Vol. 37, No. 7 www.arlingtondemocrats.org July 2012 Moran loses 1 of 163 precincts Rep. Jim Moran pulled out a strong 3-to-1 victory over his pri- mary challenger Bruce Shuttleworth in the June 12 balloting and Don’t stay up now finds himself facing a passel of three challengers in the fall. Across Northern ’s 8th Congressional District, Moran late at night pulled down 74 percent of the vote. The totals were 23,018 for Moran to 8,006 for Shuttleworth. Of the four jurisdictions in the 8th District, Moran actually did writing your better everywhere other than Arlington. His percentages were 70 per- cent in Arlington, 72 percent in Alexandria, 77 percent in Falls Church—all of which have been within the 8th District since its cre- to-do list! ation—and 80 percent in Fairfax County, where redistricting has given We’ve already him precincts that are a shade more GOP and a shade less Democratic We’ve already than previously. done it for you In Arlington, the totals were 6,597 for Moran to 2,765 for continued on page three — on page 10 Englin resigning from House Del. David Englin has announced his resignation from the House of Delegates effective August 31. Learn all about This will set up a special election, possibly at the same time as the November General Election, to fill the remaining year of Englin’s the rightwing term. But the exact date remains to be announced by Gov. Bob McDonnell. smart ALEC The resignation will also require a process for selecting a Demo- cratic nominee to succeed Englin. —page 9 If the governor chooses November 6 as the election day, there will have to be a Democratic caucus held by August 17. Arlington, Alexandria and Fairfax Dems will need to name a committee to deter- mine the caucus date and location. After Englin, 37, and his wife, Shayna, separated in April, Englin continued on page four Senator Howell takes you inside the budget J-J hears ‘turnout, turnout, turnout’ negotiations The annual Jefferson-Jackson Dinner had everyone on their feet, —page 8 applauding and cheering, from the very beginning when 13-year-old Caroline Raphael (photo at right) gave the audience a rousing rendi- tion of the Star Spangled Banner to kick off the event. Caroline, the daughter of School Board Chair Abby Raphael, will be an eighth grader at Williamsburg Middle School this fall. Remembering The dinner itself featured chicken breast—“herb-rubbed,” not rubber—and concluded with a “chocolate praline dome.” Peggy Fisher Almost 300 Democrats packed the banquet room at the Westin Arlington Gateway, which has hosted the J-J for several years now. —page 6 They heard from Minneapolis Mayor R. T. Ryback, the vice chair of the Democratic National Committee, who came to fire up the crowd to turn out a whopping Democratic majority this fall in this battle- continued on page five ACDC Voice, July 2012, Page 2

Report from Chairman Mike Lieberman Stand By Your Ad I now know what it feels like to be an they were, and that they approved this mes- the race in Virginia pulls even closer, the nega- Iowan. Every four years, as the first-in-the- sage. tive rhetoric will escalate to an even higher, nation primary, you hear about political ads In the wake of the Citizens United rul- and likely unprecedented level. As Ameri- airing in Iowa from presidential hopefuls as ing, though, that modicum of accountability cans, I believe we deserve to know who is early as the summer prior to the election – is now gone. In its place, we have ads spon- feeding us information so we can weigh and nearly half a year before any votes are cast. sored by faceless super PACs with names like discount it accordingly. That’s why I support, And every four years, an Iowan gets on the “Crossroads USA,” “Grow PAC,” and “Put- and believe Congress should pass, legislation news and says how tired he is of watching ting America First” whose contributors need requiring the disclosure of contributors to su- political ads, even before the election season never be disclosed. per PACs, and requiring the heads of such really starts in earnest. With the protection of anonymity, these organizations to introduce themselves and With Virginia front and center as a battle- super PACs appear to me to be doing any- “stand by their ads” at the end of each broad- ground state for the first time in four decades, thing but “putting America first.” Rather than cast. I fear we have become this general election’s contribute reasoned arguments to the public Absent that, I encourage all Virginians Iowa. You cannot watch television in Virginia discourse, these super PACs have spewed vit- to exercise the only choice we really have left anymore without your show being interrupted riol that is disturbingly personal in nature, against this onslaught – turning off the TV. by a political ad favoring one candidate or aimed primarily at President Obama, with a We can and should demand better. another. Four months from the election, part dab of anti-Romney messages mixed in. of me finds this flattering, as a testament to With this din of negativity, it is no won- the hard work we have done to bring Virginia der that Americans today take a cynical view into the purple, if not the blue column. of politics; our media outlets talk little about But here’s the new twist on this old song the potential of government, and