Trio Named to Run the Joint

Vol. 38, No. 3 www.arlingtondemocrats.org March 2013 Trio named to run the Joint

Strike up the band! ACDC has named the mu- electing local Democrats, but rather generating as sically minded trio of Aimee Dawson, Paul Ashin big a margin as possible for the three Democrats and Mary Hynes as the co-chairs of the 2013 Joint running statewide to offset the GOP majority down- Campaign dedicated to taking back the state state. government’s three statewide posts, now all in GOP Here is an introduction to the trio who are run- hands. ning this year’s Arlington Joint Campaign. Traditionally, the Joint Campaign is headed by Aimee Dawson, 32, seems to have had trouble For a great time, don’t one elected official and two activists. And this time, avoiding politics since infancy. Her grandmother all the co-chairs are dedicated musicians. You might is addicted to political news and Aimee inherited miss the annual AYD call them musical chairs—with Paul on keyboard, the gene to stay glued to C-SPAN. Grandmother Date Auction. Mary on bass and Aimee on guitar. It gives a whole also pens frequent personal notes to Bill Clinton new level of meaning to “Happy Days Are Here and Nancy Pelosi. See Page 11. Again!” Aimee’s parents are both 60s’ liberals who re- The Joint Campaign operates countywide and served Saturday mornings during her grammar runs those parts of the campaigns from governor to school days for long breakfasts with discussions of School Board that can most effectively be done politics and current events. jointly. Every candidate still runs his or her own Aimee started her politics in kindergarten when The ACDC meeting campaign, arranging door-to-door visits, speeches she ran for and won the post of class rep. She held for March has been and literature on their own. elected office in her various schools every year alter Reed But many things are better handled as a joint through her master’s degree—except one. As a high moved to W effort. The most obvious part of the Joint Cam- school freshman, she lost the class presidency to . paign is the Democratic Messenger, the newspaper the football hero she had a crush on. Community Center that is hand delivered door-to-door during the fall In middle school, she bragged to her classmates Directions and campaign and that carries messages from every can- that her mother let her skip school to go see Bill didate. Clinton at a 1992 campaign stop. In high school, meeting details Other efforts, such as a registration drive, con- she joined her first non-class campaign—leafleting on Page 3. tacts at Metro stops and the get-out-the-vote push, for a penny increase in the sales tax to fund the Or- are also handled under the Joint Campaign umbrella. lando, Florida, public schools. But in a GOP com- As with last year, the challenge this year is not continued on page seven McAuliffe coming to Breakfast

We’re putting some more lington Dems and have lots of eggs in the frying pan because time in which to answer questions Terry McAuliffe will be the from the crowd. guest at the next Second Satur- This will also be the third day Breakfast on March 9 at 8:30 anniversary of the Second Satur- a.m. day Breakfasts, so splash some The Busboys and Poets in extra maple syrup on your Shirlington is putting us in the waffles, if you like. Calling all Dems to BIG room this time so there will Also, please remember to be plenty of space. And it’s laid bring cash. Charley Conrad will help clean up the on an extra supply of eggs, ba- be back from his hospital stay to Potomac Watershed. con, pancakes and all the fixins. have his gall bladder excised, and McAuliffe is the sole candi- you can help him recover by hav- See Page 11 date to file so far for the Demo- ing cash for him to pay the bill, cratic nomination for governor which is likely to be quite large this year. He will speak to Ar- this month. ACDC Voice, March 2013, Page 2

