Gubernatorial Primary Gives Dems Many Good Surprises

Home , Barbara Comstock, Corey Stewart, Henry Howell, Jill Vogel, Justin Fairfax, Ken Cuccinelli

Vol. 42, No 7 www.arlingtondemocrats.org July 2017 YOUR DEMOCRATIC Gubernatorial primary gives STATEWIDE Dems many good surprises The June gubernatorial primaries produced a Ron Hedlund, a member of the GOP state cen- TICKET number of surprises, and they mostly pointed posi- tral committee, labeled the turnout an “enthusiasm tive for Democrats looking forward to November. gap” and said, “We had better get our act together.” First of all, the Democratic gubernatorial pri- Even in Chesterfield County, historically one mary turnout set a record with 542,816 voters, 10.1 of the commonwealth’s most reliably (and large) percent more than the previous record, set more than red locales, Democrats cast 4,164 more ballots for N a third of a century ago when 493,108 turned out governor than Republicans did. O for the barnburner race between Henry Howell and The outcome also produced Democratic unity Andrew Miller in 1977. and GOP disunity. Hours after the polls closed, Tom R But the GOP didn’t set a record. Its guberna- Perriello warmly endorsed Dem winning nominee T torial race drew just 365,782 voters—32.6 percent Ralph Northam. But over on the GOP side, runner- H below the Democratic turnout and 9.0 percent be- up candidate Corey Stewart snarled, “There’s one A low its old record set in 1989 when J. Marshall word you will never hear from me and that’s ‘unity,’ M Coleman beat two other candidates. because, look folks, we’ve been backing down too Retired State Sen. John Watkins, a Republi- long … in defense of our culture, our heritage and can, was asked about the turnout. “Personally, it our country.” scared the heck out of me,” the Chesterfield Ob- It wasn’t just Perriello endorsing Northam. server reported. “They care and we don’t care that Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who had backed Perriello, much.” He said the gap in turnout in the primary is even came out for Northam, calling him a “great” a “major problem” for the GOP going into the fall. continued on page six

F A Democrats already half-way to I R F House of Delegates majority A Democrats have only 34 seats in the current None of this, of course, spells victory. But X 100-seat House of Delegates, but Dems already have there wouldn’t be 47 Dems challenging 47 incum- 28 seats locked up in the next House of Delegates bent Republicans if they didn’t smell the real chance because that many Dem candidates are running un- of victory. opposed. Del. David Toscano, the House Democratic It’s a huge change from past years when Dems leader, said the reason so many Democrats sought have often had to dragoon candidates to hoist the nominations this year is obvious. “It’s called Donald Democrats’ flag. Now, candidates see a real chance Trump,” he said. of victory. Democrats have candidates in 88 of the Toscano said opposition to Trump is so strong 100 delegate districts, meaning the GOP has only that it’s overcome the reluctance Democratic can- locked up 12 seats so far. For comparison’s sake, didates have had in the past to compete in a district H two years ago at this time, 44 Republicans faced no with boundary lines drawn to help Republicans. E Democratic opposition. “They feel very strongly that we have to put people R Republicans, meanwhile, have candidates in on the field to give voters a choice, and that’s the R only 72 districts, handing early victories to 28 Dems. only way we’re going to come back,” he said. I Only six incumbent Democrats face opposi- Some Democratic candidates in GOP-leaning tion (including our own Alfonso Lopez), while 47— districts may face long odds, but even running a N count ‘em—Republicans are facing Democratic credible campaign can help the party overall by forc- G opposition. continued on page seven ACDC Voice, July 2017, Page 2

