Vol. 40, No 12 www.arlingtondemocrats.org December 2015 Cristol and Dorsey don’t just win, they win BIG! The widely-anticipated by resounding margins. aged 7.7 percentage points better close election for County Board What’s more, they won with than the Democratic candidates in Governor opens mansion this fall did not materialize as margins that were actually better 2003 and 2007 and only 2.5 per- both Democratic candidates won than Democrats have gotten when continued on page three to trick or treaters. they have faced GOP opponents for the County Board in these off- See page seven. off-year elections before. Here are the percentages (If you dare! Boooo!) pulled down by the two Demo- crats in the four such off-off-year elections in the 21st Century. Year Dem1 Dem2 2003 58.9 55.2 2007 59.5 57.7 Bloomberg 2011 69.2 66.7 cash made 2015 66.7 64.3 The Dem candidates did bet- GOP ter than Christian Dorsey and ‘panic,’ Katie Cristol only in 2011—and says GOP there was no Republican-sup- leader. ported candidate on the ballot that CRISTOL year. Dorsey and Cristol aver- DORSEY See page 5. Dems fail to take control of

Supreme Court can’t Senate by just 1,500 votes declare law of unintended Democrats failed to take back control of the tion and every Senate vacancy was filled by the consequences State Senate by a margin of just 1,478 votes in a candidate from the party of the retiring senator. unconstitutional. commonwealth of 8.3 million people. In the House of Delegates, it was a modestly That was the margin by which Republican Glen better result—very modestly. Democrats picked up Sturtevant beat Democrat Dan Gecker in Senate two seats from retiring Republicans while the Re- See page nine. District 10, which takes in western Richmond and publicans picked up one seat from a retiring Demo- suburban communities to the west of the city in crat, giving Dems a net gain of one seat out of 100. Chesterfield and Powhatan counties. Gecker took The good news is that the GOP loses its two- more than two-thirds of the vote in Richmond, but thirds majority, with the House going from 67-33 his GOP opponent took 55 percent of the Chester- GOP to 66-34 GOP. But that isn’t likely to make field vote and three-quarters of the Powhatan vote. any real difference. The two were competing to succeed a retiring Democrats had mounted a huge effort, led by Republican senator. But the GOP candidate retained Gov. Terry McAuliffe and focused on the only six the seat. In fact, that was the story of the Senate Senate seats that had not been gerrymandered into campaign statewide. Every incumbent won re-elec- continued on page eight ACDC Voice, December 2015, Page 2

Report from Chairman Kip Malinosky Arlington affirms Democratic values The November election dramatically schools, parks and public safety. Instead of and Christian never missed an invitation to demonstrated the power of Democratic val- having site-by-site battles between different visit with a community or constituency group ues in Arlington. Christian Dorsey and Katie constituencies, we were able to help build a from the Civic Federation to a gathering of Cristol bested their opponents for the County new consensus on shared values. Bangladeshi immigrants. Board seats by more than 10,000 votes. Our Second, County Board Chair Mary Fourth, the County Board and housing State Senators, Delegates and School Board Hynes and Vice Chair Walter Tejada decided advocates did a splendid job of planning and Endorsee Reid Goldstein overwhelmed their after a combined 20 years of dedicated, building community support for the Afford- opponents (where they had any) by often 2- policy-oriented, and progressive service on able Housing Master Plan. The plan was put to-1 margins. And our constitutional officers’ the County Board that they would not run for together with input from a diverse array of excellent record of government service de- reelection. This was the first time since 1975 stakeholders and interested citizens across all terred any opponents. The true surprise, how- that we had two seats open on the County of Arlington. Groups concerned about pre- ever, was the margin of the County Board vic- Board. Arlington Democrats decided to hold serving and expanding our supply of afford- tories against a well-funded Republican run- an open and inclusive primary. Six candidates able housing, geographic dispersion, and bud- ning as an independent, Mike McMenamin. came forward with a diverse set of experi- getary implications all received multiple op- How did it happen? ences, but united on Democratic values. portunities to weigh in. By the time the County First, the discontent in the electorate Cristol and Dorsey won the primary by pow- Board was ready to vote on the plan, it had throughout 2014 had dissipated through de- erfully communicating their visions and been endorsed by the Arlington Civic Fed- liberative actions from the County Board. strongly supporting housing affordability. eration, the Arlington Chamber of Commerce Early in 2014, the aquatic center had been put Third, both Katie and Christian built and the entire