Vol. 41, No 9 www.arlingtondemocrats.org September 2016 Gov. won’t talk about Kaine seat About 20 people have expressed an interest in the same time as the vote for governor, lieutenant being named to fill Tim Kaine’s Senate seat after governor and attorney general. The person elected he becomes vice president, Gov. Terry McAuliffe then would serve the last year of Kaine’s six-year has said, but he won’t talk to anyone about the ap- term with another election in 2018. DON’T WAIT! pointment unless and until Kaine is elected veep. Among the names circulating in the ether for “Probably 20 people have outreached” to the being appointed senator are Rep. Don Beyer, who Vote early; it’s called governor’s office and indicated “they’re interested holds the Arlington seat, Attorney General Mark absentee-in-person. in being a United States senator,” McAuliffe said Herring and Rep. Robert C. “Bobby” Scott, who Find out how and on WTOP radio’s “Ask the Governor” program. has said he is interested in running for the seat next where on Page 8 “We have to win the election first,” McAuliffe said year and is the longest-serving Democrat in of the presidential contest. “People want to come see Virginia’s congressional delegation. He has held me. I will take no meetings, I will take no phone calls his seat straddling the James River since 1993. with recommendations until we win this election.” The governor said he is “absolutely not” inter- If Kaine is elected vice president, McAuliffe ested in serving in the Senate. He said he has an would name a Democrat who would serve until a executive temperament and “sitting around with 99 special election for the seat in November 2017, at other folks” is “just not my personality.”

What’s the skinny on the hacking of election boards? Find out in this issue on Page 5.

“Uncle Sam wants TAKE A HIKE – What’s a congressman to do during the August congres- you” to help out on sional break? While some Republicans may be down on the Mexican border this campaign. building a wall (but not paying for it), our own Rep. Don Beyer (right) took a There are lots of hike. Yes, he hiked the Appalachian Trail along with Bruce Shuttlesworth, ways you can help one of his many opponents in the packed primary two years ago, and Bruce’s listed on Page 6. two sons, one of them seen here. Shuttlesworth commented that 100-plus mountain miles gave him great respect for Beyer, whom he called “a mountain of a man.” Oh, you may notice the starting of a Beyer beard. Check his campaign kickoff at Bon Air Park September 10 to see if it has staying power. ACDC Voice, September 2016, Page 2

Report from Chairman Kip Malinosky Voting begins September 23! Election Day is almost here. Really! thorough study of early voting in the 32 states In presidential election years, Arlington This month! The presidential campaign that that offer it. The report demonstrated numer- has a large number of voters who take advan- has consumed the media since June 2015 fi- ous practical advantages of allowing early tage of absentee-in-person voting. In 2008, nally has its end in sight. For those voting ab- voting: 1) easing the stress on poll workers 31 percent of Arlingtonians voted absentee, sentee-in-person, commonly called early vot- and machines on Election Day; 2) reducing but in 2012 this percentage dropped to 25 ing, the balloting starts Friday, September 23, lines; 3) improving poll workers’ efficiency; percent. As a result, while we escaped long and continues through Saturday, November 4) providing the opportunity to correct regis- lines in 2008, in 2012, the drop in absentee 5. And this point is critical, while most Ameri- tration and technical glitches; and 5) increas- voting, combined with the higher turnout, led cans will be voting on Election Day, an in- ing voter satisfaction. It concluded, “Early in- to long lines. Nine of our 52 precincts reported creasing number are voting early. In 2012, person voting is a substantial improvement two-hour lines or longer on Election Day. early voting reached nearly a third of the elec- in voting that Americans of all political per- This year, we must encourage all torate nationally, up from less than 10 per- suasions should be able to agree upon.” Arlingtonians who are eligible to vote absen- cent in 1992, according to political scientist Alas, Virginia does not allow no-excuse tee. Given the large numbers of Arlingtonians Michael McDonald, early voting, despite the best efforts of our who work in Washington, D.C., or Fairfax Let’s be clear: early voting has helped Richmond delegation. However, it does offer County, a majority of our electorate qualifies Democrats more than Republicans. President absentee-in-person voting in which voters are for absentee-in-person voting. Long lines lead Obama’s 2008 campaign made the most ef- eligible to vote early for any one of 15 differ- to frustration among both poll workers and fective use of early voting ever seen, increas- ent reasons. (See full list here: voters, and some folks give up on voting. This ing the turnout of those voting early by nearly www.vote.arlingtonva.us/absentee/absentee- is unacceptable. 