Report from Chairman Kip Malinosky Climate crisis & job opportunities There is little doubt that we are now in a tive set of actions we can take is at the state competition which would create new jobs in climate crisis. Sea levels are rising faster and level to elect Democrats Ralph Northam as Virginia. By contrast, the Republican nomi- faster, heat waves are becoming more com- governor, Justin Fairfax as lieutenant gover- nee for governor, Ed Gillespie, does not men- mon, the polar ice caps are melting and car- nor, and reelect Attorney General Mark Her- tion the words “climate” or “environment” on bon in the atmosphere continues to rise to ring along with a new Democratic majority his website. record highs. The signs are all around us: is- in the House of Delegates. Every statewide Justin Fairfax agrees with Northam on lands are starting to disappear in the Chesa- Democratic candidate is running to protect the the importance of fighting climate change and peake, a heat wave is grounding flights in environment and create new jobs, while ev- protecting the Chesapeake Bay. Fairfax states Phoenix, and billion dollar weather disasters ery Republican candidate either ignores or on his website, “With increased use of clean are becoming much more frequent year-af- rejects action on climate change. energy, Virginia families could see a 5% cut ter-year. Democrats realize we face an exis- Lt Governor Ralph Northam, the on average in their electric bills and Virginia’s tential threat that is also a remarkable oppor- Democratic Nominee for governor, states on economy could see thousands of new jobs.” tunity to create thousands if not millions of his website, “The Trump Administration has In other words, clean energy can help us cut new jobs. already begun its all-out assault on the envi- costs, create jobs and address the climate cri- Of course, Republicans led by Donald ronmental protections that keep Virginians sis. Fairfax also wants to see that we help ad- Trump and Ed Gillespie in Virginia are disre- healthy and make our communities great dress the transition of coal regions to new, garding all of this, withdrawing us from the places to live.” Northam proposes a slew of sustainable economies and help coastal towns Paris Climate Accords, and are trying to re- policies to make Virginia a leading state in meet the challenge of increased flooding. State vive our reliance on failing fossil fuel com- fighting climate change. First, Virginia will Senator Jill Vogel, the Republican nominee panies. How can we resist? keep its commitment to the Clean Power Plan, for lieutenant governor, also neglects to men- We must thank our senators and con- including joining the Climate State Alliance. tion the words “climate” or “environment” on gressman for all they are doing and press them Second, he will continue to protect the Chesa- her website and she received an “F” from the to fight even harder against Republican ef- peake Bay with opposition to offshore drill- Sierra Club for her votes from 2014 through forts to roll-back environmental protections ing and invest in restoration efforts. Third, he 2016. at the federal level. However, the most effec- wants to encourage clean energy choice and Attorney General Mark Herring has already made significant progress fighting climate change in Virginia. In 2016 he successfully sued and settled the largest environmental protection case in Virginia’s history with a Jerry Botland $50 million settlement with the DuPont Com- pany. He has successfully defended regula- Computer Consulting tions protecting the Chesapeake Bay. Going forward, Herring has pledged to join with 20 Troubleshoot and resolve computer and other attorneys general to defend the Clean computer related problems. Power Plan and the Environmental Protection Perform upgrades, set-up wireless routers and print servers. Agency from decimation by the Trump ad- Transfer old files, address book and emails ministration. The Republican nominee for attorney general, John Adams, also does not from an old computer to a new one. mention the words “climate” or “environ- Phone: (202) 744-0542 — [email protected] ment” on his website. So, on climate change, the choice is clear: we can recognize the crisis and create jobs with Northam, Fairfax and Herring or ignore and hope the coal mines will open Published monthly by the again with Gillespie, Vogel and Adams. With Trump reversing federal action to meet the Arlington County Democratic Committee climate crisis, it is imperative that states like 2001 Jefferson Davis Highway, Suite #604, Arlington VA 22202 Virginia step up to the challenge. Mailing address: P.O. Box 7132, Arlington VA 22207 Tel: (703) 528-8588 http://www.arlingtondemocrats.org Chair: Kip Malinosky — [email protected] Editor-in-Chief: Warren L. Nelson —(703) 243-7867 (h), [email protected] Views expressed do not necessarily represent those of the ACDC unless expressly approved by an appropriate committee resolution Copyright ©2017, ACDC, All Rights Reserved ACDC Voice, July 2017, Page 3

GOP primary Next Monthly Meeting All Dems Invited to pick Kaine Wednesday, July 5, 7 p.m.

