Rip Sullivan up to Challenge in Barnburner Special Election the Special Election August 48Th Delegate District Went for 19 to Pick a Successor to Del

Vol. 39, No. 8 www.arlingtondemocrats.org August 2014 Rip Sullivan up to challenge in barnburner special election The special election August 48th Delegate District went for 19 to pick a successor to Del. Bob John Vihstadt, the Republican Brink promises to be a running as an independent who barnburner since the GOP picked won a seat on the County Board its best vote getter of the last two in the special election earlier this decades to face Democratic nomi- year. nee Richard “Rip” Sullivan. The issue there was prima- Only hours before the filing rily the Columbia Pike streetcar. deadline, the Arlington GOP And Foster is trying to use that named David Foster as its nomi- issue as a lever in his campaign nee for the seat. for the delegate seat, even though Foster won two four-year it is a county issue and not a state Don’t wake up the morning terms on the Arlington School issue and even though Sullivan after Election Day and re- Board—the only non-Democrat supports a streetcar referendum. member you forgot. VOTE elected to the School Board in A Foster victory would add those years—and was also presi- to the hefty GOP majority in the EARLY! See Page 10 to find dent of the Virginia Board of Edu- House of Delegates and make it our where and how. cation. all the more difficult for Demo- He is counting on what he crats soon to overturn the ultra- RIP SULLIVAN sees as a resurgence of the GOP conservative control of that in Arlington. He points out that body—a majority that has . . . major challenge all 13 Arlington precincts in the stopped Medicaid expansion in Virginia despite support for it in both the State Sen- ate and the Governor’s Mansion—not to mention public support as shown in polls. Volunteers needed While Foster cited the vote in the last County Volunteers are needed to help out in the clos- Board election, many Democrats look at other num- ing weeks of the Rip Sullivan campaign for the 48th bers. They point out that since the current bound- District delegate seat. aries of the 48th District were drawn in 2011, Demo- The main need is for people to phone and to crats have done very well. Here are the percent- walk door-to-door. ages Democrats have won in the 48th District run- The Sullivan Campaign HQ is in the Lee- ning from lowest to highest. Harrison Shopping Center at 2505 North Harrison 2012 Obama 62% Street where it crosses Lee Highway. 2012 Kaine 64% Door-to-door canvassing launches from HQ: 2013 McAuliffe 65% Saturdays at 11 a.m., 1 p.m., 3 p.m. 2011 Brink 68% Sundays at noon, 2 p.m., 4 p.m. 2013 Herring 69% Weekdays are flexible. Canvass packets are pro- 2013 Northam 71% vided to anyone interested in weekday canvasses. 2011 Brink unopposed Phone banks are held at the Sullivan HQ: But many Democrats aren’t so impressed by A poll shows people think Monday-Thursday, 5:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m. those strong numbers and don’t see them as espe- he’s the worst president. Virtual phone banks (where you call from your cially relevant. Those were all November elections He doesn’t believe it and phone from your choice of location) can be set up and not special elections held in the middle of the neither should you. See at your request. vacation month of August. Page Six for all the details. Contact Kate Paterson at Special elections have been a challenge for [email protected] or 610-209-4718 if you Democrats. They mean low turnout, with Republi- can help out. continued on page seven ACDC Voice, August 2014, Page 2

Report from Chairman Kip Malinosky An election too many! It’s August. Congress is on recess, school didates step up to run, we had over 70 volun- unremarkable challengers. But that is not the is on summer break, the pools are crowded, teers to run the caucus, and 2,121 voters come case here, in that Foster is a former School and in Arlington it’s time for another elec- out to participate in what was one of Virginia’s Board member and likely to get money from tion. On August 19, we have a special elec- shortest ever election campaigns. the speaker. It seems quite clear that the tion for the 48th District in the House of Del- Our winner, Rip Sullivan, got a major- speaker thought that by calling for an August egates to fill the seat vacated by Delegate Bob ity of votes on the fifth ballot count under the special election he would put Democrats in Brink. It shouldn’t be this way. instant runoff system. Sullivan has deep roots disarray and sneak another Republican into The Republican speaker of the House, in the community and is a strong defender of the General Assembly. William Howell, had the sole authority to call Democratic values. He has been president of We have already proved the speaker the date of this election. The speaker could Northern Virginia’s Legal Services and a wrong on the first count. Not only did the have made life for everyone in the district member of Virginia’s Commission on Civics Arlington and Fairfax committees work fairly much easier and called for a special election Education, among many other commissions and effectively together, but also all seven can- concurrent with the November election. This