County Board. Katie and Chris- on hold; in the summer the transit stops had broad coalitions of support. They were very tian strongly supported the plan and it was been redesigned with cost cut in half; and in effective in earning the support of commu- vigorously opposed by the two independent late 2014 the streetcar had been canceled. nity leaders across Arlington’s civic life. They candidates. With those issues off the table, the County helped reunite Democrats behind our entire Fifth, we had an incredibly effective Board put together a comprehensive facilities ticket, emphasizing a progressive message: in- Democratic Joint Campaign. All 15 of our study committee to look at how Arlington can vesting in our schools, supporting affordable, candidates strongly supported each other and balance the competing needs of housing, responsive and inclusive government. Katie especially Katie and Christian, who both had terrific campaign managers and teams. All of our Democratic elected officials pitched in to help. In the words of Joint Campaign Co- Chair Josh Katcher, “We raised more than Jerry Botland $85,000, we made more than 15,000 phone calls, we knocked on thousands of doors, we Computer Consulting staffed more than 100 events, and we elected Troubleshoot and resolve computer and 15 fantastic candidates.” computer related problems. Perform upgrades, set-up wireless routers and print servers. Transfer old files, address book and emails Signer booked from an old computer to a new one. Phone: (703) 933-0558 — [email protected] for Breakfast December’s Second Saturday Breakfast will be a different sort of event as our guest is Mike Signer, son of ACDC’s Jill of all trades, Marj Signer, and newly elected member of Published monthly by the the Charlottesville City Council. Arlington County Democratic Committee But Mike is also the author of a new bi- 2001 Jefferson Davis Highway, Suite #604, Arlington VA 22202 ography of President James Madison entitled, Mailing address: P.O. Box 7132, Arlington VA 22207 “Becoming Madison.” Tel: (703) 528-8588 Fax: (703) 528-2321 Mike will discuss Madison and might be http://www.arlingtondemocrats.org induced to compare politics in Charlottesville Chair: Kip Malinosky — [email protected] and Arlington. Editor-in-Chief: Warren L. Nelson —(703) 243-7867 (h), [email protected] The breakfast will be held at 8:30 a.m., Deputy Editor: Eric Wiener — (703) 524-6899 (h), [email protected] December 12, which just happens to be the Views expressed do not necessarily represent those of the ACDC second Saturday of the month. As usual, it will unless expressly approved by an appropriate committee resolution be at the Busboys and Poets in Shirlington, and Copyright ©2014, ACDC, All Rights Reserved you are asked to remember to bring cash. ACDC Voice, December 2015, Page 3

BIG wins in Next Monthly Meeting All Dems Invited Arlington! Wednesday, December 2, at 7 p.m. continued from page one NRECA Building, 4301 Wilson Blvd. centage points behind the 2011 results, when Corner of North Taylor and Wilson, just east of Glebe and Wilson the GOP didn’t even try. Free parking under building; enter from Taylor Street Another interesting stat is that Michael McMenamin, the GOP-endorsed candidate, It’s holiday time! It’s the pause between elec- got 35.5 percent of the vote this year, slightly tions. That means our December meeting will be a time worse than the 36.2 percent he drew when he for the party to party—our annual holiday party, pot- ran in 2007. In sum, it was not only a bigger Democratic win but also a bigger GOP loss. luck style, will be filling as well as fun. Bring your ap- At the precinct level, where all races are petite and political thoughts. inevitably battled out, Dorsey won all 52 while Cristol won 51 of 52. The only pre- cinct she lost was Madison, the most Repub- lican precinct in the county. And she only All the attention that was focused on the tion. The only competition was how many lost Madison to Republican McMenamin by County Board race drew attention away from write-ins would oppose them. In that com- 17 votes or 81/100ths of a percentage point. the School Board contest where Democrat petition, Clerk of the Court Paul Ferguson As the Sun Gazette commented, “Arling- Reid Goldstein was seeking to fill an open seat won, drawing a smaller proportion of protest ton voters apparently got it all out of their and faced independent Brooklyn Kinlay. But write-ins than any of the others. But this was systems last November [2014] because Elec- Goldstein cruised to victory with 78.1 percent a distinction without much difference as all tion Day 2015 largely returned to business as of the vote. Goldstein even won Madison over- five got overwhelming voter approval. Here usual in the county.” whelmingly with 69.5 percent of the vote. His are the percentages each of the five got: The absentee vote this year was not high; “worst” performance was in Oakridge, where Clerk of Court Paul F. Ferguson 97.80 only 6.3 percent of the ballots in the County he drew a mere 66.3 percent, the sole precinct Comm. Of Rev Ingrid H. Morroy 97.74 