NRECA Building, 4301 Wilson Blvd opponent Corner of North Taylor and Wilson, just east of Glebe & Wilson Virginia Republicans will choose their Free parking under building, enter from Taylor Street 2018 U.S. Senate candidate in a state-run primary after the party’s central committee re- With the primary now history, our July meeting jected the usual resort to a small-scale con- will see the formal kickoff of the Joint Campaign, which is vention at which right-wingers tend to pre- vail. ACDC’s annual effort to support the full Democratic ticket The Republican Party of Virginia voted by jointly managing activities that don’t need to be done 45 for a primary and 35 for a convention. The by individual candidates, like the organizing of the The party has seemed to be more open to primaries since the 2013 convention enthusiastically Democratic Messenger and literature distribution at Metro chose the most right-wing candidates for all stops. The program for the meeting will focus on how three statewide offices—governor, lieutenant Arlington can reach 100 percent renewable energy. governor and attorney general—and all went down to defeat that November. The central committee vote clarified the process Republicans will use to select their challenger to run against Sen. Tim Kaine, but saying the party just had a “very successful” the field of candidates is far from set. Among gubernatorial primary that allowed more the long list of possible contenders are former people to participate and gave the party a trove GOP presidential candidate Carly Fiorina, of fresh voter information. Free said prima- conservative commentator Laura Ingraham, ries also vet candidates in ways that conven- former Gov. Jim Gilmore, former Attorney tions, which in the recent past have drawn General Ken Cuccinelli, retiring state Del. about 5,000 attendees, cannot. Jimmie Massie of Henrico County and US “Can they raise a statewide organization? Reps. Barbara Comstock, Dave Brat and Rob Can they raise the funds necessary?” asked Wittman. Prince William Board of County Free. “All of these are part of that vetting pro- Supervisors Chairman Corey Stewart said he cess that is so important that we do to make may run for the seat after narrowly losing the sure we have a candidate that’s going to actu- Republican nomination for governor. ally compete on a state level.” Dennis Free, the party’s 2nd Congres- Morton Blackwell, a conservative and sional District chairman, argued for a primary, party rules expert who represents Virginia on Tim Kaine

Bumper Sticker the Republican National Committee, said the fact that Kaine likely will not face competition from a Democratic primary challenger of the month could create a “perfect storm” for Republi- cans by allowing meddling Democrats into the Republican primary process. “There will be enormous incentives for Democrats in large numbers to come in and support candidates for our nomination,” Blackwell said. “And believe me, they are either going to be coming in for the most lib- eral of the Republican candidates, or the Re- publican candidate that they think they can most easily beat. I think this is a slam-dunk case this time for a convention next year.” ACDC Voice, July 2017, Page 4 Long queue Donkey Ears of eager 10th Listening to the doings District Dems of Arlington’s Dems as overheard by running Dan Steen and Mädi Green The Democratic crowd lining up to challenge Rep. Barbara Comstock in the adjoin- Back to the classroom: Robin Tejada, wife of recently-retired County Board ing 10th District has grown to seven—and the member Walter Tejada, is out of the frying pan and into the fire. After 13 election is still 16 months away! years in the central office at Arlington Public Schools, she will be back in Larry Sabato of the University of Vir- the classroom next fall. “I’ve enjoyed this job,” she said. “But it’s time to ginia lists the districts of three GOP congress- get back to the artistry, creativity, fun and making-a-difference that teaching men nationally as toss-ups and eight as only brings.” leaning Republican. And just three of those Venerable Venable man: The Venable law firm recently named former 11 are east of Mississippi. And the only one ACDC Chair Larry Roberts its Pro Bono Lawyer of the Year for his good in Virginia is Barbara Comstock’s district, which will draw a lot of funds and volun- works (literally). The award is named for Benjamin Civilletti, a long-timer teers—including from Arlington—next year. Venable partner who joined the firm after he served as attorney general The seat has been in GOP hands since under Jimmy Carter. 