and activities. He will join Arlington’s great didates campaigned graciously and have come would have saved money for Arlington and Richmond delegation and stand up for com- together for a unity rally. Sullivan’s campaign Fairfax counties and given candidates suffi- mon sense gun safety, fighting climate change has opened a centrally located HQ in the Lee- cient time to make their case to voters. and reducing testing in our schools. Also, he Harrison shopping center that is bustling with Of course, that’s not what happened. will work to change the state code, so we don’t volunteers. On August 19, voters in the 48th When the speaker last month issued the writ have to deal with another six-day campaign District (even if you’re on vacation, vote ab- of election for August 19, the Virginia Code and Sunday caucus. sentee) can send the speaker a message: Your only gave political parties six days to nomi- In the midst of our caucus, we learned schemes won’t work, and we’re electing Rip nate candidates. As soon as we realized this that Republicans had anointed their candidate. Sullivan. was the case, we swung into action. The Ar- They didn’t bother with an election; their chair lington and Fairfax Democratic Committees simply nominated Dave Foster. And so be- found venues to hold our caucus on July 6, gins our second special election of the year. the last possible date before the filing was due. Delegate Brink, over the last few cycles, Get ready for Amazingly, we had seven well prepared can- had a remarkable talent for drawing distinctly Chili Cookoff For more than a century, the informal Jerry Botland start to campaign season around the country has been Labor Day. In Arlington, we have Computer Consulting made Labor Day into a social kickoff with lots of eats at our Chili Cookoff. Troubleshoot and resolve computer and As for many years, the 2014 Chili computer related problems. Cookoff will be held at Lyon Park, at the cor- Perform upgrades, set-up wireless routers and print servers. ner of Pershing Drive and North Fillmore Transfer old files, address book and emails Street, from 4-7 p.m. on September 1. And if you would like to enter a chili in from an old computer to a new one. our contest, Arlington Dems would be de- Phone: (703) 933-0558 — [email protected] lighted to have a taste. We have judges with certified taste buds who vote on all entries. And since this is a Democratic event and a democratic event, we also have all those at- tending cast their ballots for their first choice. Published monthly by the Entries range from meaty to vegetarian Arlington County Democratic Committee and from bland to Cape Canaveral launch hot. 2001 Jefferson Davis Highway, Suite #604, Arlington VA 22202 There is a taste for every tongue. Mailing address: P.O. Box 7132, Arlington VA 22207 This year’s organizers are also looking Tel: (703) 528-8588 Fax: (703) 528-2321 for volunteers to staff the event and to pro- http://www.arlingtondemocrats.org vide such things as yard games for the kids, Chair: Kip Malinosky — [email protected] grills, coolers and things with which to fill Editor-in-Chief: Warren L. Nelson —(703) 243-7867 (h), [email protected] the coolers. Deputy Editor: Eric Wiener — (703) 524-6899 (h), [email protected] To get all the details on how to enter your Views expressed do not necessarily represent those of the ACDC chili or to volunteer, contact this year’s co- unless expressly approved by an appropriate committee resolution chairs, Kim Phillip and Sarah Eckman at Copyright ©2014, ACDC, All Rights Reserved [email protected]. ACDC Voice, August 2014, Page 3

Democratic Values in Action Next Monthly Meeting

Cereal boxes Yet again, All Dems Invited are on Wednesday, August 6 at 7 p.m. Dems ove! make great the m FAIRLINGTON CENTER 3308 South Stafford Street (Take Quaker Lane south from I-395. Take second right onto 33rd straw poll! Street. That leads in one block to Stafford and the Center) Campaigns routinely “distract” from ACDC’s efforts to collect cereal boxes to aid The August meeting will hear from Rip Sullivan, who the families that call on the Arlington Food will be up for election only 13 days later in the 48th Del- Assistance Center (AFAC) for help. But this past month, the exact opposite egate District. Looking forward to November, congres- happened as the campaigns to select a Dem sional candidate Don Beyer will also address Arling- nominee to succeed Bob Brink in the House ton Dems. And the campaign organizations from all of Delegates were recruited to collect cereal six local candidates on the November ballot will be staff- boxes. ing campaign stations to sign up volunteers, hand out The result?