entirely Second Sat. – this year, when the election ads air, it is about who scored the most points and who impossible to tell who bought them. Even at struck the hardest punch. But this evil is mag- the end of previous campaign cycles when the nified by our not knowing who and where the Breakfast political ads came fast and furious, at least messages are coming from. the ad would end with a candidate saying who I fear as this election cycle moves on and brings Hope The guest at the July Second Saturday Jerry Botland Breakfast will be Del. Patrick Hope. The Second Saturday Breakfast will Computer Consulting be—as usual—on the second Saturday, July 14, starting at 8:30 a.m. at the Busboys and Troubleshoot and resolve computer and Poets in Shirlington, as usual. No reserva- computer related problems. tions required—but please bring old-fash- Perform upgrades, set-up wireless routers and print servers. ioned cash as dozens of credit cards delay Transfer old files, address book and emails things. As usual, the breakfast remains prima- from an old computer to a new one. rily an opportunity to Phone: (703) 933-0558 — [email protected] chat about politics— local, state and na- tional—at leisure over a meal. For those ener- Published monthly by the gized to engage in Arlington County Democratic Committee campaigning activities 2050 Wilson Blvd., Suite 200, Arlington VA 22201 (enter at rear) after filling up on cof- P.O. Box 7132, Arlington VA 22207 fee and food, Precinct Tel: (703) 528-8588 Fax: (703) 528-2321 Operations Chair Kip http://www.arlingtondemocrats.org Malinosky will have Chair: Mike Lieberman —(703) 408-3940 (h), [email protected] something that needs to be done, as usual. Editor-in-Chief: Warren L. Nelson —(703) 243-7867 (h), [email protected] That might be canvassing, voter registration, Deputy Editor: Eric Wiener — (703) 524-6899 (h), [email protected] literature drops or whatever else is the mis- Views expressed do not necessarily represent those of the ACDC sion of the month. unless expressly approved by an appropriate committee resolution Any questions may be directed to Copyright ©2012, ACDC, All Rights Reserved [email protected] or 703-835-6614. Changed date because of 4th of July ACDC Voice, July 2012, Page 3

Moran loses Next Monthly Meeting All Dems Invited one of 163 Wednesday, July 11, 2012, 7:00 p.m. NRECA Building, 4301 Wilson Blvd precincts Corner of North Taylor and Wilson, just east of Glebe & Wilson Free parking under building, enter from Taylor Street continued from page one We meet the SECOND Wednesday this month, not the first Shuttleworth, a fellow Arlingtonian. The to- Wednesday as that is the Fourth of July. Our speaker will be tal turnout of 9,362 in Arlington was an un- Anna Scholl with a program called “The Expert’s Guide to Cam- impressive 7.5 percent of active voters. But paign Fundraising.” Scholl is considered one of the best many considered that a large turnout consid- fundraisers in the country. In Virginia, she was finance director ering how little attention the race had drawn with the congressional campaign. She will let us in and the fact that there was nothing else on the ballot. on tips and tricks she has learned about fundraising in her ca- The turnout was just 5 percent in Fairfax reer. Questions from the audience are encouraged! Questions and 8 percent in Falls Church, but 14 percent can be submitted in advance or posed that night. To submit a in Alexandria, which also had a hard-fought question in advance, email: [email protected] City Council primary with 14 candidates on the ballot seeking six seats. No one broke 10 percent in that wild contest. There was only one other Democratic them apart from Madison. In his victory message after the primary, primary for the House in Virginia, in the Moran has faced two previous primary Moran said he would focus on trying to pump Fourth District, and that drew an embarrass- challenges since first winning his seat in 1992, up the turnout in November, not just to insure ing 1.5 percent of the active voters. That dis- and both were in presidential years. The Ar- his victory but to provide the margin needed trict, lying in the southeast corner of the state lington turnout in 2008 was a measly 3 per- to keep in the White House below the James River, has been held by Rep. cent, but in 2004 it was 13 percent. In 2008, and put in the Senate. “We’re Randy Forbes, a Republican, for 12 years. Moran racked up 85 percent of the vote in ready, hungry to take on that challenge,” he That isn’t expected to change. Arlington against challenger Matthew said, “because this President deserves it, and Moran took all but one precinct in Ar- Famiglietti in another stealth primary. In America needs his and Tim Kaine’s leader- lington—Madison, which was the final pre- 2004, Moran won 56 percent in Arlington in ship.” cinct in the county to shift from Republican a real challenge posed by Andrew Rosenberg. to usually, if just barely, in the Democratic Moran can now look ahead to the fall, column. Moran got 48 percent of the vote in where his opposition will be divided three Madison. His best result was 95 percent in ways. Moran will face Republican J. Patrick _ÉÉ~|Çz yÉÜ Glebe, a heavily African-American precinct. Murray (who ran against Moran two years In the 8th