1980. But the demographics have been Sticky stuff: Former Del. Rob Krupicka, who retired from politics to sell steadily changing and the district grows more donuts from his shops in Alexandria and Arlington, is looking for some Democratic with each passing year. The dis- DC-area themed flavors—ones “that you would actually want to eat,” a trict is centered in Loudoun County but takes very important qualifier. Here are a few of the suggestions he’s received: in the Potomac shoreline of Fairfax County ’Unindicted Co-conut Conspirator; the Alternative Facts donut—says it’s right down to the Arlington line, plus chunks fat free, but the ingredients say otherwise; The Capitol Hill—fluff and of Prince William County and the strong (but sugary perimeter with a hollow core; The Beltway—with jam 24 hours a small) Republican bastions of Clarke and day; The Metro—red, orange, blue, silver, green and yellow frosting in lines Frederick counties that stretch out beyond Winchester to the West Virginia line. across the top, slightly charred on the underside from constantly being on As a clear indicator of the changing de- fire. mographics. Hillary Clinton won the district Costly celebration: Edd Nolen, former precinct captain and all-round last fall. But GOPers note that Comstock ran volunteer, and wife Anita celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in grand 16 points ahead of Donald Trump last fall and style by dining at the Inn at Little Washington. Edd allowed that it was a think she fits the district. tad expensive, but considered that okay for a once-in-a-lifetime celebration. Not so, say the seven folks so far pursu- Chip off the old block 1: Dan Broder, son of late Washington Post staffer ing Comstock at this early date. They are: David Broder, is writing the “Your Day in Trump” blog to highlight the • Alison Kiehl Friedman, executive direc- zaniest thing to happen each day in the Trump orbit. There’s a lot to choose tor of the Alliance to Stop Slavery and End from. Check it out at https://yourdayintrump.com/feed/ Trafficking. Chip off the old block 2: Way down south in the House of Delegates District • Deep Sran, whose parents are from In- dia, is founder of the Loudoun School for the #1, Alicia Kallen of Big Stone Gap has won the Democratic nomination to Gifted. take on the very difficult challenge of trying to unseat Republican Del. Terry • Jennifer Wexton, a former prosecutor Kilgore. Alicia’s grandmother is Vivian Kallen, who failed to win a seat in and current state senator from Loudoun the House of Delegates from Arlington in 1969. Alicia’s dad, Greg, was County. elected as Wise County’s commonwealth’s attorney. • Lindsay Davis Stover, who worked in the Record-breaking governor: Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s veto pen gets no rest. Department of Veterans Affairs during the He vetoed 40 bills from this year’s General Assembly and the assembly did Obama Administration. not overrule a single one. For his four years, his record on vetoes is 111-0. • Dan Helmer, a Rhodes Scholar and Army Not a single one has been overruled. Among the bills he vetoed this year veteran. was one to require that voters sending in mailed ballots must include a • David B. Hanson, a retired Navy intelli- photocopy of a photo ID, just as a person voting in-person must show a gence officer. • Kimberly Adams, past president of the photo ID. Supporters of the bill did not seem to notice that there is no way Fairfax teachers union. to check the voter’s face against the ID with a mailed-in ballot! ACDC Voice, July 2017, Page 5 Don Beyer proposes new electoral system Rep. Don Beyer has introduced legisla- play when candidates don’t exceed those tion to completely change the way members thresholds. Let’s say in a three-member dis- of Congress are elected, the goal being to cre- trict, only one candidate tops 25 percent. Then ate more competition and to encourage more the bottom-ranked candidate is eliminated and candidates to appeal to the center of the po- the votes cast for him as first-choice are re- litical spectrum. allocated to those voters’ second choices. This Beyer’s bill, H.R. 3057, would have vot- REDRAW — Virginia’s 11 is repeated again as needed until three candi- ers cast Ranked Order Ballots (ROB), the House districts look like the dates top the 25 percent threshold. same as Arlington Democrats have used in above now, but could become And that increases the likelihood that their caucuses in recent years. Voters rank three multi-member districts every voter would feel that at least one repre- their preferences first, second, third, etc. sentative truly was his or her representative. Second, Beyer’s bill would junk the cur- like below under the Beyer bill. Except in states with only one or two rent system of one congressman per district representatives, every constituent would have and create multi-member districts. Any state three, four or five congressmen, but no more. with five or fewer representatives would elect Details of the proposed system are avail- them all at-large. Bigger states would be di- able on the website www.fairvote.org. vided into multiple districts. Virginia, with 11 congressmen, would have three districts, one