By Susan Laume: Since June, an informal grassroots group in Springfield has written 11,937 postcards – beating their goal of 10,000 — to help re-elect Kathy Tran (D-42) as Virginia state delegate and elect other Democrats to local and state office. “Team Tran,” as the group is called, recently wrapped up their work for the 2019 election, to be held…
Will you be outside Fairfax County on Tue., Nov 5, for any period of time for school, work, errands, appointment, or vacation? Then you have the right (or should it be the duty?) to vote early and be sure your vote is counted. But act quickly, early voting ends this Sat., Nov. 2, at 5 pm. Virginia can be a…
By Kathi R. Levin and Liz Walker There is a common saying that if you need something done, find a person who is already busy to do it. That can truly be said of long time Centreville resident and active Sully District Democrat, Stella Pekarsky, who is running in the Nov 5th election for the Fairfax County School Board. “Rest”…
By Susan Laume: Linda Sperling has a fresh vision for Springfield District. A Democrat, Sperling aims to replace a 12-year Republican incumbent on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, who she believes has long stood in the way of progressive agendas. Sperling’s decision to run grew out of her conviction that, “Local government is so incredibly important to so many…
By Susan Laume: A normally quiet street in Springfield streamed with activity Sunday afternoon, Oct. 27, as presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris (D- Cal.) stopped by to support re-election canvassing for state Del. Kathy K.L.Tran (D – 42). Harris told the crowd of about 60 that, “Nothing we’ve done as a nation we’ve achieved without a fight. Social justice, civil…
When superstars like Dolores Huerta, co-founder of the United Farm Workers, and Elizabeth Guzman, a pioneer Latina in the Virginia House, swear by a BlueCard, you know they are on to something. The Fairfax County Democratic Committee (FCDC) BlueCard is a powerful tool to empower diverse Democratic voters to turn out on Nov. 5 – or earlier. The BlueCard is…
By Susan Laume: Laura Jane Cohen worked hard to protect children long before she decided to run for elected office. Cohen, the Democratic endorsed candidate for Springfield District’s seat on the Fairfax County School Board, heard the terrible news of a mass school shooting in Connecticut one day seven years ago as she was substitute teaching at her local elementary…
By Susan Laume: Actor Alec Baldwin spent Tuesday afternoon visiting four of the forty Democratic campaigns in Virginia endorsed by People for the American Way (PFTAW) in the 2019 election. Baldwin, a PFTAW board member, delivered pizza to Dan Helmer’s campaign headquarter and addressed campaign workers at a phone bank. Helmer is the Democratic candidate for Delegate in House District 40. …
By Susan Laume: Springfield District citizens reacted strongly to gun violence and transportation issues during Monday night’s debate between their Fairfax County Board of Supervisor candidates Linda Sperling, Democrat, and incumbent, Pat Herrity, Republican. The audience, most wearing candidate T-shirts or stickers, selected seats in a partisan divide in the Rolling Valley Elementary School cafeteria, Monday evening, Oct 14. They…
By Susan Laume: Gun violence was a defining issue at the Springfield District candidate forum on Thursday, Oct. 3, attended by candidates for Fairfax County School Board, county Board of Supervisors, and state delegate. Laura Jane H. Cohen, Democratic-endorsed candidate for school board, criticized incumbent Elizabeth L. Schultz, Republican-endorsed, for favoring armed teachers in schools. Both Cohen and R.K.…
The Great Blue Wave Election Alert Sign-Up Contest has begun, with free bottles of special Blue Wave Reisling wine awarded to volunteers who sign up at least 48 voters to receive Election Alerts from Fairfax County Democratic Committee (FCDC). The contest is sponsored by FCDC’s Voter Registration & Education Committee (VREC), chaired by Janice Yohai (pictured). The aim is to…
By Jane Barker: If history holds, turnout for the election in November will be the lowest in Virginia’s four-year cycle of annual elections, as this poll comes three years after the previous presidential election. But so much hangs in the balance this year – Democratic majorities in both the state House and Senate are tantalizingly close – that we cannot…
By Paul O’Shea: The leader of New Hampshire’s successful drive to abolish the death penalty – making it the 21st state to do so — will deliver the keynote at the annual luncheon of Virginians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (VADP) in Reston on Oct. 5. Renny Cushing is a state legislator in New Hampshire whose work as a…
By Susan Laume: Lucky Clifton residents on Monday, Sept. 16, got an opportunity to sample free ice cream and show their support for Virginian ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment. Clifton was just one stop in an ice cream truck tour of the Commonwealth by volunteers to remind voters that if Virginia ratifies the ERA it will become the 38th…