“We are the ones we’ve been waiting for,” said Del. Foy. “Now is the time we can play offense rather than defense.”

Del. Tran recounted some major accomplishments, spearheaded by Democrats, in the 2019 legislative session, such as Medicaid expansion. She also noted some disappointments, progressive legislation torpedoed by Republicans, but said that “all eyes are going to be on Virginia this November,” and that “we’re going to continue to fight for our values” in the effort to flip the legislature.

Del. Ayala used her own example to send a note of inspiration, having overcome financial hardship, family health issues, and rank bigotry in a successful bid to enter the state legislature.

The three speakers, all relatively young women of color, portrayed a diverse and energetic Democratic party ready to take center stage in a state turning increasingly blue.

The other major event of the evening was a tribute to Cathy Hudgins (right), who is retiring after two decades as Hunter Mill District’s representative on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. Sup. Hudgins was recognized as an effective voice for social progress and justice by former colleagues including, Rep. Gerry Connolly (D- 11), a former Supervisory Board chair, who is traveling and contributed a congratulatory video.

Read the rest at The Blue View

Samirah wins VA House of Delegates 86th District

Virginia Democrat Ibraheem Samirah won the Virginia 86th District special election Tuesday with 59 percent of the vote, defeating Republican candidate Gregg Nelson and independent challenger Connie Haines Hutchinson.

Samirah will replace Democrat Jennifer Boysko in the Virginia House of Delegates. Boysko was elected to the Virginia Senate, replacing Democrat Jennifer Wexton, who was elected to Congress in November.

More from The Blue View

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.

More from The Blue View

Unpacking the sausage of Fairfax County elections

By Brad Swanson:

You should not look too closely into the making of laws or sausages, runs the saying attributed (incorrectly) to Germany’s “Iron Chancellor”, Otto von Bismarck. But what would he have thought about the convoluted process of making Democratic Party candidates for Fairfax County elected offices?

Overall, there will be more than 50 offices on Fairfax County ballots on November 5, 2019. Whew! And before you have elections you have candidate selection –or, in the case of non-partisan offices, endorsement.   And this is a process of legislative, not to mention sausage-packing, complexity.

To keep the machinery moving, Fairfax County Democratic Committee (FCDC) helpfully keeps a  list of candidates and ongoing selections, updated frequently. Click here  to access.

To start, here are the offices to be elected on Nov.  5:

9 State Senators
17 House of Delegates Members
9 Board of Supervisors Members
1 Chairperson, Board of Supervisors
1 Commonwealth’s Attorney
1 Sheriff
9 District School Board Members
3 At-Large School Board Members
3 Soil & Water Conservation District Directors

Total: 53

More from The Blue View