10 percent. Early voting makes it much easier voting-eligibility/) But don’t get lost in the Fortunately, Arlington makes in-person for students, people working two jobs, or those technicalities. If you expect to be out of Ar- absentee voting easy. This year, there will be paid hourly wages, who have difficulty tak- lington at any time on Election Day, you can three locations where you can vote—in north, ing off work — all Democratic-leaning groups vote early. The vast majority of Virginians still central and south Arlington. The full sched- — to get to the polls. vote on Election Day, but in more populated ule and sites are given on Page Eight of this Beyond campaign advantages, the areas people are taking advantage of absen- issue. Brennan Center for Justice in 2013 released a tee voting. Therefore, please plan to vote—by mail, early or on Election Day. But don’t forget to vote. Jerry Botland Computer Consulting Breakfast to be Troubleshoot and resolve computer and computer related problems. hearing from Perform upgrades, set-up wireless routers and print servers. Transfer old files, address book and emails conventioneers from an old computer to a new one. The Second Saturday Breakfast will hear Phone: (703) 933-0558 — [email protected] from five of our Arlingtonians who went to the Democratic National Convention in Phila- delphia—Del. Alfonso Lopez, Allida Black, Cragg Hines, Jason Rylander and Graham Weinschenk. Published monthly by the Get the complete skinny, all the stuff you Arlington County Democratic Committee didn’t see on TV. 2001 Jefferson Davis Highway, Suite #604, Arlington VA 22202 And after the Breakfast, there will be a Mailing address: P.O. Box 7132, Arlington VA 22207 canvass in the local neighborhoods—so bring Tel: (703) 528-8588 your canvass shoes. http://www.arlingtondemocrats.org The Breakfast will be held—or prefer- Chair: Kip Malinosky — [email protected] ably eaten—at the Busboys and Poets in Editor-in-Chief: Warren L. Nelson —(703) 243-7867 (h), [email protected] Shirlington starting at 8:30 a.m. And since it Deputy Editor: Eric Wiener — (703) 524-6899 (h), [email protected] is held on the Second Saturday, it will be Sep- Views expressed do not necessarily represent those of the ACDC tember 10. unless expressly approved by an appropriate committee resolution And please remember to bring cash to Copyright ©2016, ACDC, All Rights Reserved settle up the bill. ACDC Voice, September 2016, Page 3 Precincts split Next Monthly Meeting amoeba-like All Dems Invited in Arlington Wednesday, September 7, 7 p.m. Arlington will likely be getting two new NRECA Building, 4301 Wilson Blvd precincts before the fall election, climbing to Corner of North Taylor and Wilson, just east of Glebe & Wilson a total of 54. Free parking under building, enter from Taylor Street Every few years the county adds pre- cincts, mainly by splitting in half those pre- cincts that have grown most populated. It’s our annual Stamping Party this month! Tables In a proposal the County Board will take will be set up around the meeting room where up in September, that’s what will be done you can put postage stamps and return address again. The existing Virginia Highlands and Lyon Park precincts would be bifurcated. labels on the envelopes we will be sending out in The current Lyon Park precinct will be- our Dollars for Democrats solicitation. There is come Lyon Park #15 with 1,850 voters and no licking required. All stamps and return address the new Garfield Park #54 precinct with 1,500 voters. labels are self-adhesive. But this year’s mailing The current Virginia Highlands precinct is a whopping 15,000 envelopes. So, there is a will become Virginia Highlands #21 with lot of self-adhesing to be done that night. Come 2,250 voters and Met Park #53 with 2,400 voters. and join the fun! The Electoral Board also proposes mov- ing about 230 voters out of Fillmore precinct and into Arlington View. In addition, the board is proposing four name changes, mainly to conform names to where voters cast their ballots. Claremont #28 would become Wakefield, Woodbury #41 Weinstein wins 8th CD vote would become Navy League, Arlington Mill Matt Weinstein won an Arlington seat second round of Instant Runoff Voting (IRV) #43 would become Campbell and Courtlands on the State Central Committee and 8th Dis- at the August monthly meeting. #48 would become AUSA. trict Democratic Committee last month in the The balloting was held to fill the one- year remainder of the two-year term of Max Burns after he resigned. Membership is divided half male and half female, so only males were allowed to run. The first ballot count showed Weinstein Bumper sticker in the lead with 63 votes, followed by Bob Platt with 49 and Paul Berry with 34. That of the month gave Weinstein 43 percent, but ACDC rules require an absolute majority. Under the Instant Runoff Voting system, voters ranked the candidates first, second and third. After the first round count, Berry was dropped and the second choices of his voters distributed to Weinstein and Platt. That gave Weinstein 80 votes and a majority over Platt’s 63. The post is an Arlington seat of the 8th Congressional District Democratic Commit- tee, which meets monthly, and the State Cen- tral Committee, which meets quarterly. ACDC Voice, September 2016, Page 4 Hillary Donkey Ears dominates Listening to