—The annual drive for cereal boxes is now ahead of schedule, an unheard materials and make sure your bumper is well stickered. of development! If you weren’t sure the campaigns were in high gear, Normally, the cereal drive moves into you will be after this meeting! low gear when campaigning is in high gear. And this year has seen non-stop campaigning as we have held one election or caucus almost every month. As a result, the cereal drive fell way be- it a “cereal poll,” instead of a straw poll. boxes galore in the closing weeks of the year. hind. At the end of May, the campaign had That resulted in an astounding 131 boxes The cereal poll turned out to be a remark- collected 79 boxes toward its 2014 goal of coming in, boosting the total to 221 boxes so able one. The candidates finished the cereal 350. If it were on track for an even collection far this year. That means that with 58 percent poll in the same order in which they finished throughout the year, it would have been at 145 of the year expired at the end of July, DVA the caucus poll, except for Andrew boxes by then. had collected 63 percent of its goal, moving Schneider, who finished third in the But Kim Klingler, the chair of Demo- ahead of the power curve for the first time caucus but sixth in the cereal poll. cratic Values In Action (DVA), the charitable ever. Here are the results, showing the 350 arm of ACDC, had an idea. She suggested Normally, DVA makes a special appeal number of boxes and the percent- that each of the seven candidates ask their after the November polls close and Arlington age of the total for each candidate. supporters to bring cereal boxes to the candi- Dems—without the distraction of another Rip Sullivan 28 29% date debate held before the caucus. She called election looming—respond by rolling out Paul Holland 34 26% David Bolling 20 15% 221 Atima Omara 14 11% Yasmine Taeb 13 10% Andrew Schneider 10 8% Jackie Wilson 2 2% You can compare the cereal Bumper Sticker poll results with the caucus tabula- tion printed on Page Seven. of the Month DVA missed its box goal last year, so there is a redoubled effort to meet the same 350-box goal this year. You can help by bringing a box of cereal to any ACDC or YD monthly meeting. And, if you forget and leave your box at home, you will find a jar in which you can drop some cash that DVA will put toward cereal boxes. For all you egg- and flapjack-eaters, the average price of a box of cereal is about $4. ACDC Voice, August 2014, Page 4 No summer Donkey Ears vacation for Listening to the doings YD activists of Arlington’s Dems as overheard by The Arlington Young Democrats contin- Dan Steen and Mädi Green ued building engagement and visibility among underrepresented groups in July by hosting two major events: a charitable effort on be- half of Re-Play for Kids and a panel discus- Reversal: We reported last month that blogger Ben Tribbett had closed down his sion on how to elect more women to public “Not Larry Sabato” blog and taken a position with the Washington Redskins to office. lead a campaign defending the name. That lasted only two weeks Tribbett AYD is proud to welcome Re-Play for submitted his resignation after the Oneida Indian Nation posted some comments Kids into the growing roster of AYD Com- that Tribbett made years ago that were called derogatory to Native Americans. munity Service Partners after a successful Tribbett said his comments were taken out of context, but he was resigning so as event on July 16. As part of the celebration not to become a distraction to the team’s efforts. Asked if the dispute was nastier th over the 20 anniversary of the Americans than what he has frequently seen in politics, Tribbett swiftly said, “Yes.” with Disabilities Act, AYD members had the More bloggers: Max Burns, president of the Arlington YDs, has become the latest opportunity to flex their engineering muscle “Progressive Voice” to write that column in ARLnow.com. He discussed the by repurposing toys for children with disabili- rapidly shifting views on gay marriage and how even Old Guard Republicans are ties. Arlington County Treasurer candidate changing their position far faster than anyone had anticipated. But Max isn’t the Carla de la Pava and School Board candi- only new blogger. School Board Member James Lander and State Senator date Barbara Kanninen joined Community Service Director Maggie Davis in making this Barbara Favola have also penned columns this past month. one of the best-attended AYD community ser- No malice for Malis: ACDC Treasurer Inta Malis has been honored by the vice events of 2014. Virginia chapter of the American Planning Association with its 2014 Citizen “It was great to have an event where we Planner Award. The honor was for Inta’s work on the Arlington Planning were able to come away with something tan- Commission for the development of the Columbia Pike corridor. County Board gible we could give to the community. And Chair Jay Fisette cited a number of Arlingtonians who have contributed to the beyond that, it was so much fun,” said AYD planning efforts and said, “Inta is one of those right at the top of the list.” Membership Director Meg Turlington. Passages I: H. Richard Chew, 87, passed away July 5 at his home in Arlington. The Young Dems also tackled the issue In 1971, he was the Democratic nominee for the House of Delegates for the then of women in politics, hosting a panel discus- 23rd District in Arlington. He lost to Republican Herbert Morgan by just 436 sion July 23 with Virginia State Senators Jen- votes out of almost 30,000 cast. Chew was a lawyer who joined the CIA in 1950 nifer Wexton (D-Loudoun) and Barbara in its earliest years, leaving in 1962 to start his own law practice in Arlington. He Favola (D-Arlington), along with former enjoyed sailing and was a member of the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club. House of Delegates Candidates