Board balloting were cast absentee, which where he failed to break two-thirds. Sheriff Elizabeth F. “Beth” Arthur 97.63 includes both those voting by mail and those Historically, Goldstein’s margin of vic- Treasurer Carla F. de la Pava 97.57 voting early in person. But Democrats did tory was remarkable. In the last decade, Comwlth’s Atty Theo K. Stamos 97.57 better at getting voters who couldn’t make it School Board candidates endorsed by the The difference from top to bottom was to the polls on Election Day to vote early or Democratic Party have only faced opposition only 23/100ths of 1 percentage point, a rousing by mail. The percentage of absentee votes in four of the 10 elections. While Goldstein’s endorsement of all five constitutional officers. cast for both Dorsey and Cristol was higher opponent drew only 19.9 percent, the other For the General Assembly, the ballot in- than the percentage they got on Election Day. three opponents drew 32.8 percent last year, cluded three State Senate seats and four House In fact, the percentages of absentee votes cast 23.5 percent in 2010 and 38.7 percent in 2006. of Delegates seats. Of the seven, only Bar- for independent Audrey Clement and cast for So Goldstein’s margin of victory was very bara Favola drew a GOP opponent, George write-in candidates was also higher than on impressive. V. Forakis. Favola triumphed easily with 62.3 Election Day. The only candidate who did All five “Constitutional” offices—so- percent of the vote. But her win was com- worse in the absentee totals was McMenamin, called because they are listed in the state con- prised of a landslide in Arlington County indicating the GOP didn’t have an effective stitution—were up this year. All five incum- (74.5 percent) but only narrow majorities in effort to tap absentee voters. bent Democrats ran and none drew opposi- the parts of her district in Fairfax County (52.1 percent) and Loudoun County (50.7 percent). Of the other six General Assembly can- didates, four drew no opposition—Sen. Janet Bumper Sticker Howell, Del. Mark Levine, Del. Alfonso Lopez and Del. Rip Sullivan. Sen. drew an Independent of the Month Green Party opponent, J. Ron Fisher, but Ebbin drew 79.4 percent of the vote in Ar- lington County and 76.7 percent overall. Parts of his district are in Alexandria City and Fairfax County. Del. Patrick Hope drew an independent opponent, Janet Murphy, but Hope won 77.4 percent of the vote. His district is the only General Assembly district entirely within Ar- lington County. ACDC Voice, December 2015, Page 4 Va. senators Donkey Ears say refugee Listening to the doings frenzy is all of Arlington’s Dems as overheard by nonsense Dan Steen and Mädi Green Sens. and Two new YestDs: John Grant and wife Stephanie have just welcomed their first both say Republicans are wrong to focus on child. Youngest Democrat Angus Patrick Grant was born October 11 and is Syrian refugees as a threat. being called Gus. Four days earlier, former Del. Bob Brink became a granddad Many critics have pointed to the fact that yet again as Lukas Robert Brink was welcomed into the world by parents one of the Paris terrorists had a Syrian pass- port (which was forged). But Warner points David and Kara—and big bro Will. out that all the rest of the killers carried French Redistricting by Rip: For his first bill of the upcoming General Assembly session, or Belgian passports that allow the holder to Del. Rip Sullivan has submitted a measure to provide strict criteria for redis- enter the without a visa. tricting. The bill would not set up an independent commission to draw bound- The political focus on refugees is politi- aries, leaving that to the General Assembly. It lays out seven criteria, however, cians “trying to grab a headline,” Warner said. such as barring “fingers and tendrils” and requiring adherence to existing city, Kaine said, “The fact is that refugees are county and town boundaries as much as possible. currently subject to the absolute highest level TYs to one and all: Joint Campaign co-chairs Josh Katcher and Kaitlin of security checks of any category of traveler Guarascio Cooke gave a shoutout to both candidates and volunteers after the coming to the U.S. – with special criteria in elections. “Congratulations to all 15 elected officials and thank you to everyone place for those coming from Syria on top of the normal procedures. Bottom line – it’s not who pitched in to make this year’s Joint Campaign such an historic success. easy to come into our country as a refugee at Your time, talent and treasure are the reason that the Arlington County Demo- all. But the notion of ‘no Syrian can ever come cratic Party is second to none in America.” here’ is antithetical to our values.” A rose by any other name...: Democratic Del. of Fairfax County, Warner said a greater problem is the State who just won election to the State Senate, had this observation about proposals Department’s Visa Waiver Program, which to give Jefferson Davis Highway in Arlington some other name: “Jefferson allows individuals from 38 countries – mostly Davis was an avid racist