with five and two with three representa- run and govern from the left, knowing it is tives each. the source of their only true opposition,” Third, those districts’ boundaries would Beyer wrote. be drawn by independent commissions to He added, “Applied nationally, we would eliminate gerrymandering. have more moderate Democrats from districts In an op-ed article in The Washington leaning Republican, and vice versa, creating Post June 27, Beyer said the current winner- a type of politician—now nearly extinct— take-all system can effectively lock out mi- known as a ‘bridge-builder’.” nority party members. He pointed to Massa- The system means that in a district with chusetts with nine congressional districts. five congressmen, any candidate drawing While 24 percent of Massachusetts residents more than 17 percent of the vote would win, Don with party registrations are Republican, no while in a three-seat district, any candidate Republican has won a seat in Congress for 20 with 25 percent would be elected. That vastly Beyer years. improves the chances for ethnic, racial and “This means that the Republican quartile ideological minorities to win seats and repre- of the electorate rightly feels left out and dis- sentation. illusioned, and Democratic candidates largely The Ranked Order Ballot comes into ACDC Voice, July 2017, Page 6 Statewide ticket looking set to win continued from page one and where Hillary Clinton won 75.8 percent of the Arlington vote last fall, a total of 84.7 candidate. Northam had helped grease the percent of primary voters were Democrats in unity skids during the campaign by avoiding June. negative campaigning and even denouncing There was no contest in either party for an anonymously funded PAC attack on the third statewide office, attorney general. Perriello. Neither incumbent Democrat Mark Herring Politico wrote: “What Virginia showed nor his GOP challenger John Adams faced a is that Democrats are having the more civi- nomination race. lized internal debate, they are establishing And, in Arlington, none of the four local more common policy ground and they are members of the House of Delegates—all making it easier to join forces after the votes Democrats—faced a primary challenge. are tallied.... Democrats have the unity edge. While the statewide primary outcomes And if Republicans continue to treat ‘unity’ all pointed in a healthy direction for Demo- like a dirty word, Democrats are sure to keep crats in November, many Democrats had it.” hoped for a different outcome in the two GOP Most attention focused on the double primaries. A Republican ticket led by Con- error of the pre-primary polls. Northam was federate flag-waver Corey Stewart for gover- expected to be in a fight for his life with nor and gay-basher Bryce Reeves for lieuten- Perriello, but in the end he won by a comfort- ant governor would have painted an ugly face able margin of 11.8 percentage points. Over on the GOP and helped even more to rally in the GOP primary, Ed Gillespie was sup- Democrats in the general election. posed to be attending a coronation, but he eked Reeves had lashed the eventual winner, out victory over Stewart—the great defender Vogel, for voting to confirm a gay man for a of Confederate memorials—by a mere 1.1 judgeship. Vogel only beat Reeves by a mar- percentage points. NORTHAM gin of 2.82 percentage points. A Republican finale with a) a close vote, Politico commented, “The wins by b) a low turnout and c) a rebellious runner-up . . . for governor Gillespie and Vogel indicate that a thin ma- did not get the GOP’s general election cam- strongly, winning 61.9 percent in Arlington jority of the state’s Republicans are not con- paign off to a good start. versus 55.9 percent statewide. Northam lost sumed by bigotry, while the strong second Furthermore, the Libertarian Party en- only three of Arlington’s 54 precincts— places for Stewart and Reeves suggest that tered the race—and it usually draws more Rosslyn, Campbell and Gunston. the hard right is getting only harder to placate voters from the GOP than from the Demo- Second, in the lieutenant governor’s pri- in Donald Trump’s Republican Party.” cratic Party. Cliff Hyra, a 34-year-old patent mary, Arlington went with Susan Platt instead The GOP this year chose to hold a pri- attorney from Hanover County, submitted of statewide winner Justin Fairfax—although mary rather than its usual convention, in part petitions bearing more than 10,000 signatures only by the slimmest of margins. Here are to avoid a hard-right outcome, remembering to earn a ballot spot. the percentages: very unpleasantly how four years ago a GOP Hyra is making his first bid for elected State Arl convention chose the most rightwing candi- office. He has a law degree from George Ma- Justin Fairfax 49.2% 46.0% dates seeking all three statewide offices and son University and a bachelor’s degree in Susan Platt 39.2% 46.2% all three went down to defeat in November. aerospace engineering from Virginia Tech, Gene Rossi 11.6% 7.8% In the fall campaign, President Barack according to his law office website. He is All three candidates hail from Northern Obama will join only his second campaign married with three children. Virginia—Fairfax and Platt from Fairfax since leaving office. He didn’t campaign for Four years ago, Rob- County and Rossi from any candidates in the special congressional ert Sarvis ran as the Liber- Alexandria. elections this spring, but he did record a video tarian candidate for gover- In the Republican endorsing Emmanuel Macron in the French nor, winning 6.5 percent or lieutenant governor pri- presidential election! 