Jennifer Passages II: Barbara “Timmy” Marx, a long time generous contributor to Boysko, Kathleen Murphy and Yasmine Taeb. ACDC, passed away June 27 at the age of 81. A graduate of Bryn Mawr, a poet Nearly 100 people – many new to AYD – at- and a teacher, she taught at Northern Virginia Community College for 30 years. tended the event, laying to rest the myth of Condolences are extended to Margaret Liu, her beloved friend of 64 years, a the “summer slump” in Young Dems activi- longtime Yorktown precinct volunteer who delivered the annual Democratic ties. Messenger until two years ago. Boysko, who intends to make a second Course closed: The University of Virginia’s nationally renowned political com- bid for the House of Delegates in 2015, hoped mentator, Larry Sabato, has stopped teaching his “Introduction to American future female candidates left the event under- standing “it’s okay for you to ask for what Politics” class after 35 years. About 20,000 students have passed (or at least you need, because your mission to be a pub- attended) the course in that time. But the course is actually better known for lic servant is important.” frequently making news as Sabato has been able to invite top political names to Special elections never end in Arlington, undergo grilling by his students. He finished the course last month with Senator and neither does AYD enthusiasm. The YDs Tim Kaine and Gov. Terry McAuliffe in the classroom. Sabato said that setting will be holding multiple canvasses for 48th up all those visits is very challenging “because Charlottesville is not exactly on District candidate Rip Sullivan over the com- the beaten path,” but what finally got him to think it was time to close shop was ing weeks, with the first scheduled for Au- when “the grandkids of former students started coming.” He said the comments gust 9. There are additional canvass and out- made by students were also humbling. “They said the two things they remember reach events in planning for Don Beyer and most are the motto, ‘Politics is a good thing,’ and the guest speakers. It shows Alan Howze. that, as professors, we have a lot less impact than we’d like to think.” ACDC Voice, August 2014, Page 5 Virginia bridge from nowhere to nowhere A few years ago, the country was up in arms over “the bridge to nowhere.” Now Virginia has its own version—a bridge that does not lay in either of the cities it connects—a bridge from and to nowhere! At least that is what the new state budget law says in an obscurely-written two-sentence provision that saves the owner of the bridge from having to pay any taxes to the City of Ports- mouth, which had voted to tax the bridge company but was never told about the no-tax provision sneaked into the budget bill in recent weeks. The bridge spans the Elizabeth River south of Norfolk. The provision absolves the owner of the South Norfolk Jordan Bridge from paying taxes on it by stating that the structure lies neither in Portsmouth nor in Chesapeake, the two cities it connects. The language does not mention the bridge by name, so the point of the two-sentence provision is incomprehensible without doing a great deal of research. Portsmouth city officials told the Virginian-Pilot they didn’t learn of the amendment until nearly a month after the budget passed. NOWHERE — The South Norfolk Jordan Bridge is a “Somebody was trying to bury this,” Portsmouth City Man- mighty impressive structure, but, according to a provision ager John Rowe said. “I don’t know how in the world that happened,” said state sneaked into the budget bill this year, it no longer has any Sen. Louise Lucas, who sits on the Senate Finance Committee. link to Portsmouth or Chesapeake. The toll bridge’s owner, United Bridge Partners, has been embroiled in a disagreement with Portsmouth for months over a hefty In their agreement to develop the bridge, the Virginian-Pilot re- tax bill—it stands at $729,000 and counting, as of last week—for the ports, the Jordan Bridge owner and Chesapeake both agreed that the portion of the toll bridge that city officials say falls inside Portsmouth bridge was taxable. Chesapeake, however, says it agreed to waive city limits. taxes on the bridge for its first 15 years and planned to tax the structure when that exemption expired. The amendment piggybacks on a provision in existing state law that says that piers, wharves and docks—but not bridges or tunnels—on the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries “shall be embraced” by the local- ity where they originate. Attorneys for the bridge company argued to Ports- mouth city officials that, based on that language, the Jordan Bridge shouldn’t be taxed. Portsmouth, in turn, contends that the provision was intended to establish boundaries for structures that jut into the water without attaching to land on the other side, and that’s why it excludes bridges and tunnels. Del. Chris Jones, the GOP chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, said the amendment prevent- ing Portsmouth from taxing the bridge came from his counterpart in the Senate, Republican Walter Stosch of Henrico County. Jones said Stosch called him the evening before the budget vote to ask Jones whether he was okay with the language, and he said yes, believing the amendment simply