and segregationist, and I don’t believe anybody would European – to visit the U.S. for up to 90 days name anything after him today. But there’s not a whole lot of people clamoring without a visa. The government needs to about it except coffee shop liberals in Arlington.” Because the highway was tighten up its scrutiny of those seeking the named after Davis by the General Assembly in 1922, it would take action by the waivers if they have visited the Middle East war zone in the past five years, he said. General Assembly to change the name. “There were 10 million people with Eu- Analysis: Noah Habeeb, former Yorktown High YD prez and now studying for ropean passports last year that traveled to his master’s at Tufts, has just had an analytical piece on the Arab-Israeli “two- Turkey,” Warner said. “But what we don’t state solution” published in Tikkun, the liberal Jewish magazine, proud dad know is, once they get to Turkey, how many Mark Habeeb informs us. The article is entitled, “The Problem With Solu- of them end up on the beach vs. how many of tions.” A totally unbiased review by mom Wendy Mills comments: “Noah them ended up potentially going into the war raises some great points.... How many times I have been told or heard, ‘We all zone and become radicalized.” want the same thing!’ If that were only the case. Noah is right to ask people to “I think the real challenge is: What hap- define their terms.” pens if somebody who’s got a French pass- Arm-twisting for veep: Gov. Terry McAuliffe says that while he was campaign- port goes to the region, comes back to France and then travels relatively easily to the United ing in Virginia with Hillary Clinton recently, he told her that either Sen. Mark States?” Warner or Sen. Tim Kaine would make a super vice presidential nominee. Just waiting: Somehow we don’t think this will surprise you one bit. But the latest study by the Texas A&M Transportation Institute found that commuters in the DC metropolitan area face the longest commutes of any metropolitan region in the country. The study reports that area commuters spend an annual average of 82 hours—more than two full work weeks—just getting to and from their jobs. The typical driver here consumes 35 gallons of gasoline a year just sitting in traffic.

WARNER KAINE ACDC Voice, December 2015, Page 5 Campaign: Bloomberg cash panicked GOP by Eric S. Wiener raising money. Nor did the analysts find any real effect A flaming Democrat and a flaming Re- The two analysts said the Jeremy of the issue of tolls on I-66 in the districts publican sat down in public just after the elec- McPike/Hal Parrish race, to fill the seat of impacted. The tolls were a non–issue, tion and were in stunning agreement on what retiring Democratic State Senator Charles Zuzenak and Ryer agreed. mattered and what did not to Virginia voters Colgan, was the one in which the Bloomberg In Senate District 21, the GOP smelled this year. money had measurable effect. Parrish was a blood. Incumbent John Edwards is the only The status quo did not change on Elec- popular mayor of Manassas, had the unoffi- Democrat left in southwestern Virginia and tion Day, but the analysis presented at the cial endorsement of the Colgan family, and the GOP targeted him for extinction. They George Mason University School of Law the led in the polls for most of the race. A strong recruited Nancy Dye to knock him off. Ryer Monday after the balloting concluded that all race by Democrat McPike, and the Bloomberg said that to win, however, they needed a strong the effort did prevent the loss of at least one ad buys, made the difference in that district, performance by the third party candidate, Democratic State Senate seat. the two analysts agreed. McPike drew 54 Donald Caldwell, a Democrat running as an The moderator for the event was Mark percent of the vote. independent. He underperformed, getting just Rozell, the dean of the School of Policy, Gov- The other district where the Bloomberg 6.4 percent of the vote, and Edwards won re- ernment and International Affairs at GMU. buy loomed large was in the Richmond area, election with 51 percent Representing the Democrats was Brian where Democrat Dan Gecker lost to the Re- In the Virginia Beach area, the much Zuzenak, director of the Governor’s Common publican candidate, Glen Sturtevant. Zuzenak touted Democratic candidate mis-stated his Good VA PAC and chief strategist for the 2015 and Ryer agreed that voters in Powhatan, a military service record. This proved to be a Democratic campaign. Representing the GOP pro-gun area, were inspired to vote in greater big issue in an area dominated by active and was Jeff Ryer, press secretary for the Virginia numbers in response to the Bloomberg buy, retired military voters, and a chance to take Senate Republican Caucus and a veteran po- but turnout in anti-gun Richmond, by the same that seat was lost. litical consultant. token, was much higher than usual. Overall, Democrats smelled possible blood in Founders Hall was standing room only turnout was up 70 percent compared to four Northern Virginia, where incumbent Repub- for