No SB Caucus Needed As Only Emma & Noah Now Running Primary Now
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Vol. 37, No. 5 www.arlingtondemocrats.org May 2012 Congrats! One election is canceled . Emma No SB caucus needed as only Violand- Sanchez Emma & Noah now running The School Board Caucus scheduled for May able to eliminate two—the School Board caucus and 9 and 12 has now been canceled as only two candi- the caucus to elect delegates to the state and 8th Dis- dates remain seeking the Democratic endorsement trict conventions. Since in both cases, the number for the two School Board seats on the ballot this of candidates does not exceed the number of seats, November. no caucus is required. Larry Fishtahler pulled out of the race in Fishtahler issued a statement explaining his April leaving just Noah Simon, president of the PTA withdrawal. “From the time I began, I knew that to at the Science Focus School, and Emma Violand- be successful, a number of conditions should be met Sanchez, an incumbent, in the running for the en- by the end of March. Over the spring break, I de- Noah dorsement for the two seats. termined that a necessary condition had not been The May 2 monthly ACDC meeting will be achieved,” he said, without detailing what that con- Simon asked to give the formal Democratic endorsement dition was. to Simon and Violand-Sanchez. Fishtahler was the Democratic endorsee for the Where ACDC was adding more and more elec- School Board race in 2003, but lost to Dave Foster, for School Board tions at the beginning of the year, it has now been the incumbent and Republican-endorsed candidate. and another will replace it V Primary now required as Jim O See Moran draws a challenger Page 8 for Arlington Democrats now face a primary vote appeal to GOP voters “bizarre.” L in June that hadn’t been anticipated early in the year, Virginia does not have voter registration by all the ways as Rep. Jim Moran has drawn a challenger, An- party. Therefore, everyone is free to vote in any U napolis graduate Bruce Shuttleworth. party primary. The only restriction is that no one you can Shuttleworth announced his challenge in Febru- can vote in both a Republican and Democratic pri- ary. But he was found to be 17 signers short of the mary held the same day. N help requisite 1,000 petition signatures. A later review, how- And the GOP will be holding its own primary ever, reversed that and allowed him on the ballot. June 12 to nominate a candidate for US senator. T Obama Shuttlesworth has raised some eyebrows in Three Republicans—Jamie Radtke, Bob Marshall now Democratic circles by attending the Falls Church and E. W. Jackson—are challenging frontrunner right Republican Party committee meeting this month and George Allen, the former senator and governor, for E urging Republicans to cross over and vote for him the nomination. to win the in the Democratic primary Tuesday, June 12. On the Democratic side, the only race is “It’s an open primary,” he told the Republican Shuttleworth’s challenge to Moran. E Virginia in committee meeting, according to a video posted on Early voting for the primary began April 27. the website BlueVirginia. “Americans of all faiths Voters may cast their ballots at the county building, November and stripes are invited to cross over. If you’re not 2100 Clarendon Blvd, in the Voter Registrar’s Of- R Democratic, all you have to do is request a Demo- fice on the third floor any weekday through Friday, cratic ballot and I would be delighted and honored June 8 (except the May 28 Memorial Day holiday) to have your support.” from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. There will also be early vot- Democratic blog BlueVirginia called the open ing Saturday, June 9, from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. ACDC Voice, May 2012, Page 2 Report from Chairman Mike Lieberman Wake-up call On March 27, Arlington voters elected constituted nearly a 100,000-vote and 20+ capture the buzz that usually characterizes our Democratic nominee, Libby Garvey, to percentage-point drop off from our electoral Arlington elections. The election was not as the County Board. As a 15-year veteran of high water mark. visible as to the general public. We had to the Arlington School Board and a long-time There any number of reasons one can work that much harder to pull every volun- community and progressive activist, Libby hypothesize as the cause of this dropoff. Ar- teer out to help. And as the numbers demon- was clearly the best candidate in the field of lington voters are not accustomed to elections strate, we were not able to tap into the Demo- three (which also included a Republican and in March, and so the general