clarified existing law. Stosch later told the newspaper he did not know which legislator pushed for it. He said that he and Jones ultimately decided to insert the language. MAP READING — According to the map, the bridge (A) spans Jones and Stosch both say they didn’t inform any the Elizabeth River just south of Norfolk and links Portsmouth, members of Portsmouth’s delegation, saying they considered the amendment to be nothing more than a clari- to the east of the river, with Chesapeake, to the west. fication of existing law. ACDC Voice, August 2014, Page 6 Do Americans really think that Obama is the worst president since World War II? A recent poll has gotten a great deal of media attention for showing that President Obama is rated by 33 percent of the Ameri- can people as the worst president since World Quinnipiac War II. Worse even than Richard Nixon. The commentary from Republicans has poll results largely been gloating. “Which of the presidents we The commentary from Democrats has have had since World War II would largely conceded that Obama is viewed as you consider the worst president?” weak. But what has been missing from almost President Jul ‘14 Jun’ 06 all the news coverage is that the very same Harry Truman * 1 pollster, Quinnipiac University, asked the very Dwight Eisenhower 1 * same question at the very same point in the John F. Kennedy * 1 George W. Bush presidency—that is, 5 1/2 Lyndon Johnson 3 4 years into it—and found that George W. Bush Richard Nixon 13 17 was considered the country’s worst president Gerald Ford 2 2 since World War II by 34 percent of the pub- Jimmy Carter 8 13 lic—one percentage point more than Obama. Ronald Reagan 3 3 What the two polls taken eight years George H.W. Bush 2 3 apart really show is that the incumbent presi- Bill Clinton 3 16 dent and his immediate predecessor are widely George W. Bush 28 34 seen as poor presidents. Beyond that, memo- Barack Obama 33 NA ries fade and a broad level of kindliness to Don’t know 4 5 ex-presidents sets in. * = less than 0.5 percent RICHARD NIXON The poll taken last month found only . . . not very respected three postwar presidents rated in double digits as “worst:” the incumbent, his predecessor and Nixon. The June 2006 poll found only Carter is now rated as the worst presi- rating, according to the Gallup Poll—one of four postwar presidents rated in double digits dent by only 8 percent of the public. the worst ratings in history. And how many as “worst:” the then incumbent, his predeces- How about Harry Truman? He left of- Americans now rate him as the worst post- sor and Nixon and Jimmy Carter. fice in 1953 with a 56 percent disapproval war president? Less than one-half of one percent. And that includes the views of Repub- licans. If you exclude the most recent presidents on the argument that they are too fresh to be viewed in an historical context, then the opin- ion of the worst president since World War II is clear in both polls. It’s Richard Nixon. Let’s hear it for Tricky Dick. In a question of more immediate rel- evance, Quinnipiac asked how people would vote today for congressman. The results showed 41 percent preferring Democrats and 39 percent preferring the GOP. But the age breakdown showed those under 30, who have the poorest turnout in off- year elections, going Democratic by a huge margin, 47-27, those in their 30s and 40s going Democratic 47-34, and those 50 and older, who have the best turnout, going Republican 45-35. ACDC Voice, August 2014, Page 7 Arlington turnout needed to win it for Rip continued from page one ing, “We have the home-court advantage.” the earliest date possible, leaving only six But Foster isn’t giving up on the pre- days for the parties to pick candidates. He can voters turning out in greater proportions cincts in Fairfax County. When campaigning also set two other elections to fill vacan- than Democrats. In the last two decades, the across the border, he points out that his wife cies in the House of Delegates for August only elections Arlington Democrats have lost grew up in McLean. 19. have been special elections—and the two The delegate district is comprised of 21 Sullivan and Foster have agreed on two School Board races that Foster won. And now precincts, 13 in Arlington and eight in Fairfax debates before the August 19 balloting. The we face a combination of the two! County. About 69 percent of the district’s Fairfax County and Arlington County Cham- Foster is also counting on geographic voters are in Arlington. bers of Commerce are sponsoring a debate loyalty to help him. He notes that he is an The strange date for the election—giv- Tuesday, August 5, at 8 a.m.at the Fairfax C Arlingtonian while Sullivan is from McLean. ing little time for a campaign and even less of C, 7900 Westpark Drive, Suite A550, in Actually, Sullivan’s home is just 500 yards time for a nomination process—was the de- Tysons Corner. The Arlington Campus of from the county line and he spent a lot of time cision of William Howell, the GOP speaker George Mason University will sponsor the in Arlington even before becoming a candi- of the House of Delegates, who has the au- second on Monday, August 11, at 7 p.m. at date. The Sun-Gazette quoted Foster as say- thority to set these election dates. He chose 3351 Fairfax Drive..