District as a whole, there are ago), Independent Green Janet Murphy and yÉÄ~á ã|à{ zÉÉw 163 precincts and Moran took every one of independent Jason Howell. {tÇwãÜ|à|Çz Dollars for Democrats ($4Dems) is off Bumper Sticker on its annual quest for small dollar contribu- tions to the campaign. $4Dems makes an annual mailing to Democrats throughout the of the Month county from precinct captains to Democrats in their own neighborhoods. This is done the old-fashioned way—in envelopes that are hand-addressed! The campaign is looking for volun- teers—preferably with good handwrting—to take a box of a few hundred envelopes for addressing. This is a great way for folks who prefer to work at home to join in. If you are interested, just send an email to [email protected]. The $4Dems cam- paign is co-chaired this year by Karla Hagan, Jody Olson and Warren Nelson. ACDC Voice, July 2012, Page 4 Englin is Donkey Ears resigning Listening to the doings continued from page one announced that he would not run for re-elec- of Arlington’s Dems tion next year “in order to focus on rebuild- ing my marriage and my family.” At that time, as overheard by he left open the possibility that he would leave Dan Steen and Mädi Green the legislature before his term expires in Janu- ary 2014. On June 21, he announced his res- ignation, saying that rebuilding his marriage White House Meet-up: Charley Conrad was invited to the Gay Pride Reception at the “remains my highest priority.” David and White House in June. Once inside, he sauntered over to the East Room where he Shayna are now in the process of getting back saw the rope line by the podium was practically devoid of people. So Charley stood together. at the rope line about 10 feet from the podium and stayed there about 90 minutes. Englin acknowledged infidelity in April. The President arrived and spoke and then came down the rope line. “When he got to In his resignation announcement, he asked re- me, I told the President: ‘I’m a Neighborhood Team Leader over in Arlington.’ The spect for privacy. “We hope others understand President looked me right in the eye and said: ‘Thank you for that.’ The President and respect that leaving public life means liv- got a bit down the rope line, looked back at me and said: ‘We got to get Virginia’ and ing life more privately. We do appreciate the I looked back and said: ‘We are gonna get Virginia’.” Charley said he felt “as though kindness and support of so many well-wish- I got personal tasking from the President.” So fellow Democrats: We got to get ers, and we want you to know that this is a Virginia. glad occasion for our family as we look for- She’s Number One: Barbara Ratchford, who for long mothered the YDs at ward to a happy life as private citizens.” Yorktown High School, has been named Educator of the Year by the Arlington Two Democrats are thus far contesting Branch of the American Association of University Women (AAUW). Ratchford to succeed Englin: began her teaching career in Connecticut but switched to Yorktown when her • Rob Krupicka of Alexandria. He is a husband, Rep. Bill Ratchford, retired from the House and decided to stay in Arling- member of the Alexandria City Council. He ran last year for the nomination to the State ton. Both Ratchfords swiftly became active in local politics and helped make many Senate seat that was eventually won by Adam an ACDC event a success. Barbara retired at the end of the school term. She was Ebbin. After losing that primary, he an- remembered by Annie Minoff for all her help and back-stopping as Annie tried to get nounced he would not run for re-election this the Yorktown YDs up and going. “She was the perfect mentor,” Minoff recalled to year to the City Council. Donkey Ears, “always making sure the activities of the club were student directed, • Karen Gautney of Alexandria. She has but ready to step in and provide guidance when we needed it…. What sticks with me been endorsed by Englin. She was a law en- now about her—more than those lessons on Hawthorne and Dickinson—was the forcement officer with the Naval Criminal In- example she put before us every day of how to live passionately and ethically.” vestigative Service but was forced to resign This is puzzling: Will Shortz, The New York Times puzzle maven, appears every because she was a lesbian. She formerly Sunday morning on NPR and includes a puzzling challenge from a listener. Re- chaired the Alexandria Commission on Hu- cently, the puzzle came from Jack Lechner, son of Arlington’s Democratic blintz- man Rights. A consultant, she assists profes- maker and volunteer supremo Susan Lechner, who was featured in The Voice a few sionals working with lesbian, gay, bisexual months ago. Here’s Jack’s challenge: Name two different kinds of wool. Take the and transgender individuals, including police first five letters of one and the last three letters of the other, in order, and the result and other public safety officials. will be the first and last names of a famous actor. We see you scrunching up your th Englin’s 45 Delegate District is split brow right now. We wanted to wait until next month to give you the answer, but our among jurisdictions with 74 percent of the editors wouldn’t allow that. So here it is. Alpaca and merino give you Al Pacino. population in Alexandria, 18 percent in