population did cratic community writ large, which is what a Green Party challenger). Libby has jumped not even know an election was happening. guarantees our electoral success. head first into her new role, and I am opti- Five Democrats had run in a hotly contested This special election, while unique in its mistic that she will be a positive voice for primary, and many thought Libby’s caucus circumstances, should serve as a reminder to Arlington for many years to come. victory in January had already won her the all of us that Democrats don’t win automati- But in the press, Libby’s victory has not election. We had experienced several elec- cally in Arlington. Electoral wins are the been the story. In Arlington, they say, Demo- tions in a very short period, and voter fatigue product of a great deal of hard work from crats are supposed to win. Rather, the story might have kept people home. volunteers from across the spectrum. We sim- has been the narrow margin that Libby gar- Yet the fact remains that the March re- ply cannot afford to have anyone sitting on nered from an electorate comprised of record- sults, while successful, should serve as a their hands this fall. low turnout, even for a special election. wake-up call to all of us. I am proud that in Barack Obama, Tim Kaine, Jim Moran, On March 27, just over 14,000 of the Arlington Democrats, our precinct cap- and others are going to be relying on Arling- Arlington’s registered voters turned out to tains turned out to put together a healthy and ton to carry huge margins to offset tougher vote. Only 49.2 perecnt of those voters voted effective phone campaign, which was turf in other parts of Virginia. If we do not for Libby. Compare that with the 2008 gen- complimented with solid canvassing across deliver, it will be the entire country that suf- eral election, when more than 108,000 the county in the final weeks before the elec- fers. As of this writing, we have 193 days Arlingtonians turned out to vote, delivering tion. Indeed, I believe this effort was a large until Election Day 2012. 71.7 percent of their votes for Barack Obama. reason we won on March 27. It’s time to wake up, Arlington – Novem- This means that the March special election But this March, we were never able to ber is just around the corner. Jerry Botland Leichtman Computer Consulting elected to seat on Troubleshoot and resolve computer and computer related problems. 8th CD Comm. Perform upgrades, set-up wireless routers and print servers. In what must have seemed like election Transfer old files, address book and emails #482 of this election-every-day year in Ar- lington, Dave Leichtman was elected at the from an old computer to a new one. April ACDC meeting as the new Arlington Phone: (703) 933-0558 — [email protected] delegate to the 8th Congressional District Democratic Committee. Leichtman, ACDC’s tech director, had been opposed by Bob Platt, ACDC parlia- mentarian and chair of the Resolutions Com- Published monthly by the mittee. Arlington County Democratic Committee The position had become vacant when 2050 Wilson Blvd., Suite 200, Arlington VA 22201 (enter at rear) Del. Alfonso Lopez resigned. Lopez resigned P.O. Box 7132, Arlington VA 22207 because he gained an ex officio seat on the 8th Tel: (703) 528-8588 Fax: (703) 528-2321 District Committee when he won a seat on http://www.arlingtondemocrats.org the Democratic National Committee. Chair: Mike Lieberman —(703) 408-3940 (h), [email protected] Arlington elects seven members to the Editor-in-Chief: Warren L. Nelson —(703) 243-7867 (h), [email protected] 8th District Committee, which encompasses Deputy Editor: Eric Wiener — (703) 524-6899 (h), [email protected] Arlington, Alexandria, Falls Church and parts Views expressed do not necessarily represent those of the ACDC of Fairfax County. In addition, Arlingtonians unless expressly approved by an appropriate committee resolution who hold other party offices are automatically Copyright ©2012, ACDC, All Rights Reserved members of the 8th District Committee. ACDC Voice, May 2012, Page 3 June J-J to Next Monthly Meeting All Dems Invited be addressed Wednesday, May 2, 2012, 7:00 p.m. NRECA Building, 4301 Wilson Blvd by Tim Kaine Corner of North Taylor and Wilson, just east of Glebe & Wilson Free parking under building, enter from Taylor Street Friday, June 8. Save that date! It’s the Jefferson-Jackson Dinner, affectionately Our program will be “A Beginner’s Guide to Arlington Com- known as the J-J, and the keynote speaker will missions,” explaining what kind of commissions the county be former Governor and (we hope) future has and how you can explore an appointment to one that Senator Tim Kaine! interests you.