the doings No. Virginia of Arlington’s Dems as overheard by in latest poll Dan Steen and Mädi Green A new Roanoke College Poll shows Donald Trump way ahead in the more rural parts of the state and Hillary Clinton way Out of the kitchen: Kitchen Crew co-lead Kris McLaughlin took a spill as she ahead in the more urban areas. left a Party Store with goodies for the June 27 event for AG Mark Herring. She The poll broke its results down by six managed to jam her hip and has spent weeks undergoing painful realignment regions, showing just how divided modern therapy, so has missed recent events hosted by Jay Fisette and Bob Rosen. Jay Virginia is, with Northern Virginia favoring noted during the unity event that it had been more than 10 years since he’d Clinton by an astounding 3-to-1 margin. hosted an event without Kris being there to run it. We wish her a full recovery Here are the results by region: at home so the Kitchen Crew will once again be back at full strength for the Southwest (coal country) campaign season. Clinton 20% Trump 58% Scholarly pursuit: Erica Jackson, ACDC Chair Kip Malinosky’s longtime Shenandoah Valley Clinton 35% Trump 63% girlfriend and partner, is off to Waltham, Mass, for a year to pursue a master’s Southside in global health policy at Brandeis U. That leaves Kip with nothing to do the Clinton 33% Trump 40% coming year but help elect more Democrats. Kip took a few days off to help Hampton Roads Erica get settled in her new apartment. She is pursuing her dream to work on Clinton 43% Trump 33% refugee mental health issues. She calls Kip every night to share stories, check Richmond/Central State on her two cats who have stayed in Virginia and find out how the campaign is Clinton 57% Trump 24% going. She’ll be coming back for the Golden Gala and to vote in October, as Northern Virginia well as to check in with the kitties and Kip. Clinton 61% Trump 19% Passages: Last month, the mother of Peter Fallon, former candidate for a It’s a stunning and stark division. In the County Board nomination, died at the age of 87. Peter reports she was an Trump half (actually quarter) of the state, immigrant from Canada who lived in the U.S. as a permanent resident until Clinton gets less than one-third support, while getting her citizenship at the age 70 so she could vote for Democrats. in the Clinton part, Trump doesn’t even get Jamming: In case you missed it, Sen. Tim Kaine appeared on the Late Show one-quarter support. with Stephen Colbert where he talked about The Donald’s Wall in Spanish, Statewide, the poll finds purple Virginia receiving a great response from the audience, and then to jam on his harmonica looking quite blue this fall, at least at this junc- ture. Here is the statewide result of the poll: with the stage band, also to the great delight of the audience. Hillary Clinton 48% New job: Precinct captain Jarrod Nagurka has started a new job as manager of Donald Trump 32% advocacy and public affairs for the Association for Career and Technical Gary Johnson 8% Education, which includes both vocational schooling and education meant to Jill Stein 3% prepare students for post-secondary and advanced degrees. Undecided 9% Wins primary: Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, former chair of the Demo- That’s an astounding 16-point margin— cratic National Committee, won her heated primary in Florida with 57 percent but other polls don’t necessarily agree. Nate of the vote over challenger Tim Canova. Silver’s 538 gives Clinton only a 7-point lead. Guess who leads: A new poll by Christopher Newport University looking at the The Roanoke poll was carried out in the mayoral race in Richmond shows former Democratic Del. Joe Morrissey with a first half of August, before Evan McMullin got clear lead. You remember Morrissey. He’s the guy who commuted to the 2015 on the Virginia ballot. He is the Republican General Assembly sessions from jail, where he was doing time for contributing offering himself as the candidate for anti- to the delinquency of a minor. In an eight-person field, Morrissey showed up Trump Republicans. Any vote he draws is with 28 percent support followed by Jack Berry with 16 percent. Nearly a expected to be small, but to come from Trump quarter of those polled said they had not yet made up their minds. Under or Johnson and not impact the Clinton vote. Clinton has reduced her advertising on Richmond’s rules, a candidate must win the largest number of votes in at least Virginia stations, while leaving open the pros- five of the city’s nine districts. If no one clears that hurdle, there will be a run- pect of returning later with big buys if the race off Dec. 20 between the top two-vote-getters. Poll director Quentin Kidd said tightens. Trump has visited the commonwealth the mayoral race now looks like a competition for second place and a slot in a four times since winning the nomination. possible run-off. ACDC Voice, September 2016, Page 5 What are election board hackers up to? It may not be enough for Vladimir Putin’s to fix the vote in mother Russia. He may be up to tampering with election returns in the United States. It isn’t entirely clear what’s up, but some Russkies seem to have hacked the election boards in two states. Why they have done