this event, which drew many ACDC mem- years ago. In the end, the seat did not flip. lican Sen. Dick Black was judged to be in- bers, including Mary Margaret Whipple, The question arose as to whether the creasingly out of touch with the demograph- Cragg Hines and Bob Adamson, among oth- Bloomberg buy was a turnoff to voters be- ics in Loudoun County. Republican Ryer said ers. cause it suggested outside interests interfer- he knew Black was safe when the feared gov- Rozell directed questions to the panel- ing in Virginia elections. The consensus was ernment shutdown was avoided. That issue ists and then opened the floor to questions that there was no backlash. Voters expect po- could have cost Black, Ryer said. Ryer added from the audience. litical ads, and don’t really care who pays for that Black’s district was drawn to be a safe One major topic was the impact of the them. Tea Party seat, and you thus end up with leg- Michael Bloomberg PAC’s huge pro-gun con- Nor did the analysts feel that there was a islators like Black, a hardline ultra-conserva- trol advertising buys in Virginia. According backlash against Governor McAulliffe’s elec- tive. (In a later aside, Ryer said, “You ought to Republican Ryer, the effect was to subject tion efforts this year. A governor is expected to see what shows up at a Trump rally.”) Black the GOP to “increasing levels of panic.” The to campaign for his party, and voter partici- got 52 percent in the end to defeat Democrat hoto

Republicans were having to “pull money from pation in an off-year, non-federal election is Jill McCabe. cou behind the couch cushions” as the GOP ex- always low, no matter what a governor does, Another topic was the question of voter perienced more difficulty than expected in Zuzenak and Ryer agreed. anger and its effect in 2015. Ryer, who was tesy rather droll throughout, said, “Yes, our voters

are blissfully happy.” It was noted that most ic W

voters polled felt Virginia was moving in the iene right direction, and that, while they were un- happy with government in general, they were not angry at their own state senators. Neither analyst could point to a new campaign tactic that had impacted the race. Both parties concentrated on building up their volunteer field operations, looking forward to the presidential election next year. The analysts declined to make any pre- dictions for 2016 based on the 2015 races. Zuzenak noted that Virginia was now a na- tionally contested state, after years of Repub- lican dominance, and that Virginia voters could expect to see many, many political ads in 2016. Ryer said that, for a political aficio- MEETING OF MINDS — From left: moderator Mark Rozell; nado such as himself, Virginia politics was Democrat Brian Zuzenak; and Republican Jeff Ryer. now like “Christmas all year long.” ACDC Voice, December 2015, Page 6 Map change would endanger 1 GOP rep. A court-appointed officer has drafted two remove many of his black constituents and siderably more voting power to influence the alternative plans for redrawing congressional felt confident he could win in a redrawn dis- outcome of any election. The black propor- districts around the James River in the state’s trict. tion of voters would rise in Forbes’ district southeastern quadrant that would have the Scott’s current district starts in Rich- from 31 percent now to 41 or 42 percent un- effect of making one of the state’s 11 con- mond and skips back and forth across the der the alternatives. All of Richmond and gressional districts truly competitive. James River, picking up majority black areas Petersburg would go into Forbes’ district. The district that would change from sol- on both sides of the river in 17 different coun- In submitting his proposals, Special idly GOP to up-in-the-air is the Fourth Dis- ties and cities all the way down to Norfolk. Master Grofman rejected other maps submit- trict, now held by Republican Rep. Randy The two alternative maps both make the Third ted by eight interested parties, which the court Forbes. It lies between the James and the District a Hampton Roads district encompass- told him to review. Grofman called all of North Carolina border. ing all or part of Portsmouth, Hampton, New- them “fatally flawed.” According to the Virginia Division of port News and Norfolk. They either do not address the Third Legislative Services, the precincts in the cur- The current Third District is 56 percent District’s “constitutional infirmities” or go too rent Fourth District voted 37 percent Demo- black. The proposed alternatives are 42 per- far in redrawing other districts “that did not cratic in the 2009 gubernatorial race. But the cent and 45 percent black. need to be changed,” he wrote in his report. precincts in one proposed version for redis- The two maps were crafted by Bernard Grofman’s two maps shift the boundaries of tricting voted 52 percent Democratic in that Grofman, a professor of political science and all four congressional districts that abut election and the other version voted 49 per- redistricting specialist at the University of Scott’s district. But as the