Vol. 43, No 5 www.arlingtondemocrats.org May 2018 Read the messages from our two candidates for Kaine opponents brawling the nomination for In a GOP Senate primary debate, Corey hand is 24 times the funds the three GOPers have County Board on Page Stewart managed to lower the quality of the cam- combined. And they must spend their money on Five. paign to the nasty level—though his attack dog per- the primary. Kaine faces no primary opponent. sonality may not be selling well as he is being beaten Here are the fundraising figures from the FEC. in the fund-raising department by opponent Del. 1stQ COH Nick Freitas. Kaine 2,091,130 10,340,359 It appears the Republican establishment is unit- Freitas 343,712 251,694 ing behind Freitas, a two-term member of the House Stewart 219,952 140,502 of Delegates, in an effort to keep both Stewart and Jackson 137,078 35,495 Chesapeake preacher E.W. Jackson off the Novem- Kaine has so far raised $16 million toward what ber ballot. he expects will be a $25 million campaign in the In the first quarter of 2018, Freitas raised al- fall to retain the seat. And the likes of the Koch most as much as his two opponents combined and, Brothers and others are expected to pour money into as of March 31, had 140 percent as much on hand the GOP coffers after the primary. as his two opponents combined. The primary is The quality of the GOP primary campaign hit June 12. rock bottom in a public debate forum when Stewart DE FERRANTI CHOUN But the same Federal Elections Commission responded with outright nastiness after Freitas com- filing documents showed the entire GOP squad ut- plained that Stewart’s staff was mocking Freitas, terly buried by the fundraising of Sen. Timothy saying his name sounded like some meal for sale at Kaine. Kaine raised three times as much as the three a Taco Bell. Freitas is a Portuguese name. Republicans in the first quarter. And his cash on continued on page eight Watch the GOP candi- dates to Early primary voting underway oppose The primary election isn’t until June 12, but at the polls. First of all, it’s convenient because you Tim “in-person absentee voting”—informally known as pick the day. “early voting”—is already underway at the County Others miss voting on Election Day because Kaine as Building. they have a crunch at the office, were called out of they You can vote right now and avoid the crush on town or wake up ill. All that’s avoided by voting implode primary day—though, to be frank, there isn’t likely early. on Page to be a crush given that the only offices on the pri- Don’t forget to bring a photo ID. That is re- mary ballots in Arlington are the County Board quired by Virginia state law both for early voting One Democratic race between Chanda and on regular Election Day. Choun and Matt de Ferranti and the The law sets out 20 different three-way GOP race for the US Senate reasons that make you eligible to vote More congressional nomination. early. Don’t get lost in the weeds of Voting is on the third floor of the whether you are awaiting trial, on jury seats in Virginia appear Bozman County Building, 2100 duty or pregnant. Just write in 1C if to be up for grabs. See Clarendon Blvd, in the Registrar’s Office. you work outside Arlington . it all on The voting window is Monday through The application form takes 30 Page Six. Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Satur- seconds to fill out and then you vote by day, June 9, from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. filling in a paper ballot—but then insert- Note that there is no early voting on the Mon- ing it, not in a ballot box, but into one of the county’s day before Primary Tuesday, June 12, as the staff new scanners that count the votes. will be busy setting up the voting equipment in all You can also vote by mail if you prefer—and 54 precincts. The polls will also be closed Mon- don’t forget any kids away at college. An applica- day, May 28, for Memorial Day. tion for a mail-in ballot can be obtained on the Arlington Dems urge everyone who can to vote County webpage at: http://vote.arlingtonva.us/ab- early—even if there isn’t going to be any long line sentee/absentee-voting-ballot-application/ ACDC Voice, May 2018, Page 2 Report from Chair Jill Caiazzo Bringing back the joy at Blue Victory Dinner On Saturday, April 21, a record number It is not enough to tout the qualifications forefront of the gun violence prevention of Arlington Democrats turned out for our an- of our candidates