so is subject to much speculation. And possibly exaggeration. It isn’t likely that Vlad could According to a Ballotpedia tabulation, In a conference call this month with state stuff ballot boxes for The Donald. But there 35 states use systems that have a paper trail election officials, Homeland Security Secre- are 15 states where he could really mess things so a re-count can be conducted statewide if tary Jeh Johnson urged them to guard against up if he wished to. there is a hacking problem. Both Illinois and potential intrusions by taking basic precau- Here’s what we know so far. Arizona are among those 35, which begs the tionary steps, such as ensuring that electronic The FBI Cyber Division has issued a question of why someone interested in chang- voting machines are not connected to the warning, titled “Targeting Activity Against ing voting results would go to either state. Internet while voting is taking place. State Board of Election Systems.” The alert Five states have no paper trail in any ju- Hackers could conceivably use intru- said the bureau was investigating cyber intru- risdiction: Louisiana, Georgia, South Caro- sions into voter registration databases to de- sions this summer against two state election lina, New Jersey and Delaware. The remain- lete names from voter registration lists, al- websites. The report didn’t name them, but ing 10 states—including Virginia—have a though in most states, voters can request pro- others said the states were Arizona and Illinois. mix of voting equipment, some with a paper visional ballots at the polls, allowing time for The one in Illinois resulted in the trail and some without. discrepancies to be resolved, an official of the “exfiltration,” or theft, of voter registration The paperless equipment is touchscreen National Association of Secretaries of State data. “It was an eye opener,” a senior law en- voting, known as DREs or Direct-Recording told Yahoo News. forcement official said of the bureau’s discov- Electronic voting machines, for which there Still, such attacks could be used to cre- ery of the intrusions. “We believe it’s kind of are no paper ballot backups. Arlington used ate havoc and sow doubts over the election serious, and we’re investigating.” such equipment until a year ago. results. Illinois officials were forced to shut down Andrew W. Appel of Princeton Univer- As a result, the FBI alert urges state of- the state’s voter registration system for 10 days sity wrote in a recent blog post, “If the com- ficials to take additional steps to secure their in late July, after the hackers managed to down- puter [in a paperless jurisdiction] is hacked, systems, including conducting “vulnerability load personal data on up to 200,000 state vot- then the hacker gets to decide what numbers scans” of their databases. In addition, the bul- ers, Ken Menzel, the general counsel of the are reported.… All DRE (paperless letin urges officials to sharply restrict access Illinois Board of Elections, said. touchscreen) voting computers are susceptible to their databases. “Implement the principle The Arizona attack was more limited, in- to this kind of hacking. This is our biggest of least privilege for database accounts,” the volving malicious software that was intro- problem.” Another area of concern cited by FBI alert reads. It adds that “any given user duced into its voter registration system but Appel and others is the growing number of should have access to only the bare minimum no successful exfiltration of data, a state offi- states that allow overseas and military set of resources required to perform business cial said. voters to cast their ballots online. tasks.” Menzel said FBI agents confirmed to him that the perpetrators were believed to be foreign hackers, although they were not iden- tified by country. Much news coverage pointed the finger at Russia. Menzel said he was told that the bureau was looking at a “pos- sible link” to the recent highly publicized at- tack on the Democratic National Committee and other political organizations, which U.S. officials suspect was perpetrated by Russian government hackers. But Menzel said agents told him they had reached no conclusions, and other experts say the hackers could also have been common cybercriminals hoping to steal personal data on state voters for fraudulent purposes, such as obtaining bogus tax refunds. Federal and state election officials say that the prospect of a full-blown cyberattack that seriously disrupts the November elections is remote, but not out of the question. ACDC Voice, September 2016, Page 6 Here’s how you can help the ticket Looking for some ways to help out in turnout rate. To reach these voters, the Clinton Arlington. We register voters and provide the campaign? Below you will find a list of campaign and Arlington Dems have created a bumper stickers, yard signs and information many of our activities. We’ve got everything new initiative, Project MUB Madness. on the candidates. We have the greatest need from reception desk work in the office to foot- The initial goal is to hold non-partisan at the Courthouse market, but could use help work going door-to-door—and lots in be- voter registration events in as many buildings at the other farmers