accompanying cent Democratic, making either proposed map California in Irvine. He was named “special table shows, the other three districts would truly competitive. (See table.) master” by the federal court of appeals and only see minor shifts in their party composi- The federal court ordered new maps de- assigned to propose alternatives to the judges, tion. Under either of Grofman’s alternatives, vised after ruling that the General Assembly who will ultimately decide whether to adopt the homes of all the incumbents would re- had crammed a huge number of African- either of his alternatives and apply the new main in their redrawn districts. American voters into the Third District in or- boundary lines in next fall’s elections. It remains unclear whether the current der to make that district solidly Democratic In his report to the court, Grofman said effort will move forward. Lawyers for all and to keep those likely Democratic voters both of his plans would make Rep. Forbes’ eight Republican congressman from Virginia out of adjoining districts. Fourth District “a minority opportunity dis- have persuaded the U.S. Supreme Court to The Third District, held by Democratic trict,” meaning black voters would have con- review the original ruling that Scott’s district Rep. Bobby Scott, was 69 percent Democratic was inappropriately drawn in the 2009 gubernatorial race. The two pro- to ghettoize black voters. posals for a new third District both voted 55 They have asked the court percent Democratic in 2009. Scott, who is of appeals to hold off any the state’s only African-American congress- decision on the Grofman man, said long ago that he had no objection proposals until after the Su- to the redrawing of boundaries that would preme Court rules. The state congressional Connolly delegation is now com- prised of eight Republicans Comstock and three Democrats, al- though the latest statewide elections for president, two senators, governor, Beyer lieutenant governor and attorney general have all gone Democratic. If the Forbes’ seat were now to flip, the delegation would become 7-4 Republican.

Brat Wittman

Scott

Hurt igell 3 Forbes R 4

Current map One of proposed alernatives ACDC Voice, December 2015, Page 7 Guv opens home for Halloween Gov. Terry McAuliffe and his wife, Dorothy, opened the Executive Mansion to Halloweeners this year for the first in its two-century history. The first couple stood outside their residence, offering treats and posing for photographs with trick-or-treaters and their parents for about an hour on Halloween night. The Richmond Times-Dispatch said the gu- bernatorial offerings included the usual Hallow- een fare, along with caramel apples, popcorn balls and a punch served in a bowl with ice cubes shaped like hands. A further attraction was first dogs Daisy and Finnegan, who flipped and flopped all about the circular driveway as trick-or-treaters waited their turn with the McAuliffes. The many ghosts, skeletons, angels and gob- lins also got into the mansion’s foyer, where they could peer into roped-off rooms, which had never entertained such a group of guests before. It was the first time the first family opened the mansion to trick-or-treaters. The governor ex- plained, “It’s the people’s house, I always like to say, and they ought to have an opportunity to go see their house.” Asked why he wasn’t in costume, McAuliffe said: “I couldn’t find my Donald Trump mask.” We have found HALLOWEEN WITH THE GUV — Well, of course, Darth some vote fraud Vader gets wanded before he can enter the Executive Mansion. The GOP is very concerned about non- citizens tilting elections by voting illegally. And, by golly, Texas just arrested a non-citi- zen for voting illegally—for Republicans. The NBC station in Dallas reported that Rosa Maria Ortega was arrested in Novem- ber for voting five times in Dallas over the last decade, including in two Republican pri- maries. Ortega is a non-citizen who is married to a citizen and living legally in the United States. The TV station said she tried to register a dozen years ago, but acknowledged she was not a citizen and was told she could not vote. A few months later, she applied again and that time claimed falsely to be a citizen. Doesn’t this just prove that Dems are all wrong when they say there is no serious num- ber of illegal aliens voting? ACDC Voice, December 2015, Page 8 Status quo ante was big winner statewide continued from page one wide office on the ballot—Democrats don’t political process, exemplified in part by the turn out in large numbers when there isn’t a dominance in the Republican presidential race sure things. And the effort worked! The turn- massive effort as in Senate District 10. of two men who have never held political of- out in the districts McAuliffe focused on was On election night, House Speaker Will- fice. There is clearly a disconnect between up by 45 percent compared to 2011, the last iam Howell gloated that Republicans won 13 what people say and how they voted Novem- time the Senate seats were up for election. delegate seats in districts won by President ber 