the Long distance record: Donkey Ears is used to getting emails from Democrats all over far southern tip of Arlington and 8 percent in the state. Arlington is known far and wide for its openness to Dem candidates. But Fairfax County. Five of Arlington’s 52 pre- we have now set a new long distance record. Recently our inbox was graced with a cincts are in Englin’s district. photo of Tulsi Gabbard, smiling brightly with a lei around her neck as she told us all Englin was first elected to the House in 2005 and was easily re-elected in 2007 and about her campaign for the a seat in Congress from Kapolei, Hawaii. And she even 2011. wished “mahalo” to all her contributors. Is that good?!? Passages: Mary Darner, the mother of former Delegate Karen Darner recently passed away in Arkansas. Until their health deteriorated in 2003, both mom and dad would come to Arlington every two years to help out with Karen’s re-election campaigns. Herselle Milliken had buttons made for them to sport, reading, “Karen’s Mom” and “Karen’s Dad.” After Karen retired from teaching four years ago, she was able to make many more trips to Arkansas and share more time and experiences with them both. ACDC Voice, July 2012, Page 5 Cry at J-J demands ‘turnout’ in November continued from page one Moran said, “I don’t think there’s ever been a political presence. But this year, as Kaine as stark a contrast. They want a survival of campaigns for the Senate, Holton has ap- ground state. “You are Ground Zero,” he told the fittest economy—but they aren’t the fit- peared as a powerful arrow in the Kaine cam- the audience. “It’s never been more impor- test!” paign quiver. tant to be a Democrat. It’s never been more The keynote address was given by Anne Anne and Tim met at Harvard Law important to be in . You Holton, wife of former Gov. Tim Kaine and School. “I knew right away he was the one— need to deliver for Barack Obama.” daughter of former Gov. Linwood Holton. but he was a bit slow,” she drawled. Rep. Jim Moran echoed the theme of She spoke extemporaneously in a soft south- When they married, Anne convinced Tim turnout, turnout, turnout. “We’re going to ern accent not often heard in Northern Vir- to come to Richmond. “I brought him home maximize the turnout and we’re going to get ginia. (She is from Roanoke.) as my trophy bride.” Barack Obama re-elected to the presidency Holton was not heard from in Kaine’s She says Tim “is the romantic in the fam- and Tim Kaine elected to the U.S. Senate. previous statewide campaigns for lieutenant ily. He has to remind me of our anniversary.” We’re going to get it done.” governor in 2001 and governor in 2005 be- Kaine has a reputation for working well Looking at the presidential choices, cause she was on the bench and could not be across party lines and seeking compromise and consensus. Anne said that was what brought Tim into politics to begin with in Richmond. “He got mad at the City Council for being divisive,” she said. As a member of the City Council, Kaine showed how good he was at working with The 2011 ACDC Volunteer Awards people of all views. “He’s pretty good at this Presented at the Jefferson-Jackson Dinner democracy thing,” Anne commented. “He’s June 8, 2012 very good at bringing people together.” Anne said Tim had not even thought about running for the Senate until announced his . Even then, it took Mary Marshall Outstanding Democrat constant urging from fellow Democrats to give it serious thought. Herschel Kanter They talked it over in the family. Their youngest daughter, Annella, bubbled over at the idea, Anne recalled. “She said, ‘I love Campaigner of the Year campaigning.’” But then Annella frowned a bit. “On the other hand, it’ll be my senior Lauren Hall year and I won’t have any time.” But Annella joins Mayor Ryback, Con- gressman Moran and Anne Holton in urging Herselle Milliken Precinct Captain of the Year all Arlington Dems to find the time this fall. Greg Zimmerman This year’s J-J was co-chaired by Vir- ginia Robinson and Atima Omara-Alwala with the help of committee members Char- Newcomer of the Year ley Conrad, John Grant, Mike Lieberman, Conor Marshall, Bree Raum, Cornelia Terry Belt Robinson, Barbara van Voorst and Bruce Wiljanen. The annual J-J is ACDC’s biggest Unsung Heroes fundraiser of the year as well as the occasion for recognizing the most outstanding of Bree Raum ACDC’s many outstanding volunteers. The list of this year’s awardees appears on this Conor Marshall page. Cornelia Robinson (The ACDC Finance Chair & Deputy Chairs) ACDC Voice, July 2012, Page 6