markets, too. Courthouse tween. We’ve even got MUB Madness! as possible before the October 18 voter regis- is on Saturday mornings, Columbia Pike, If you see anything below that interests tration deadline. We will later try to canvass Fairlington and Westover are on Sundays, you, please contact the coordinator directly these MUBs, for purposes of Get Out The Vote Clarendon is Wednesday afternoon and to get involved! (GOTV). Ballston Thursday afternoon. If you’re inter- For such a large scale, county-wide ini- ested in helping, please contact Jack Kinkaid Voter Registration: We have registered tiative to succeed, we need lots of help. We at [email protected] or Jean Christensen more than 11,000 new voters in Arlington this are looking for people to volunteer in their own at [email protected]. year toward our goal of 19,000. ACDC is building or to approach management in other conducting a variety of voter registration buildings about holding events. Interested? Help ACDC at a Festival: ACDC’s events across the county focusing on various Fill out this form. Eager to get started right Joint Campaign is organizing booths at sev- target groups. Volunteers interested in help- away? After completing the MUB Madness eral upcoming Arlington Festivals to register ing with voter registration are encouraged to form, take the Commonwealth’s updated voter more voters and educate them about our great take a brief online course. And contact Josh registration training and request 200 voter reg- candidates. If you are available for an hour Katcher at [email protected] to get a istration forms on behalf of the Arlington or two, please email Maggie Davis at location. County Democratic Committee. [email protected]. In mid-August, an event at The Avalon • Arlington Jazz Festival, Rosslyn Gate- Staffing our Crystal City office: Ballston generated 20 new voters in less than way Park, Saturday, September 10, from ACDC is looking for several volunteers to three hours. If you can help, or are willing to noon-8pm staff the telephone line at ACDC HQ during host an event in your building, please contact • Clarendon Day, Clarendon Metro, Sat- in-person absentee voting hours, beginning Jill Caiazzo at [email protected] or Josh urday, September 17, from 11am-7pm Friday, September 23. There will be talking Katcher at [email protected]. • Nauck Civic & Community Day, Sat- points and guidelines for the volunteers dur- urday, September 17, from 12pm-5pm ing their shifts. If you are interested in volun- Helping to elect Hillary: Canvassing, teering, please email Maggie Davis at Phone Banking, more Voter Registration: Help LuAnn Bennett defeat Barbara [email protected]. Virginia Victory, the Clinton campaign, is co- Comstock: Arlington Democrats are vol- ordinating the field effort in Arlington to make unteering to help LuAnn Bennett defeat in- Calling Senior Arlington Democrats to sure that every possible Democratic voter is cumbent Republican Barbara Comstock in offer rides to vote: We offer rides on Elec- identified and encouraged to vote. VA Vic- Virginia’s 10th Congressional District, which tion Day and when in-person absentee voting tory recently opened a field office in Arling- starts where GW Parkway leaves Arlington is underway. Typically, many of these voters ton at 6035 Wilson Blvd. Canvasses, phone at the north. We are canvassing her district are very happy to hear from us and have got- banks and voter registration drives are run every Sunday. Meet at the Democratic Party ten rides in the past. Each year we contact an from that office and from other locations in of Virginia (DPVA) Coordinated Campaign additional set of senior Democrats to see if Arlington throughout the week. See their cal- Headquarters in McLean, located at 6888 Elm they could use assistance. endar for details or contact the Regional Field St., Suite 1C, and check in anytime after 1:30 We need volunteers who are available Director, Maggie Seppi at p.m. Sunday with Peter Dougherty. For more daytime (10 am-4 pm) to make these calls to [email protected]. information, or to help with this effort, con- offer these rides. The calls are made from tact Charley Conrad at your home with a short script that is provided. Farmers Markets: ACDC needs help [email protected]. Completed lists are emailed back so that data at our tables at the various farmers markets in from the calls can be entered. Each list typi- Rides to the Polls: ACDC has a ro- cally has 75 names on it and we ask volun- bust Rides to the Polls program, driving teers to try more than once to reach the vot- Democratic voters on Election Day and be- ers. fore that to Absentee in Person voting. If Calls begin in mid-September. If you’re you’d like to help with this important effort, interested in helping on this, please contact and aren’t already on our list, please contact Cragg Hines at [email protected] or 202- Sue Walton at [email protected]/ 415-1434. Language skills: If you have foreign MUB Madness - Focus on large build- language skills, please shoot us a message and ings: Voting data show that the large resi- let us know the languages you speak. This is dential buildings (or multi-unit buildings — a critical need for us as we try to target and MUBs) in Arlington have a high concentra- communicate