146,084 votes, which was mary, State Sen. Jill Vogel Obama will not only be campaigning for 2-1/2 times the 56,435-vote of Fauquier County won Northam, but also trying to get out the youth margin by which Democrat the nod, so the November and black votes in order to win more seats in Terry McAuliffe defeated race pits a woman against the House of Delegates. Obama has said re- rightwing Republican Ken an African-American. districting is his main cause right now—and Cuccinelli. The turnout in Ar- to counter GOP gerrymandering, Democrats Looking at Arlington, lington was also very must win back the many state legislatures they the results were signifi- positive. Where Demo- have lost. Voting maps will be redrawn after cantly different than the crats have gotten use to the 2020 Census. statewide statistics. First, drawing more than 70 A national Democratic Party effort to win Northam polled very percent of the vote locally continued on next page

FAIRFAX ACDC Voice, July 2017, Page 7 Many are now eager to run for delegate continued from page one Manassas area. Marshall, 73, has drafted such noteworthy legislation as the constitutional ing Republicans to spread out their spending. amendment to bar same-sex marriage and last In past years, a lack of competition let Re- year’s North Carolina-style bathroom bill. publicans pool resources and spend heavily The first became law before it was declared on a handful of competitive districts. unconstitutional. The second was rejected by Democrats have also noted that last No- Marshall’s own party colleagues. vember Hillary Clinton won in 17 delegate Now he will face 32-year-old Roem, who districts that are currently occupied by GOP is transgender! A former Prince William delegates. That has a lot of people licking Times journalist, she gained renown during their chops. Needless to say, some on the GOP the campaign for her detailed knowledge of side disagree. Christopher West, the spokes- local issues. She defeated three others to win man for House Speaker William J. Howell, the nomination, two white guys and an In- told the AP: “The model may say one thing dian Sikh. She ranked third in fund-raising. but the truth is Republicans hold 17 House “The frustration with [Marshall] plus my seats won by Hillary Clinton in 2016. Their identity is certainly headline-grabbing,” she [Democrats’] problem is weak candidates said after winning the nomination. “But what who run poor campaigns based on bad ideas, I really hear mostly is ‘You are so thought- not the districts.” That may have been true ful,’ ‘you really seem to know what you are once, but that’s history now. talking about,’ and ‘you really seem to have a This year is also looking like a Year of firm grasp of the facts’.” the Woman. There were 20 contested prima- Looking forward she said, “We’re go- ROEM ries to choose the Dem nominee for delegate ing to bring a fight to Delegate Marshall that . . . against Bob Marshall seats. In 15 of those districts, a woman won he’s never seen.” the nomination. In only one district was a Marshall’s district is changing, along the bathroom than how to get people to work.” woman defeated by a male candidate. In 10 with most of Northern Virginia. In the 1990s, She then launched into an explanation of how of the 15 nominations won by a woman, he topped 80 percent of the vote. But two to speed up traffic on Route 28. women defeated men and in the other five years ago, he got 56 percent and four years Of the four delegates representing Ar- there were only women running. ago he just limped back to Richmond with 51 lington, three—Mark Levine, Patrick Hope Most noteworthy was the nomination of percent. and Rip Sullivan—face no opposition, either Danica Roem to take on rabid right-winger Roem told a voter in Manassas, “Bob from the GOP or independents. Alfonso Bob Marshall, a 13-term incumbent in the Marshall is more concerned about where I use Lopez will face Republican Adam Roosevelt. Dems united; GOPers see that as dirty word continued from previous page bates. Northam countered by proposing three cused him of trying to duck them because he was ahead in the polls. Gillespie responded state legislative races and see more fairly