or to cite their common movement — will carry the torch even fur- nual Blue Victory Dinner — and they were sense progressive policies — although we cer- ther. Don’t let cable news fool you: we can not disappointed! We were thrilled to wel- tainly can be proud of our thoughtful, forward- see the bright future; it is just within grasp. come U.S. Senator Tim Kaine and U.S. Con- looking Democratic leaders and their policy Take joy in that knowledge, and let it shine gressman Don Beyer — just days after the priorities. But we do them — and our voters through — for that is the key to touching souls launch of their reelection campaigns — as — a grave disservice if we do not rise above and to electoral success in November. well as seven of the eleven Democratic the mean-spiritedness of our current political My profound thanks go to the Blue Vic- women who flipped Virginia House of Del- climate and deliver the Democratic message tory Dinner co-chairs Meredith Sumpter and egates seats from red to blue last year: Hala with a renewed — and renewing — joy. In James Swindell, Finance Director (and new Ayala, Jennifer Carroll Foy, Karrie short, we must fill our work with the same dad!) Josh Katcher and the entire Blue Vic- Delaney, Wendy Gooditis, Elizabeth optimism and enthusiasm that built this great tory Dinner Committee: Maggie Davis, Guzman, Danica Roem, and Kathy Tran. country. Cristina Diaz-Torres, Chris Leyen, Ian The mood was electric! And we, Arlington Democrats, have ev- Nicholson, Kim Phillip, and Parisa Tafti. Reflecting on the evening, one thing is ery reason to be optimistic! We know that The evening was a triumph in so many ways; perfectly clear: Arlington Democrats are lead- our Democratic leaders — so many of whom but, most importantly, this inspiring team ush- ing the next stage of the Resistance — and are women º— can deliver the solutions that ered in the next stage of the Resistance. They this stage is focused on reigniting the joyful everyday Americans need. We know that our brought back the joy. Now it’s up to the rest optimism that built this great country. Indeed, inspiring students — who have been at the of us to pay it forward — to our voters. the joy was palpable at the Blue Victory Din- ner! Joy in celebrating our newly-elected Onward! women delegates, who herald a new era of Jill\ inclusiveness in our politics. Joy at the pros- pect of re-electing Senator Kaine, Congress- man Beyer, and School Board member Bar- bara Kanninen — each a fighter for common sense policies to meet our toughest challenges. And joy from seeing so many like-minded neighbors coming together and committing ourselves to making the Blue Wave of 2018 a reality — across the entire Arlington ballot and across the country. The joy that electrified the Blue Victory Dinner will be the lifeforce of the Blue Wave of 2018. In these uncertain and often chal- lenging times, Americans need to once again feel good about the outlook for our country. We need the joy that has been lost through prolonged economic uncertainty and the ac- tions of a callous and divisive president. We must remember this fundamental need on the campaign trail. JOY — For every voter we reg- ister, a smile. For every door we Published monthly by the knock on, a high five. For ev- Arlington County Democratic Committee ery call we make, a yahoo! 2001 Jefferson Davis Highway, Suite #604, Arlington VA 22202 Mailing address: P.O. Box 7132, Arlington VA 22207 Tel: (703) 528-8588 http://www.arlingtondemocrats.org Chair: Jill Caiazzo — [email protected] Editor-in-Chief: Warren L. Nelson —(703) 243-7867 (h), [email protected] Views expressed do not necessarily represent those of the ACDC unless expressly approved by an appropriate committee resolution Copyright ©2018, ACDC, All Rights Reserved ACDC Voice, May 2018, Page 3 Texas jails Next Monthly Meeting All Dems Invited woman five Wednesday, May 2, 7:00 p.m. NRECA Building, 4301 Wilson Blvd. years for Corner of North Taylor and Wilson, just east of Glebe and Wilson Free parking under building; enter from Taylor Street vote fraud The program for our May meeting will be a debate Texas has sentenced a woman to five between our two candidates for the County Board years in prison for trying to vote illegally. She nomination, Matt de Ferranti and Chanda Choun. The didn’t actually get to vote because the system debate will be moderated by Karen Nightengale, president detected that she was not registered and was not eligible to register.