with different constituencies. tion of potential Democratic voters but a low Contact Nancy Pilchen3 at 703-867-2908 or [email protected]. ACDC Voice, September 2016, Page 7 GOP abandons convention; goes for primary By a solitary vote, the Virginia GOP tion from members of the military, students to a convention to scuttle the chances of Lt. State Central Committee has voted to hold a and seniors; and would advance candidates Gov. Bill Bolling, who then dropped out of primary next year for choosing its statewide who could win a general election against the gubernatorial race. candidates rather than the convention the Tea Democrats. Seeking the GOP nomination for gover- Party had wanted. “We need to grow our party. We need to nor are: Ed Gillespie, the former chairman of In 2013, the ultraright prevailed and im- grow our base,” said Clara Belle Wheeler, a the Republican National Committee who posed a convention, which then attracted a State Central Committee member from came close in challenging U.S. Sen. Mark heavily ultraright attendance that nominated Albemarle County who also serves on the State Warner in 2014; U.S. Rep. Robert J. Wittman the most ultraright candidates for governor, Board of Elections. “We need to get people out of the 1st Congressional District that starts just lieutenant governor and attorney general, all of their cubbyholes and voting in primaries.” south of the D.C. suburbs and ends just north of whom went down to defeat. Committee member David Foster, a of Hampton Roads; and Corey Stewart, chair Last year, the party’s two wings made a former Arlington School Board member, said of the Prince William County Board of Su- compromise, agreeing to hold a primary in a primary would help the party identify sup- pervisors and the Donald Trump chair in Vir- the presidential contest this year and recom- porters based on the voter lists it generates. ginia for the primary race. Stewart was a vo- mending a convention for the 2017 statewide “We are losing the database battle to the cal advocate for a convention. The two oth- offices. It could only recommend because a Democrats,” he said. ers took no position. binding decision could only be made this year. Committee member Mark Kelly, who For lieutenant governor, State Sen Bryce But on a 41-40 vote, with every State has run for the Arlington County Board, voted Reeves of Spotsylvania, State Sen. Jill Central Committee member present and vot- for a convention, making the Arlington vote Holtzman Vogel of Fauquier and Del. Glenn ing, the party brushed aside the recommen- 2-1 for a convention. R. Davis Jr. of Virginia Beach have an- dation and went with a primary for next June, Supporters of a primary said the time was nounced. which gives GOP moderates a better chance right to make the switch. They pointed to re- For attorney general, no one has yet an- of turning back the ultraright. cent losses and the level of participation in nounced but three are expected to: Del. Rob- Assuming Hillary Clinton and Tim Virginia’s Republican presidential primary, in ert B. Bell of Albemarle; Richmond attorney Kaine win in November, there will also be an which more than 1 million voters cast bal- John Adams; and attorney Chuck Smith from election in November 2017 to fill out the re- lots. A typical convention draws 10,000 to Newport News. mainder of Kaine’s term. The GOP will also 12,000 attendees. Democrats will choose their statewide use the June primary to choose a candidate But some of the losers were miffed. nominees in a primary. Lt. Gov. Ralph S. for that post as well. Waverly Woods, a GOP activist from Virginia Northam is the lone candidate to have an- Establishment Republicans have spent Beach, told The Washington Post, “This is a nounced a run for governor, while Attorney the past couple of years working to regain con- complete betrayal of the grass roots. The party General Mark R. Herring is seeking re-elec- trol of the State Central Committee at the dis- is imploding on itself because these Republi- tion with no announced opposition. trict level. They emerged with a slight major- cans can’t keep their word.” Former federal prosecutors Justin ity among the 40 new members elected to the Woods did not mention that the party Fairfax of Fairfax County and Gene Rossi of committee this year, helping put them over originally planned a primary for four years Alexandria have declared their candidacies for the top on the convention vs. primary vote. ago, but the supporters of the candidate of the lieutenant governor and more are expected to Supporters of a convention spoke of the ultraright, Ken Cuccinelli, then forced a shift throw their hats in the ring. need to respect the agreement reached last summer for the sake of party unity, and to ensure that Republicans alone select the party’s nominees. “We had a gentleman’s agreement,” said Two more events upcoming Morton Blackwell, the hard-right Republican You’ve attended (or missed) the first of protect the future. Peg has been an accom- national committeeman from Arlington, who our three fall social events cum fund raisers— plished volunteer from the days of the mim- supported a convention. “I would hope we the Labor Day Chili Cookoff. But we have eograph machine right up