The 2012 Battleground Peggy Fisher dies at age 90 Peggy Fisher, widow of Rep. Joe Fisher, artist, political wizard, and chief of a tribe of seven kids, died June 7 at the age of 90, closing the book on a dramatic political duo that did much to make Arlington the mod- ern, diverse and caring community it is. Joe died in 1992 and Peggy later moved into Goodwin House, a Democratic bastion of a retirement community at Bailey’s Cross- roads. She was active to the very last, dining with friends and dissecting politics the last evening of her life. She fell ill the next morn- ing and passed away soon thereafter. Peg Lorenz, a party volunteer for de- cades and a fellow resident of Goodwin BATTLEGROUND – Here is our seventh battleground map, this House, noted that right to the end she showed one from Freedom’s Lighthouse, a very conservative group. It puts where she stood “by the array of Democratic stickers on her door.” Virginia in the battleground status, as have all the previous maps. Rep. Jim Moran, who now holds the seat This is a new map, updated on June 28. It agrees with The New York once held by Joe Fisher, lauded Peggy’s role Times’ map that we printed last month in that there are just nine in building modern Arlington. “We owe so battleground states. But there is one difference. The Times listed much of our economic progress and social inclusivity to the courage shown by a cadre of Pennsylvania as a battleground and Michigan as leaning Democratic. leaders who emerged half a century ago with a Freedom’s Lighthouse reverses that. There have been differences vision of the Arlington we enjoy today…. among the various maps we have printed on several states. But all of “Peggy Fisher was an indispensable fig- ure in that historical transformation. She was them have agreed that Virginia is a battleground. as strong as she was gentle, as resolute as she was tolerant, and as important as she was humble.” Margaret (Peggy) Winslow was born in Indianapolis in 1921. She met Rhode Islander Joe Fisher in Indianapolis on a blind date on New Year’s Day 1941. As with so many young people of that era, they had a romance expedited by the war and were married June 27, 1942. They had a year together, and one child, before the war sent Joe to Pearl Harbor unaccompanied, first to serve on the staff of Adm. Chester Nimitz and then as an editor of Stars and Stripes until the end of the war. They moved to segregated Northern Vir- ginia in 1947 when Joe became senior econo- mist with the President’s Council of Economic Advisers. In 1954, Joe moved to Resources for the Future, eventually becoming its presi- dent before he entered Congress in 1975. Both Fishers had grown up in staunchly continued on next page ACDC Voice, July 2012, Page 7 Dem matron Peggy Fisher active to end continued from previous page Peggy was a system master and a practitioner of economy. Her method of taking and re- Republican households, but their own views trieving coats from people attending events shifted markedly. in her home was masterful. Her dedication In Arlington, they gathered with other to reusing disposable plastic glasses and uten- Unitarians on arrival and helped found today’s sils for the next event extended to the point Unitarian Universalist Church of Arlington. where many a Kitchen Crew member Much of their social concern was expressed schemed to dispose of the ones that had seen through the church. And there was much to better days without her knowing. Oh, yeah, be done as those supporting and opposing she noticed.” segregation grappled with that great question Karen Darner served many years as a at mid-century. member of the House of Delegates from Ar- In 1996, Peggy said in an interview, “Joe lington. But when she first met the Fishers, often said he thought I was the political ani- “I was a novice in partisan politics. I first mal in the family. And I just really had a pas- worked through the teachers’ political action sion for it. I went to all the campaign parties, arm, APAC, for Joe Fisher in his primary for the debates, everything, and really got inter- Congress. I had no idea if he had a chance of ested in it.” winning. I just knew he was an amazing, wise, In the 1974 post-Watergate election, compassionate candidate, and he was a force- Fisher stunned Virginia by unseating Joel ful advocate for public education and educa- Broyhill, the Republican who had held the seat tors. And then he won! And I found out much for 22 years. His victory drew national atten- could be accomplished ‘one person at a time.’ tion. Then I met Peggy, and I understand how this While Peggy’s fascination with politics PEGGY FISHER duet made great music together, not only in never flagged, she still had time to focus con- politics, but in life. They shared so much of siderable attention on the arts. She taught . . . a toast to and from Dems their lives with all of us, and even more so painting and produced many works of her during each campaign.” own. She also wrote poetry and worked in- up the ladder to sit on the Fishers’ flat roof After Joe died and Peggy decided to defatigably on behalf of such groups as the and watch me. Peggy came out and I started move into Goodwin House, she asked Larry Arlington Symphony, Signature Theater and to apologize and she said, ‘That’s great…. Roberts, then ACDC chair, if he would like the Arlington Metropolitan Chorus. Teach her young to be adventurous!’ Em- to buy it. “She said she didn’t want the house Charlene Bickford, who chaired ACDC powering, it was. That was Peggy Fisher.” to go on the market but instead wanted to in Peggy’s and Joe’s active days, said, “She Sharon Davis was a YD when she got make sure it went to a ‘good Democrat.’ For- made sure that every detail relating to events to know the Fishers. “As a mother of seven, continued on next page in their home was planned by a committee and that the committee would meet in her liv- ing room one or more times. Even the New Year’s Day [gathering of Arlington Demo- PC HELP crats] was planned in those days!... She also made sure that women from the African- Want help with setting up, networking, upgrading, American community were included as part fixing, or just using your new or old PC? of the group that put on the party. She wanted to be sure that the community felt welcomed and included.” Affordable, personalized assistance. Madi Green was part of the original Evenings and weekends. Your home or office. “Kitchen Crew” that was assembled under Peggy’s aegis to provide munchies for Demo- cratic events. Madi commented that Peggy’s Ron Hicks DBA Systems That Work constant emphasis on organization was “the only way she could run a household of seven kids!” Email: [email protected] At 75, Peggy opted to have both knees replaced at the same time. Madi said, “She Website: www.systems-that-work.org attacked her rehab with such spirit that she was mobile in no time.” H/O: 703-528-1009 Cell: 571-217-9949 Jerry Long was much younger than Peggy. He had a home repair business and Arlington Chamber of Commerce did much work for Peggy. “My kid Cameron was three and with me one day and I took her ACDC Voice, July 2012, Page 8 Howell reveals the inside skinny on writing the commonwealth budget By Sen. Janet Howell ence process is always both fragile and vola- Most legislators dream of being a bud- tile. Let me try to give you a flavor of how get negotiator. We know that the state’s real budget conference works. priorities are set by the budget. How the The House of Delegates and Senate each taxpayer’s money is spent truly determines pass a version of the budget. As required by the direction Virginia will be taking. our Virginia Constitution, each budget is bal- For the past five years, it has been my anced. In many areas both sides have accepted honor — and deeply felt responsibility — to the proposals of the governor in his introduced serve as a Senate budget conferee. I am es- budget. In many other areas we have inde- pecially honored because I am the only pendently come up with identical or similar woman senator ever to be selected. improvements to his budget. We conferees This session, an unusually contentious don’t even discuss those topics. one, resulted in a budget being approved sev- However, the House and the Senate have eral weeks late. The whole budget confer- very different priorities and they are reflected in our budgets. Sometimes our priorities are in direct conflict. Sometimes we would like to fund the other house’s priorities but we cannot and still keep the budget in balance. Peggy Fisher The past several years have been especially difficult because we were cutting programs that we had championed in previous years. passes away So, who is making these final compro- mises? In the House of Delegates, the speaker HOWELL continued from previous page of the House names the budget conferees. . . . sole woman on committee tunately, I qualified.” Larry then continued This year there were seven of them and all for another decade the Fishers’ 30-year tradi- had been conferees in the past. Six were Re- but we must be prepared to “engage” the tion of a New Year’s open house for all Ar- publicans and one a Democrat. Sadly for those House negotiators on any topic. My assign- lington Democrats. of us in Northern Virginia, there were no con- ments this session were public safety, general In an interview that Peggy gave to Su- ferees from our region on the House side. This government, and judicial. However, I had to san Prokop in 1996 for The Roosevelt Soci- made it very difficult for the Senate to move be ready to participate in all areas — and was ety newsletter, Peggy made an observation our regional interests forward. The House actively engaged in transportation and health about politics that seems even more relevant negotiators simply are not interested. Most and human services. today: “You’ve got to have differing points of the House conferees are from rural parts of The heroes of the process are our staff. of view. You’ve got to have disagreements, the state. They are very conservative (and The Senate and House each has a staff of about people who are challenging. If you don’t have proud of it!) and have a limited understand- eight policy and fiscal analysts. Our Senate challenges, people get apathetic—and apathy ing of the challenges facing the cities and sub- staffers are totally non-partisan and profes- is far more dangerous than disagreement. And urbs. The chairman of Appropriations, Del. sional. They are the creme de la creme of state cynicism is just as dangerous as apathy. Cyni- Lacey Putney from Bedford, assigned the employees and we respect their expertise. cism casts an ugly light on something that can conferees to specific subject areas. We Senate negotiators and our staff view be quite beautiful.” In the Senate, the conferees are ap- ourselves as a team. We work together across She said politics is all about people. pointed by the chairman of Senate Finance, party and regional lines to promote our pri- “You’re doing things for people, with people Senator Walter Stosch. He is from Henrico orities. This approach has worked well for and by people. And I’ve always felt politics County in the Richmond suburbs. A highly Virginia under both Democratic and Repub- had a tremendous opportunity for people to regarded accountant, Sen. Stosch guides the lican control — and even