3. Clearly, the Democratic ground game Obama or Sen. Tim Kaine in 2012. That un- The two delegate seats held by retiring worked in getting Dems to the polls. The derscored the Democratic turnout problem. Republicans that were picked up by Demo- problem was that the GOP ground game (But Howell did not note that even if the crats were both in Northern Virginia where worked just well enough in getting Republi- Democrats had won all 13 of those seats, changing demographics mean that Demo- cans to the polls! Howell would still be speaker, underscoring cratic tendrils are reaching ever farther out In that crucial Senate District 10, the the gerrymandering problem.) from the Beltway. took the Democratic vote was up an astounding 84 summed up the seat in Fairfax and Loudoun previously held percent compared to 2011, which is something election in the commonwealth as “a carnival by Thomas Rust, and John Bell took the seat to write home to mother about and to shout of cakewalks.” in Loudoun and Prince William previously from the rooftops. The GOP turnout was up Larry Sabato of the University of Vir- held by Republican David Ramadan. 49 percent, not very impressive compared to ginia noted that not even a single incumbent Dan Scandling, a longtime aide to former the Dem ground game, but still substantial went down to defeat. “In modern times, it is Republican Congressman , told and—most importantly—good enough for a apparently unprecedented,” he said. Some The Washington Post, “It’s this steady march GOP victory. incumbents are always beaten. The best in- westward that Republicans need to be con- The Senate will remain divided 21-19. cumbents have done in the previous two de- cerned about. If you keep losing bits of If Dems had gotten another 1,500 votes in cades was in 2003 when only a solitary in- Loudoun and Prince William, you cannot win District 10, the Senate would have been di- cumbent was put out to pasture: Republican in the state.” vided 20-20 and Democrats would have con- Del. Thomas Bolvin was defeated that year The one Republican pickup was in a trol because Lt. Gov. casts the by current Del. Mark Sickles in Fairfax House district that straddles Prince William tie-breaking vote. County. and Stafford counties. The Republican won Sen. , chair of the Black The 100 percent success rate for incum- that seat by all of 158 votes after outspending Caucus, said the raw numbers obscure the bents this year comes at a time when polling the Democratic candidate 3-to-1. Figure that scale of the problem Dems will face in the shows the public mightily dissatisfied with the seat to be a Dem target two years from now. State Senate. She pointed to the retirements of Republican Sens. John Watkins and Walter Stosch. She described both as moderates and noted they would periodically cross the aisle to support progressive legislation. They have both been replaced by more conservative Re- publicans. “I’m in a state of mourning,” she said. “The impact of this election will be felt for some time to come.” Stephen Farnsworth, a professor at the University of Mary Washington, said the broader challenge that Democrats face boils down to three problems: “gerrymandering; gerrymandering; and gerrymandering.” Most districts are locked up by one party or the other before the general election is held. The only thing most members fear is a primary chal- lenge. And that pushes incumbents further to the extremes to keep intraparty opponents away. SETTING A RECORD – Turnout wasn’t just poor statewide in In this election, almost half the Senate this year’s elections. It was poorest—the worst on record at just seats (17 of 20) were uncontested. It was far worse in the House of Delegates were almost 26 percent. With gerrymandering meaning there are few contested two-thirds (62 of 100) of the “races” were over elections, there is really little reason for voters to bother voting in before they began because there was only one most districts around the state. The Virginia Public Access Project candidate. (In a number of the contested seats, (VPAP) calculated that 31 percent of Virginia’s voters found no the challenge was only token.) After gerrymandering, there is, however, contest on their ballots for either their delegate or state senator. a fourth problem in these off-off-year elec- On the other hand, in the seats that were given the most attention, tions when there is no federal office or state- turnout soared 45 percent compared to four years ago. ACDC Voice, December 2015, Page 9 Future is now: Next election in 3 months For all you political junkies, the next an embarrassment for the GOP, only Mitt Ben Carson were tied at 18 percent each with election is just three months away! Yes, the Romney and Ron Paul qualified. Marco Rubio at 10 percent being the only Virginia presidential primaries for both par- So the General Assembly changed the other Republican in double digits. (In last ties will be held on March 1, come rain or law, halving the requirement to 5,000 signa- place with just 1 percent was Virginia’s former come shine. tures total and 200 from each congressional Gov. Jim