to the e-everything would honor that agreement,” he said. two more events to warm your heart and here of the 21st Century. He pointed out that Democrats don’t they are. expect to have a contest for their gubernato- rial nomination next year, so “we will have Golden Gala large numbers of hostile Democrats partici- A Toast to Peg Hogan Saturday, October 15, 7-9 p.m. pating” in the GOP primary. The oddity of Sunday, September 25, 4-6 p.m. Address will be provided later that statement is that Dems would mostly vote 817 N. Irving Street $125 for the weakest GOPer, meaning the ultraright $75 Help us put some extra sparkle into the final candidate that a convention would have likely Come to the home of Sharon Davis and join Joint Campaign event before heading to the supported. us in honoring the many decades of hard work, polls November 8. Join us at the home of Sally Advocates for holding a primary said talent, and service Peg Hogan has devoted to Cooper for some good food (from the ACDC doing so would be key to expanding the Arlington County and ACDC. Come hear in- Kitchen Crew), libations, and a special guest party’s base; would allow greater participa- spiring stories from the past while helping to speaker to be announced. ACDC Voice, September 2016, Page 8 Vote early—vote absentee-in-person There is no need to wait until Election now required by Virginia state law. http://vote.arlingtonva.us/absentee/absentee- Day, a whole nine weeks away. You can vote The law sets out 15 different reasons that voting-ballot-application/ starting September 28 and avoid the crush on make you eligible to vote before Election Day. The three locations for voting early this the day of the election. And there will be a Don’t get lost in the weeds of whether you year are: heck of a crush! are awaiting trial, on jury duty or working and • In the lobby of the County Building at The technical term is “in-person absen- commuting 11 of the 13 hours the polls are Courthouse Plaza, 2100 Clarendon Blvd. tee voting,” but it just means voting in the open. • Walter Reed Community Center, 2909 weeks before actual Election Day. Just check one box if you work outside 16th Street S. Voting is in the lobby (not the third floor, Arlington or another box if you think you will • Madison Community Center, 3829 N. as before) of the County Building, 2100 be absent for any period on Election Day on Stafford St. Clarendon Blvd. And this year there will be personal business, such as having lunch in Old Voting is available at two other locations, in north and south Ar- Towne or buying flowers in Merrifield. The Courthouse Plaza every weekday from lington, to make early voting even easier. clerks at the desk will point out the box for 8 am to 5 pm from Sept. 23 through Nov. 4, Note that there is no voting on the Mon- you to check. and every Saturday from Oct. 8 to Nov. 5 from day before the Tuesday Election Day as the The application form takes 30 sec- 8:30 am to 5 pm. Beginning Oct. 24, Court- staff will be busy setting up the voting equip- onds to fill out and then you vote by fill- house Plaza is also open until 7 pm Monday- ment in all the precincts. ing in a paper ballot—just like in the Thursday. ACDC urges everyone who can to vote olden days of the 20th Century!—but then Walter Reed and Madison are open early. First of all, it’s convenient because you inserting the paper ballot into one of the every Saturday from Oct. 15 to Nov. 5 from pick the day. But many miss voting on Elec- county’s brand-new scanners that count 8:30 am to 5 pm, and, beginning Oct. 24, from tion Day because they have a crunch at the the votes. 1-7 pm Monday through Thursday and Fri- office, were called out of town or wake up ill. You can also vote by mail if you pre- days 1-5 pm. All that’s avoided by voting before Election fer—and don’t forget any kids away at col- For more specific information call 703- Day. lege. An application for a mail-in ballot can 228-3456 or visit vote.arlingtonva.us/absen- Don’t forget to bring a photo ID. That is be obtained on the County webpage at: tee. Two special elections for delegate skedded Two Democratic delegates have won aged to hold it two elections in a row. historical sites in that very historical district, special elections to fill vacant seats in the State Nominee Mullin is running against Re- you might want to check in with Mullin’s Senate. And that means there will be two spe- publican Heather Cordasco. website and see if you can pitch in with some cial elections to fill those new vacancies in If you’re down that way taking in the help for a few hours. the House of Delegates. Democrats need to win both elections to maintain 34 seats in the 100-seat House. Those 34, voting together as they did this year, Second amendment is put can stop any effort in the House to override a Not THAT veto by Gov. McAuliffe. They keep the GOP Second from a two-thirds majority. on the November ballot Amendment! Both special elections will be held with the general election on November 8. The General Assembly has added an- That proposal would enshrine in the state One is a sure victory. That’s because the other constitutional amendment to the ballot bill of rights the so-called “right-to-work” law GOP has not nominated anyone. So, Cliff this fall, this one providing an exemption from that has been on the Virginia statute books Hayes, who won the Democratic nomination real estate taxes for the spouses of first re- for seven decades to make unionization more last month, can be declared the winner in the sponders killed in the line of duty. difficult. 