when the Senate better the quality of their lives.” process. We are fortunate that he is so knowl- has a 20/20 split. A memorial service will be held Satur- edgeable and committed to working with both So how does it work? It is a slow, con- day, July 14 at 3 p.m. at the Unitarian Uni- parties. The Senate has eight conferees. Five voluted process. Lots of time is spent wait- versalist Church of Arlington, 4444 Arling- are Republicans and three of us are Demo- ing for proposals from the other side and de- ton Blvd at the intersection with George Ma- crats. We represent virtually all sections of veloping our own. We go up and down the son Drive. In lieu of flowers, donations may the state — and the three Democrats (Colgan, stairs between the House offices on the ninth be sent to the “UUCA Endowment fund,” Uni- Saslaw, and me) are all from Northern Vir- floor and the Senate offices on the tenth floor. tarian Church of Arlington, 4444 Arlington ginia. Sen. Stosch assigns us to specific ar- The press “bird-dogs” us, asking what the deal Blvd., Arlington VA 22204. eas of the budget so we can develop expertise continued on next page ACDC Voice, July 2012, Page 9 Howell opens door to budget negotiations continued from previous page tempers flare in another area. Tempers do flare. We all care deeply about is. They are fixated on when we will finish. certain areas or we wouldn’t have run for of- We give them generalities because nothing is fice in the first place. Watching our own pri- fixed until everything is fixed and it won’t be orities slashed by others is painful and we do finished until we agree to every item. get angry. Of course, sometimes the anger is We spend hours analyzing proposals and contrived. Over the years, you learn to “read” counter-proposals with our staffs. Slowly, the other conferees to know when they are painfully, we come to agreement on one item. sincere and when they are acting. Sometimes we “pair” items up as we Discipline is maintained overall because strategize to reach agreement on a priority of we must make the budget balance at the end STATE CAPITOL our own. Because we all serve as lead nego- of the process. But if one area must have ad- . . . making sausages tiators on several subject areas, just finding a ditional funding to agree, other areas must lose time we can all meet is very time consuming. funding. had received serious indications that the Sometimes we seem to have made a lot of The hot button topics this year were pub- McDonnell Administration would support at progress in one area, only to see it vanish as lic education (the Senate wanted more fund- least most of that sum. Then it reneged. ing than the House majority), capital projects So our Democratic caucus stopped the (the House majority did not want any debt), whole budget process for two days. Unfortu- Democratic Values in Action higher education (the Senate wanted more stu- nately, one Democrat then joined the Repub- dent aid), and human services (the Senate licans and we received nothing, as the Ad- wanted additional mental health and housing ministration had planned. I was disappointed services while the House supported more but also encouraged that my Democratic col- DVA is busy Medicaid waivers). There is not sufficient leagues from all over the state supported our funding to satisfy all these priorities. So we region. I was equally disappointed that Re- engaged in a protracted negotiation. publican Delegates from Northern Virginia brainstorming This year the entire budget process was did not support funding for Phase 2. brought to a halt over one item: funding for Next year I hope to be appointed again as Democratic Values in Action (DVA) has Phase 2 of Rail to Dulles. Sen. Herring and I a budget conferee. It is intense and exhaust- been holding brainstorming sessions through- had put in budget amendments for an addi- ing. But it is also exhilarating as I am able to out the month of June and will be sharing its tional $300 million to help fund Phase 2. We help craft the state’s priorities. plans for new and expanded programs as the summer progresses. In the meantime, DVA continued to sup- port the Arlington Food Assistance Center (AFAC) by eating dinner at Santa Fe Cafe in Learn all about that Rosslyn on Wednesday, June 27—AFAC re- ceived half of the proceeds of the evening. DVA’s monthly cereal and food dona- rightwing smart ALEC tions also continue, so please keep bringing cereal, canned food and other dry goods for ALEC isn’t the cute kid down the block; ALEC at work. AFAC. Donations are accepted at the it’s a group trying to influence how we live The forum is titled “Purchasing Democ- monthly ACDC meeting and the Second Sat- by “helping” legislators draft legislation with racy: The Role of ALEC in Writing Our urday Breakfast. Cereal is DVA’s single most a tilt to the far right agenda. Laws.” important contribution to AFAC. ALEC stands for American Legislative ALEC speaks of having more than 2,000 DVA is also collecting gently used men’s Exchange Council, a nice, professional- state legislators as members. But, more to long pants and long sleeve work shirts, work sounding and neutral name that obscures its the point, all but a few percentage points of gloves, work hats, bath towels and washcloths agenda. its funding comes from