debates and seven joint appearances. that voters had plenty of opportunities to hear drawn boundaries is being led by former At- Gillespie called that “insulting” to Virginia’s from all the candidates and choose accord- torney General Eric Holder, who told the Vir- voters. Northam said he didn’t take ingly. ginia Jefferson-Jackson Dinner a few weeks Gillespie’s proposal seriously since Gillespie Interestingly, eight years ago that Virginia is at “the epicenter of the never reached out to ago, Gillespie was the chair- political universe in 2017” and pledged to Northam to discuss de- man of Bob McDonnell’s bring Democratic all-stars into the common- bates before making his gubernatorial campaign wealth for the fall campaign. There is no public pronouncement. when McDonnell proposed greater all-star than Obama. Northam held five 10 debates with Democrat The Washington Post pointed out that debates with Perriello. A Creigh Deeds. They held Obama’s predecessor, George W. Bush, kept computer search by The four debates. Four years a low political profile after leaving office and Voice found that Gillespie ago, McAuliffe and has only campaigned for one candidate—his only appeared in three Cuccinelli held three de- brother, Jeb, in the 2016 GOP presidential debates with his primary bates. primaries. challengers, on February The first major post-pri- GOP gubernatorial nominee Ed Gillespie 18, April 13 and April mary poll, taken by started off the general election campaign with 22—none of them even Quinnipiac University June a typical tailing candidate’s ploy—challeng- close to the June 13 pri- 15-20, showed Northam ing the front-runner to join in a horde of de- mary date. Gillespie’s with an eight-point lead bates. Gillespie specifically proposed 10 de- two opponents both ac- 47%-39%.

HERRING ACDC Voice, July 2017, Page 8 Louise Fishbein passes away at age 91 Louise Fishbein, a long-time precinct food labeling. She joined efforts to support captain and volunteer-for-everything, passed civil rights marchers in the 1960s and farm away peacefully at her Arlington home June workers. She opened her home to anti-war ac- 12 at the age of 91. tivists in the 1970s. She had been a teacher for decades in She was a Democratic precinct captain the Arlington Public School system, a life- in the Westover Precinct. In 1992 Louise was long advocate for progressive causes and an a delegate to the Democratic National Con- active participant in ACDC. vention, and in 2004 she received the Demo- Louise Agnes Pillsbury was born March cratic Grassroots Award for the 8th Congres- 26, 1926, in Grantham, New Hampshire. At sional District. 18, she left Grantham and moved to Wash- Up to the end of her life, she volunteered ington to work as an FBI “fingerprint girl,” each summer to address envelopes for part of a wave of rural women who were re- ACDC’s annual Dollars for Democrats cam- cruited to fill the federal government’s grow- paign. ing clerical needs. Louise worked actively in the Arlington She later worked as a librarian at The Education Association where she was a presi- Washington Post where she met her husband, dent of the retirees’ chapter and served on the Seymour, to whom she was married for 63 Executive Board. Louise also served as the years. They settled in Arlington in 1957 and Secretary of the Virginia Education raised four sons. She served as a den mother Association’s Retirement Council and often and softball coach of Den 3, Cub Scout Pack spent weekends lobbying in Richmond for 116. educational and other policies. In mid-life, she entered university, gradu- Louise enjoyed spending time at the ating cum laude from Marymount University beach in Delaware, in the mountains near her FISHBEIN in 1977. This resulted in a 27-year career as a New Hampshire childhood home and in her . . . Westover precinct captain public school teacher. She taught in Arling- garden. She was fiercely proud of her Irish ton at Claremont and Fort Myer Elementary heritage and loved recounting her return to Schools and for many years at Kenmore her family’s farm in Inchigeelagh, County dren, Sarah, Katie, Alex, Skye, Marina, Eli, Middle School. Cork. Aaron and Cotter. Even her youngest students were assured She was predeceased by her husband, her In lieu of flowers, contributions may be of a comprehensive introduction to the works parents, her brother Paul and her five beloved made to the Arlington Community Founda- of Shakespeare. Louise received The Wash- rescue dogs. She is survived by her sons tion Scholarships, 818 N. Quincy Street, Suite ington Post’s Agnes Meyer Outstanding Jonathan, Jeffrey, James and Jerry, her daugh- 103, Arlington, VA, 22203 or to the Animal Teacher award for the 1993-1994 school year. ters in-law Martha Fishbein, Kim Gilman, Welfare League of Arlington, 2650 S. Arling- She lobbied Congress for more accurate Jacqueline Heilman and her eight grandchil- ton Mill