Sullivan wins 53% after multiple re-counts Richard “Rip” Sullivan won the Demo- the end of the initial vote, Sullivan had 42.7 other two women candidates. cratic nomination for the 48th District delegate percent of the votes and the three female can- After that recount, no one yet had the seat recently vacated by Bob Brink—but it didates trailed the pack. Under the instant re- required 50 percent plus one to win, so the took five ballot counts for Rip to win a ma- count system, the last candidate, Jacqueline next candidate, Yasmine Taeb, was elimi- jority. Wilson, was eliminated and her ballots redis- nated and her ballots redistributed. The larg- The caucus was held under ACDC’s new tributed to her voters’ second choices. The est proportion of her votes went to the one rules providing for what some call Instant greater proportion of her votes went to the remaining female candidate. Runoff Voting (IRV) and others dub Ranked After that recount, the leader, Sullivan, Order Balloting (ROB). was only at 44.4 percent. So the bottom can- This was the third time this year that didate and the last female candidate, Atima ACDC held a caucus and used the brothers Omara, was eliminated and her votes redis- IRV and ROB. tributed. This time, the largest winner of the The system calls for voters to rank their redistribution was Sullivan. But he was still preferences 1, 2, 3, et cetera and is only used short of a majority. Another candidate, David in Virginia in Arlington’s party-run nominat- Boling, was dropped and the redistribution ing caucuses. of his votes primarily went to Sullivan and The table above shows just how the pushed him over the top with 53.5 percent. counts and recounts went in this latest cau- These vote figures are for the entire 48th cus. District, of which about two-thirds is in north- None of the recounts changed the order ern Arlington and one-third in Fairfax County of the candidates. Sullivan led all five. At out to McLean. ACDC Voice, August 2014, Page 8 Two more resignations bring more voting Two more elected county officials have resigned, confronting ACDC with the possi- bility of fourth and fifth caucuses this year. Frank O’Leary decided to resign as treasurer after 30 years on the job and School Board Member Noah Simon, whose wife passed away several months ago, decided to resign to have more time for his growing children. Fortunately, the date for the special elections to fill those vacancies was set for No- vember 4—the general election in Novem- ber—and only one Democratic candidate filed for each of those vacancies, so no nominat- ing caucuses need be held. Under state law, O’Leary was immedi- ately succeeded by his deputy, Carla De la Pava. She in turn, was the only person to file for the Democratic nomination. The August monthly ACDC meeting will be asked to ap- prove her formal nomination as the Demo- cratic candidate. De la Pava has been O’Leary’s deputy for the last six years. Although she unfortu- NANCY VAN DOREN CARLA DE LA PAVA nately grew up in Alexandria, she married life- . . . School Board candidate . . . in as treasurer long Arlingtonian Mark Dola and they have reared their three sons in Arlington. She holds an MBA from Harvard and an undergraduate degree in economics from Wesleyan Univer- sity. She previously worked at Continental Bank of Illinois and The Price Company, which owns what is now Costco. Simon’s School Board seat is now vacant. Nancy Van Doren, who came in second in the Democratic caucus several weeks ago to endorse a candidate to succeed retiring Sally Baird, was the only person to seek the Democratic nomination to succeed Simon. The August ACDC meeting will be asked to make her endorsement official. Van Doren spent 12 years with Connecti- cut National Bank, Travelers, The Hartford Courant and Newsday. She then spent eight years abroad with her husband, Jack Zetkulic, a Foreign Service Officer, living in Serbia, Sweden and Switzerland. For the last decade, the family has lived in Ashton Heights. Their four children currently attend Jefferson Middle School and Washington-Lee High. NOAH SIMON FRANK O’LEARY In the case of such county vacancies, the . . . resigns after two years . . . resigns after 30 years election date is set by the chief judge of the Circuit Court, who is William Newman, a former member of the County Board. At the time of writing, no GOP or third legal and administrative requirements to hold Newman decided to set the Special Election party candidate has filed to run against either caucuses—which will not now be required. to fill those two posts simultaneous with the Van Doren or De la Pava, but the deadline for There was a noticeable sigh of relief when the November general election. the special elections is not until August 15. absence of any contest for the Democratic The Simon seat will remain vacant until ACDC moved quickly after the resigna- nomination and endorsement nullified the that election, while De la Pava will hold the tions to set up fourth and fifth caucuses, re- need for those caucuses. The ACDC budget treasurer’s post in the interim. serving locations and setting in motion all the for caucuses was already exhausted. ACDC Voice,August 2014, Page 9 GOP still trying to make it harder to vote —latest move hits mainly at senior citizens The debate over voter IDs never seems to end as conservatives are now fighting against the use of an expired driver’s license or passport as valid identification at the polls. The State Board of Elections (SBE) voted in June to allow those expired IDs to be used at the polls. But State Senator Mark Obenshain ob- jected. Obenshain was the sponsor of the leg- islation that passed last year and requires that a photo ID be presented at the polls before anyone can vote. Obenshain was also the los- ing GOP candidate for Virginia attorney general last year. The SBE decided at its June meeting that voting officers would consider only the name, photo and authenticity of an ID submitted at the polls, reasoning that all it cared about