corporations, corpo- for the Arlington Street People Assistance On Thursday, July 12, Delegate Patrick rate trade groups and corporate foundations. Network (ASPAN). Hope will moderate a forum to discuss what Of the 104 legislators in leadership posts, only In addition, Arlington Doorways for ALEC is and does and how to grapple with it. one is a Democrat. Women and Families is seeking donations of The forum will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. The July 12 forum is free. It is spon- the following items: Pull-Ups Disposable at the National Rural Electric Cooperative As- sored by ACDC, the Fairfax County Demo- Diapers (size 2T-5T); paper towels; toilet pa- sociation (NRECA), 4301 Wilson Blvd, near cratic Committee and the Virginia AFL-CIO, per; and Safeway and Giant gift cards. the intersection with Glebe. NRECA is the site among others. For more information—and to give your of most of ACDC’s monthly meetings. There will be a live webcast at thoughts on future DVA activities—reach out The forum will include speakers from www.insidescoopproductions.com and ques- to DVA Chair Kim Klingler at (703) 489- Common Cause, People for the American tions may be filed online during the Q&A at 7408 or [email protected]. Way, the AFL-CIO and others who have seen [email protected]. ACDC Voice, July 2012, Page 10

The Campaign is here! No waiting! The fall campaign is in full swing—even though the summer just started! We have never been operating at this pace so early, but it’s essential to get the kind of turnout we need in North- ern Virginia to offset Republican numbers elsewhere in the statewide. Virginia is a battleground state—and the battle is well underway. You can help in many, many ways. We are registering new voters, running phone banks to identify Democrats, addressing fund-raising envelopes and much, much more. You can volun- teer for specific tasks like those, or you can help staff a headquarters with a myriad of jobs to be done. On this page, you will find a listing of current campaign operations along with contact infor- mation to sign up or find out more. Just click on the blue live links to send an email.

Phone banks Addressing Envelopes Obama for America (OFA) Phone Banks: This is our yearly Dollars for Democrats ($4Dems) On Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights fundraising effort that involves mailing hand-addressed letters at Obama Headquarters, 2408 Columbia Pike (at South Barton to Democratic voters. You need to have relatively neat hand- Street). 5:30-9:00 p.m. Contact Kip Malinosky at writing. The work is done from your own home. The enve- [email protected] or Charley Conrad at lopes will need to be done in July and August. Contact Warren [email protected] for more details. Nelson at [email protected]. Tim Kaine for Senate Phone Bank: Senior Outreach On Sunday nights at ACDC Headquarters: 2050 Wilson A great program that helped get seniors to vote early or Blvd. #200 (Enter behind Cosi Restaurant under yellow aw- absentee in 2008 is back for fall 2012. “Senior Outreach” is a ning) 5:30pm-8:30 pm. Contact Dan Broder at great opportunity for volunteers who need flex-time work from [email protected] or 203-887-1098. home. The work is to call senior voters and arrange for them to vote absentee by mail or to vote early in person. The transpor- Voter Registration tation piece will be provided by a separate Arlington volunteer We will give you some brief training on the law and what’s effort. If interested in volunteering, please e-mail Cragg Hines to be done. Then you staff a table in the open air to help pass- at [email protected]. Work will begin after Labor Day, but ersby sign up to vote. you can go on his list now. Courthouse Farmer’s Market - Saturday mornings. Contact Headquarters Staffing Kip Malinosky at [email protected] Tim Kaine for US Senate Information on volunteering for the Kaine campaign can Courthouse Metro - Wednesdays from 5-7pm. Contact Steve be found on their website www.kaineforva.com/get_involved Baker at [email protected] or 703-501-3471. or by contacting Dan Broder at [email protected] Rosslyn Metro - Fridays from 4-7pm. Contact Kip Malinosky Obama Campaign at [email protected]. The Obama campaign has an active schedule of almost daily activities from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. at their offices at 2408 East Falls Church Metro: Thursdays from 5 - 7pm. Contact Columbia Pike. Go to http://www.barackobama.com/. Scroll Alan Burke at [email protected] or 703-509-0829. down until you see “Take Action” on the right side. You can then sign up for a menu of activities. If you select “Dash- Westover Farmers Market: Sundays from 8 to noon. Volun- board” you can sign up for a neighborhood team, which is a teers are asked to work a one-hour shift. Contact Mary great way to get involved. (These are just getting started, but Detweiler at [email protected] we expect the membership to grow pretty rapidly). Alterna- tively, if you’re interested in finding one or two events, click Shirlington Library – Fridays from 4-6 p.m,. and Saturdays on “volunteer,” and enter your zip code to find a list of events 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Contact Charley Conrad at near you. Or e-mail Kristina Hagen at [email protected]. [email protected] or 703-835-6614.