By Karen Kirk: Several hundred Democrats turned out for the Fairfax County Democratic Committee (FCDC) Reorganization Meeting Tuesday night and chose new leaders, revised bylaws and approved a resolution not to support a “flawed” Virginia redistricting plan. Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring kicked off the meeting at Madison High School in Vienna by thanking Fairfax County Democrats for all that…
By Brad Swanson: Virginia’s citizen boards will retain control over pollution emitters for at least another year as a bill to transfer this authority to a state agency has been downgraded to require passage by two consecutive annual legislatures. In the interim between the current session and the next, beginning in Jan. 2021, the bill would require the state Department…
By Susan Laume: Virginia House Speaker Eileen Filler-Corn (D-Fairfax) announced Virginia’s ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) on Monday, Jan. 27. In her official statement, she said, “We stand today on the shoulders of the thousands of women — and men — who have fought for the last 97 years to secure the ERA’s ratification. Finally, women have a…
By Bob Burnley: A current bill in the Virginia House would seriously weaken environmental protection by transferring power from citizen boards to a state agency. This is a terrible idea. I should know — I am a former director of that agency. When I served in 2002-2006 as director of the state Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), I willingly followed…
The 50+ Committee of the Fairfax County Democratic Committee spent a busy day in Richmond on Jan. 16 meeting with state lawmakers on issues that are key to seniors. Sen. Dick Saslaw (D-35), the Senate’s majority leader, recognized the group from the floor of the Senate, and numerous other legislators also made time for this important constituency. Issues discussed included…
By Marcus R. Motta: Am I sick of Republican gerrymandering? Yes, and I am proud that I helped Democrats win control of both houses of the Virginia legislature last November. I wish I could have done more, like a lot of other volunteers did, but to the point, I don’t want that work to be squandered. The problem is that…
As the Virginia state legislature opened for business this week, Northern Virginia legislators scored more than half the standing committee chair positions – as well as providing the Senate Majority Leader, Speaker of the House, and House Majority Leader. Senators and delegates from our region will hold 14 of the 25 committee chairs, covering topic such as agriculture, commerce, transportation,…
Gun rights advocates interrupted speakers frequently with boos, shouts and chants as the Fairfax County state legislative delegation held its traditional public forum on Jan. 4, four days in advance of the opening of the General Assembly this Wednesday. Gun supporters, many with orange “Guns Save Lives” stickers, were prominent in the audience at the Fairfax County Government Center auditorium…
Andrew Pavord and Saddam Azlan Salim have been elected co-chairs of Providence District Democratic Committee for 2020-21. Providence, like all Democratic committees in Fairfax County magisterial districts, is undergoing a biennial top to bottom reorganization, including election of new members and leaders. Also at its reorganization meeting Dec. 9, Providence accepted 120 membership applications that had been filed during the…
By Susan Laume: The Fairfax County Government Center auditorium was packed, despite cold and rainy weather, as elected officials, including Board of Supervisors Chair Jeff McKay, took their oaths of office on December 16. Several hundred friends, family and well-wishers braved the rain to congratulate 15 newly elected county officials — 10 supervisors, three Soil and Water Board directors, sheriff…
Democratic Party committees in each of Fairfax County’s nine magisterial districts are electing officers as Fairfax County Democratic Committee (FCDC, website here) starts its new biannual cycle. (See story on FCDC reorganization here). In this article, we report on Springfield and Hunter Mill. We encourage other districts to send in names and pictures of their new leadership teams. The Springfield…
By Brad Swanson: Even as Fairfax County grows more blue, the Fairfax County Democratic Committee is growing smaller — deliberately. FCDC, which is the core of Democratic Party activism in the county (click here for website), has decided to constrain membership in order to make the organization leaner and more efficient in the face of a historic election in 2020. Every…
By Susan Laume: A large group of Northern Virginians interested in redistricting reform and several of their legislators attended a League of Women Voters (LWV) forum on the topic on Sunday at Sherwood Community Center in Fairfax. Virginia Del. Mark Sickles (District 43), a member of the House Privileges and Elections Committee, spoke about the Constitutional Amendment (SJ 306) sponsored…
By Rep. Gerry Connolly: When I first ran for office here in Fairfax County in 1995, it was a Republican place. Democrats could and did win elections, but the default was Republican. Today, there are just four remaining Republicans representing any part of Fairfax County — Clerk of Court John Frey, Springfield Supervisor Pat Herrity, Vice President Mike Pence, and…