was establishing the identity of the person asking for a ballot, not whether he could still legally drive or travel abroad. their old driver’s license or passport to the legal effect, legally or officially acceptable or But Obenshain asked the SBE to think polls. of binding force, and appearing to be genu- again. And it has reopened the issue. Others have pointed out that many photo inely issued by the agency or issuing entity Arlington election officials have IDs carry no expiration date. In fact, the free appearing upon the document where the weighed in to support using expired IDs. voter ID card available from the State Board bearer of the document reasonably appears to “Does a photo ID past its expiration date mean of Elections and prescribed by the new photo be the person whose photograph is contained it’s invalid as ID for voting? We think not,” ID law contains no expiration date. thereon. Other data contained on the docu- the Registrar’s Office said. Courtney Mills, an attorney with the Fair ment, including but not But Maureen Williams-Wolfe, one of Elections Legal Network, a national organi- limited to expiration those filing citizen input with the SBE, said, zation dealing with election administration date, shall not be con- “Too many people move out of state and keep issues, says “many” student IDs and “most” sidered in de- their previous state licenses. Crossing back employee IDs, which are legal to establish termining the and voting in Virginia from [a neighboring identity at the Virginia polls, do not have ex- validity of the state] is not unheard of while also voting in piration dates. d o c u m e n t . their new state.” A final decision from the SBE is not ex- Such docu- Williams-Wolfe did not cite any ex- pected until late August after the end of a pub- ments shall amples of such illegal voting, despite assert- lic comment period that is now underway. To be accepted ing it is “not unheard of.” None of the aca- be considered, public comments must have up to 30 days demic studies or formal investigations of voter been received by close of business August 4. after expiration. fraud that The Voice has reviewed in the past The new photo ID law went into effect year have cited any instances of such an ille- July 1. But the new law won’t apply to the gality. August 19 Arlington special election to fill But perhaps more relevant is that some- Bob Brink’s delegate seat because that elec- It’s breakfast time one could easily vote illegally with a valid, tion was called one day before the photo ID unexpired driver’s license or passport. A pass- The August Second Saturday Breakfast law took effect. The photo ID law will apply port is now valid for 10 years and a Virginia’s will hear from Carla De la Pava, the only in November. driver’s license is issued for as long as eight candidate to file for the Democratic nomina- Here is the language the SBE adopted in years. Furthermore, a passport is not issued tion to succeed Frank O’Leary as County June and the amendments it is now consider- with the holder’s address. Treasurer. ing with strikeouts representing deletions and More to the point, many senior citizens The August 9 breakfast will start, as underlinings indicating additions to the origi- who can no longer drive or feel up to foreign usual, at 8:30 a.m. in the usual place, the Bus- nal. travel have an old, expired driver’s license or boys and Poets in Shirlington, with the usual “Valid” for all purposes related to voter passport. By the interpretation Obenshain and admonition that you bring cash to clear the identification means documents containing Williams-Wolfe are pushing, they would find bill. Treasurer De la Pava will not be picking the name and photograph of the voter having themselves ineligible to vote if they brought up the tab. ACDC Voice, August 2014, Page 10 Vote early so you won’t forget on E-Day You can vote in the 48th District House “Oh, heck [or words to that effect]. I forgot shore for the entire day, you can just be plan- of Delegates election right now. all about it.” ning to have lunch in Fairfax County. Normally, folks like to vote early so they So, don’t wait for Election Day. Early Just tell the clerks you expect to be out don’t have to wait in the long lines on Elec- voting (technically called absentee in-per- of town on Election Day and they will show tion Day. But we can pretty much guarantee son voting) is now underway at the County you the box to check. there won’t be long lines at a “special elec- Building, 2100 Clarendon Blvd. on the third But remember: this is an election only tion” held in the high vacation month of Au- floor in the Registrar’s Office. You can vote for residents of the 48th House of Delegates gust. Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 District who were represented until now by If you are going to be on vacation on p.m. The office will also be open for vot- Delegate Bob Brink. If you aren’t sure Election Day, Tuesday, August 19, that is a ing Saturday, August 16, from 8:30 a.m. to whether you live in the 48th District, go to perfect reason to vote early. 5 p.m. http://sbe.virginia.gov, click on “Check your Another reason is that you might forget. But note there will be no voting the voter information,” next look just below the This isn’t like November, when The Wash- Monday before Election Day as the bullets and click on “View your current reg- ington Post and the local television news is Registrar’s people will be busy setting up the istration status,” fill in the form and submit. talking all about the upcoming election. Ev- polls in the precinct polling places. Then scroll down to “Districts” and click on ery year after a low-attention election, we hear You are eligible to vote early if you an- the box in front of that word. If it says “048” of strong Democrats who pick up the paper ticipate being out of the county at any time after House of Delegates, you are eligible to Wednesday morning, see the results and say, on Election Day. You don’t have go to the vote.