77th District in Norfolk. At its July meeting, ACDC approved a At the July meeting, ACDC also ap- But the other seat is a challenge. It’s resolution recommending that Arlington vot- proved another resolution on gun control. It for the 93rd District and is located on the Pen- ers support this amendment. urged the US Congress and Virginia General insula, taking in Williamsburg, Jamestown Two years ago, voters approved a con- Assembly to enact an assault weapons ban, and James City. The Democratic nominee is stitutional amendment providing the same limitations on the size of magazines and back- Michael Mullin, a prosecutor, community kind of exemption for the surviving spouses ground checks for all gun sales. It also urged volunteer, husband to Laura and dad of three of members of the armed forces killed in the the Virginia General Assembly to close the boys. line of duty. gun show loophole. The 93rd is a notoriously competitive dis- A few months ago, ACDC approved a The full text of both resolutions will be trict. It switched parties in 2009, 2011 and resolution opposing the other constitutional found on the ACDC website at 2013. In 2015, Democrat Monty Mason man- amendment that will be on the ballot this year. www.arlingtondemocrats.org. ACDC Voice, September 2016, Page 9

Here’s everybody and everything on your November ballot The ballot for November is now complete with the addition to allow the General Assembly to provide to the localities an of third party candidates for president and vice president. The option to exempt from taxation the real property of the surviv- fifth candidate listed below for president, Evan McMullin, is the ing spouse of any law-enforcement officer, firefighter, search Republican offering himself as the candidate for anti-Trump and rescue personnel, or emergency medical services person- Republicans. Here is what the ballot in Arlington looks like. nel who was killed in the line of duty, where the surviving spouse occupies the real property as his or her principal place President and vice president of residence and has not remarried? Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine, D ACDC is recommending a YES vote on this amendment. Donald Trump and Mike Pence, R Gary Johnson and Bill Weld, Libertarian Proposed County Bond Referenda Jill Stein and Ajumu Baraka, Green Metro and Transportation Evan McMullin and Nathan Johnson, Indep. QUESTION: Shall Arlington County contract a debt and issue U.S. House of Representatives its general obligation bonds in the maximum principal amount Don Beyer, D (incumbent) of $58,785,000 to finance, together with other available funds, Charles Hernick, R the cost of various capital projects for the Washington Metro- Julio Gracia, I politan Area Transit Authority and other transit, pedestrian, road County Board or transportation projects? Libby Garvey, D (incumbent) Local Parks and Recreation Audrey Clement, I QUESTION: Shall Arlington County contract a debt and issue (two positions) School Board its general obligation bonds in the maximum principal amount Nancy Van Doren (incumbent) of $19,310,000 to finance, together with other available funds, Tannia Talento the cost of various capital projects for local parks & recreation, (Both School Board candidates are endorsed by and land acquisition for parks and open space? ACDC but are not identified by party on the ballot) Community Infrastructure Proposed Amendments QUESTION: Shall Arlington County contract a debt and issue to the Constitution of Virginia its general obligation bonds in the maximum principal amount “Right to Work” of $98,850,000 to finance, together with other available funds, Question: Should Article I of the Constitution of Virginia the cost of various capital projects for County facilities, joint be amended to prohibit any agreement or combination between County – Schools projects, information technology, and other an employer and a labor union or labor organization whereby County infrastructure? (i) nonmembers of the union or organization are denied the right to work for the employer, (ii) membership to the union or Arlington Public Schools organization is made a condition of employment or continua- QUESTION: Shall Arlington County contract a debt and issue tion of employment by such employer, or (iii) the union or its general obligation bonds in the maximum principal amount organization acquires an employment monopoly in any such of $138,830,000 to finance, together with other available funds, enterprise? the costs of various capital projects for Arlington Public ACDC is recommending a NO vote on this amendment, Schools? which would place existing state law restricting unions into the state Bill of Rights. ACDC is recommending YES votes on all these bonds.

Property Tax Exemption Additional information about the bond proposals is avail- Question: Shall the Constitution of Virginia be amended able on the county’s website.