Dr, Arlington, VA, 22206. AYDs talk money 2nd Sat. Breakfast The Arlington Young Democrats took up the issue of money in The Second Saturday Breakfast this month will focus on the June, but not campaign fund-raising. “Coordinated Campaign,” which is the term used for the statewide AYD focused on an issue very important to young people—fi- effort to link all Democratic campaigns being held in a year in a nancial literacy—at their monthly meeting June 21 at George Mason coordinated movement. The Arlington equivalent is what is called University’s Hazel Hall. the “Joint Campaign.” The meeting was a financial literacy workshop focused on items These two campaign systems don’t replace individual candi- of interest to young professionals in Arlington. Financial advisors from date campaigns, but supplement them by organizing efforts on be- First Command Financial Services (www.FirstCommand.com) dis- half of all candidates, such as door-to-door canvassing. cussed topics such as the priorities of financial planning; student loans The Second Saturday Breakfast this month will fall on Satur- and public service loan forgiveness programs; and budgeting and in- day, July 8, and will be held at the same old stand, Busboys and Poets vesting. in Shirlington. July will see AYDers relaxing and recharging their batteries be- The Regional Director of the Virginia Coordinated Campaign, fore the fall campaign kicks into high gear. They will have a barbecue Chris Bolling, will talk about the statewide strategy to elect the top Sunday, July 23, after their monthly meeting Wednesday, July 19. Full of the ticket—governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general— details are on the AYD Facebook page. and pick up House of Delegates seats. Chris will bring along the May saw three board members serving as Deputy Caucus Direc- Field Organizer for Arlington to talk about the local role in bringing tors for the County Board/School Board Caucus: Chris Leyen, Nicole about a statewide Democratic Victory in November. Merlene, and Juanita Tolliver. Additionally, AYD created a video After breakfast, there will be a coordinated campaign canvass explaining the caucus voting process. into targeted precincts in Arlington. ACDC Voice, July 2017, Page 9 Perriello to focus now on helping to win Dem majority of delegates Tom Perriello will spend the rest of the said, the PAC will help Democratic campaigns 2017 election cycle working on another po- use lower-cost, technological solutions to litical dream: Democrats taking over the GOP- reach new audiences such as the Facebook dominated House of Delegates. Live town halls that were a regular feature of The former congressman will lead a new Perriello’s gubernatorial campaign. political action committee, Win Virginia, that The PAC’s funding comes from a small will provide financial and campaigning sup- group of donors, mostly in Northern Virginia, port to Democratic House candidates. The who decided to pool their resources to make PAC is expected to invest about $800,000 to an impact in House races, said Shaun Daniels, help Democrats try to flip Republican-held the PAC’s executive director. Among the early seats. contributions to the PAC are $100,000 from The GOP holds a 66-34 majority now Edward Rice, a Vienna stockbroker and ma- and Democrats need to pick up 17 seats in jor Democratic donor; $60,000 from Herndon the 100-member House. Last November, IT executive Shashikant Gupta; and $50,000 Hillary Clinton won 17 House districts that from Reid Hoffman, a San Francisco venture are now held by Republicans. capitalist and co-founder of the professional “If we can connect that unprecedented networking site LinkedIn, according to data energy out there to state races, including the compiled by the Virginia Public Access delegate races, I think you could see a very Project. different political landscape in Virginia than Most of the strongest pickup opportuni- you’ve seen previously,” Perriello told the ties are in the Northern Virginia suburbs, but Richmond Times-Dispatch in an interview. Democrats will also target a handful of GOP- PERRIELLO In addition to financial support, Perriello held districts west of Richmond. . . . heads new campaign Okay, just how bad was it really in those special elections We lost all four special elections to choose new members of the U.S. House to replace those who joined the Trump Administration, causing much anguish. But all four elections were held in fairly red districts and Democrats picked up an average of 9.2 percentage points over the four— enough to easily take control of the House next year, if that average prevails then. At right is a table showing how the GOP and Dem candidates did in those districts last fall and how they did in the special elections. Note that the percentages do not all add to 100 because there were some third and even fourth party candidates in some of the elections.