Here’s the ballot for November

The November 4 ballot just got a little longer with the addition erty as his or her principal place of residence and has not remarried? of “special elections” for treasurer and a second School Board seat. Below is the ballot as it is now configured. Treasurer A “special election” is called to fill the remainder of a term when Special Election to fill unexpired term ending Dec. 15, 2015 the incumbent dies or resigns. (This is to fill the remaining part of the term of Frank O’Leary, who Note that this may not be the final ballot. The filing deadline has recently resigned) passed for most posts, but it does come until August 15 for the two Carla F. De la Pava (D), incumbent “special elections.” The county GOP is still mulling whether to have any candidates for those positions. County Board Republicans will be listed first throughout the state for federal Alan E. Howze (D) office this year after a drawing by the State Board of Elections. John E. Vihstadt (R), incumbent Here is the ballot and the order of candidates as they stand now. School Board United States Senate (This is to succeed Sally Baird, who is not seeking re-election) Ed W. Gillespie (R) Audrey R. Clement (Green Party) Mark R. Warner (D), incumbent Barbara J. Kanninen (D) Robert Sarvis (Libertarian) School Board House of Representatives Special Election to fill unexpired term ending Dec. 31, 2016 Micah K. Edmond (R) (This is to fill the remainder of the term of Noah Simon, who recently Donald S. Beyer, Jr. (D) resigned) Jeffrey S. Carson (Libertarian) Nancy Van Doren (D) Gerard C. “Gerry” Blais III (Independent Green) Gwendolyn I. Beck (Ind) County Bond Referenda Education $105.78 million Constitutional Amendment Metro and transportation $ 60.24 million Question: Shall Section 6-A of Article X (Taxation and Finance) of Community infrastructure $ 39.90 million the Constitution of Virginia be amended to allow the General Assem- Local parks and recreation $ 13.00 million bly to exempt from taxation the real property of the surviving spouse of any member of the armed forces of the United States who was N.B. Under Virginia law, no party designation is shown on the ballot killed in action, where the surviving spouse occupies the real prop- for the county offices. ACDC Voice, August 2014, Page 11 Only one VA congressman is unopposed Voters in every Virginia congressional Scott Rigell, Democrat Suzanne Patrick, 58, Beck. Rep. Jim Moran, the incumbent Demo- district will have a choice this November, a former Pentagon official and retired naval crat, is not running. except for one: Rep. Bobby Scott, one of the officer. 9th District: Republican incumbent state’s three Democrats and only African- 3rd District: Democrat Bobby Scott, Morgan Griffith and independent William American congressman, is unopposed in his unopposed. Carr Jr. bid for a 12th term. 4th District: Republican incumbent 10th District: Republican Barbara Scott, 67, a Newport News Democrat Randy Forbes, Democrat Elliott Fausz, 28, Comstock, Democrat John Foust, Libertarian who has been in Congress since 1993, won manager of a weekly newspaper in Chester- William Redpath, Independent Green Dianne re-election two years ago in the state’s 3rd field County, and Libertarian Bo C. Brown. Blais and independent Brad Eickholt. Rep. Congressional District with 81 percent of the 5th District: Republican incumbent Frank Wolf, the Republican incumbent, isn’t vote. The district’s boundaries bounce back Robert Hurt, Democrat W. Lawrence running. and forth from one side of the James River to Gaughan, Libertarian Paul Jones and Indepen- 11th District: Democratic incumbent the other to pick up African-American pre- dent Green Kenneth Hildebrandt. Gerry Connolly, Republican Suzanne Scholte, cincts from Hampton Roads up to Richmond. 6th District: Republican incumbent Bob Libertarian Marc Harrold and Green Joe No Democratic candidates have been re- Goodlatte, Libertarian Will Hammer and In- Galdo. cruited to run in the 6th and 9th districts against dependent Green Elaine Hildenbrandt. incumbent Republicans Bob Goodlatte and 7th District: Republican David Brat, Morgan Griffith. Democrat Jack Trammell and Libertarian Here is a rundown of who is on the bal- James Carr. The incumbent, House Majority lot in the state’s 11 House races. Eight in- Leader Eric Cantor, was defeated by Brat in cumbents are running. the GOP primary. 1st District: Republican incumbent Rob 8th District: Republican Micah Wittman, Democrat Norm Mosher and Inde- Edmond, Democrat Donald Beyer Jr., Liber- pendent Green Glenda Gail Parker. tarian Jeffrey Carson, Independent Green 2nd District: Republican incumbent Gerry Blais and independent Gwendolyn

PARTY PARTY — The Roosevelt Society, the ma- Chair Jennifer Bodie; State Sen. Adam Ebbin; jor fund-raising arm of ACDC, held a mid-sum- former Delegate Bob Brink; his anticipated suc- mer get-together in July at the home of Sally Coo- cessor Richard “Rip” Sullivan; Delegate Patrick per with special guest Attorney General Mark Hope; Attorney General Mark Herring; and Herring. From left: New County Treasurer Carla State Sen. Barbara Favola. Stephanie Dix De la Pava; retiring Congressman Jim Moran; his Clifford made the special treat (inset), “Rainbow anticpated successor Don Beyer; ACDC Finance Cupcakes for Equality,” for the occasion.