Gilmore.) As of The Voice’s press deadline, Donald district. That is still considered a high hurdle However, this question asked everyone Trump, John Kasich, Jeb Bush and Ben compared to most other states. In many states, whom they favored in both primaries. When Carson had filed the voter petitions required election officials just automatically put any those surveyed were asked what party they to qualify for the state ballot and other candi- declared candidate on the ballot. identified with and whom they favored in their dates in both parties were gathering signa- A poll taken the first week of November party, Hillary jumped to a commanding 58 tures. by the University of Mary Washington shows percent over 32 percent for Sanders. On the Four years ago, Virginia law required a Hillary Clinton in the lead for the Democratic GOP side, it was Carson 27 percent, Trump candidate to collect 10,000 signatures, includ- nod with 32 percent followed by Bernie Sand- 25 percent and Rubio 11 percent. ing at least 400 from each of the 11 congres- ers with 25 percent and former Gov. Looking ahead to the November elec- sional districts, to get on the ballot. It was Martin O’Malley at 8 percent. tion, the survey found that Clinton trumped the toughest requirement in all 50 states. In On the GOP side, Donald Trump and Trump, while Carson eclipsed Clinton. McAuliffe has photo ID problem! Arlington didn’t have any problems with quirements,” Gary Fox, the state’s elections Among problems reported elsewhere: the new law requiring voters to produce photo uniformity supervisor, told a meeting of the Election workers inappropriately questioned IDs, but some other parts of the state did— State Board of Elections two weeks after the the address on driver’s licenses and asked for and Gov. Terry McAuliffe got stopped when elections. a second photo ID; some workers didn’t ask he went to vote. Department of Elections Commissioner for an ID; and some inappropriately rejected The problem was largely inadequate Edgardo Cortes added: “That was something the state ID badge, Fox said. training in the new law for polling station that was surprising – the number of calls we As for the governor’s problem, Cortes workers. got from around the state.” said, “The address verification part happens The Virginian-Pilot reported that Gov. More education is needed before next when the voter is stating their address at the McAuliffe was halted for a while when a poll- year’s presidential primary March 1, June’s check-in process. ing officer questioned the address that ap- state primaries and the fall general election So, they really shouldn’t be looking at peared on his photo ID. A more senior offi- because many Virginia voters will be experi- or taking into account the address that’s on cial was called over and explained that the encing the state’s photo ID requirement for the identification document because that’s not photo ID is not required to establish residence the first time, Cortes said. what that document is there for.” but only facial identification. Parts of Arlington had a special election James Alcorn, chairman of the State So the governor got to vote. last July, just days after the photo ID law took Board of Elections, said his wife ran into the “It just appeared in general that the elec- effect July 1, so the elections staff had worked same problem regarding the address on her tion officers were not up to speed with ID re- out the kinks then. driver’s license. Citizens United bites GOP wannabees Even the Supreme Court has problems cision is that many wealthy people have shortage of such funds had contributed to the with the law of unintended consequences, stopped giving to candidate committees— withdrawals of Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker which it cannot rule unconstitutional. for which their contributions are capped— and former Texas Gov. Rick Perry from the The issue is its 2010 decision in the Citi- and are plunking all their money into super GOP race. zens United case that ruled the government PACs. The Journal said some rich but not cannot limit how much an individual or a com- In July, it was reported that the super wealthy donors are “demoralized” looking at mittee not formed by a candidate can spend PAC supporting Jeb Bush had collected the the super PACs. electioneering. astounding sum of $103 million. But in Oc- It quoted Marilynn Duker, a Democrat That has led to the growth of super po- tober, Bush had to cut staff salaries and lay and businesswoman, as saying, litical action committees (Super PACs) that off some of the people in his Miami head- “Even though I gave the maximum [in 2012, can spend anything they can raise as long as quarters because his own candidate commit- $2,500], it’s nothing compared with what they do not coordinate their work with a can- tee couldn’t raise enough money to pay re- these PACs do. I certainly don’t see my con- didate. curring expenses. tribution as significant.” She said she hasn’t The unintended consequence of the de- The Wall Street Journal reported that a made any contributions this cycle.