Report from Chairman Mike Lieberman The right to vote

Last month, the Virginia House of Del- that rehabilitative journey, we still are not pre- fore him. But one-off restorations are sim- egates killed in committee a bill to provide pared as a society to restore to them the most ply not enough. For us to do our duty as a an automatic restoration of voting rights to fundamental of rights – the right to vote? It society, restoration of voting rights should non-violent felons who have served their time tells them that they are not really welcome in be automatic, and that will require a legisla- and debt to society. The bill had passed the society, even though the law has told them tive fix. Virginia Senate 30-10. It had the support of they have paid for their crimes in full. I genuinely believe that public opinion Governor Bob McDonnell and Attorney Gen- This serves the counterintuitive purposes on this issue has evolved, and that automatic eral Ken Cuccinelli. And yet still, the House of encouraging frustration, and in the process, restoration of voting rights would be approved of Delegates would not even bring the bill up recidivism – the very evil a rehabilitative sys- if given the opportunity for a straight up or for a vote before the whole House. tem is designed to prevent. down vote. It is somewhat ironic that the right The right to vote is the foundation of our In Virginia, more than 451,000 individu- to vote is being denied to so many because democracy. All rights and freedoms flow from als are denied the right to vote today due to a our House of Delegates is not willing to vote our ability to select leaders to represent us. prior felony conviction. This is roughly 7.3% on this fundamental policy issue. Denial of voting rights to felons who have of the roughly 6.14 million voting age indi- If we aspire to be a society that truly served their time runs directly counter to this viduals in our Commonwealth. Perhaps more believes in the possibility of rehabilitation, we foundational principle. telling, nearly one in five black Virginians are should treat rehabilitated persons just like the In school, we teach our children that the denied the right to vote because of this policy. rest of us. That includes affording those indi- purpose of the criminal justice system is re- Can we really say that we have a democracy viduals the rights and privileges that come habilitation. And indeed, the probation sys- representative of the people when we have with being a citizen of our great country – tem in this country is ostensibly set up to pro- disenfranchised such a large segment of our and first among them is the right to vote. vide rehabilitative services to individuals who population? have served their time so they are ready to To give credit where credit is due, Gov- rejoin the ranks of law-abiding society. ernor McDonnell has been a leader on this What message does it send, then, that issue, restoring the voting status of more con- after convicted individuals have completed victed felons than any Virginia governor be- Precinct Ops heads out Jerry Botland Computer Consulting for retreat Troubleshoot and resolve computer and Arlington precinct captains will be at- computer related problems. tending a retreat this month to hone their skills Perform upgrades, set-up wireless routers and print servers. for the upcoming statewide elections. With 104 captains now on the rolls, the Transfer old files, address book and emails retreat has been divided into two events so it from an old computer to a new one. won’t be too crowded. Captains can attend Phone: (703) 933-0558 — [email protected] either Wednesday evening, March 13, at Walter Reed Community Center, or Saturday morning, March 16 at the Fairlington Com- munity Center. The retreat will cover the nitty-gritty of Published monthly by the how to conduct such precinct operations as Arlington County Democratic Committee voter identification, i.e., finding out who the 2050 Wilson Blvd., Suite 200, Arlington VA 22201 (enter at rear) Democrats are, registering the unregistered, P.O. Box 7132, Arlington VA 22207 recruiting volunteers to deliver the Messen- Tel: (703) 528-8588 Fax: (703) 528-2321 ger in the fall and building whole teams of http://www.arlingtondemocrats.org volunteers. Chair: Mike Lieberman —(703) 408-3940 (h), [email protected] There are still about a dozen captain slots Editor-in-Chief: Warren L. Nelson —(703) 243-7867 (h), [email protected] remaining unfilled. Anyone interested in be- Deputy Editor: Eric Wiener — (703) 524-6899 (h), [email protected] coming a captain—or learning more of what Views expressed do not necessarily represent those of the ACDC is involved—is urged to contact Kip unless expressly approved by an appropriate committee resolution Malinosky, the chair of Precinct Operations, Copyright ©2013, ACDC, All Rights Reserved at [email protected]. ACDC Voice, March 2013, Page 3 Pollster is Next Monthly Meeting discounting Special All Dems Invited location--just Wednesday, March 6, 2013, 7:00 p.m. this month own poll (AGAIN) Walter ReedNRECA Community Building, Center 4301, 2909Wilson 16th Blvd Street South Corner (locatedof North T twoaylor blocks and W eastilson, of just Glebe east ofRoad Glebe and & Wilson Free parking under building, enter from Taylor Street that shows a one block east of Walter Reed Drive) tight race For this month’s program, we will hear The latest Quinnipiac Poll shows Demo- from Robert Levinson of Bloomberg Gov- crat Terry McAuliffe and Republican Ken ernment, who will describe sequestration Cuccinelli locked in a dead heat at 38 percent each in a two-man race. and its impact. Levinson is a retired Air But that still leaves a quarter of the elec- Force lieutenant colonel who has also torate up in the air—and those are the people worked for Booz Allen Hamilton. the campaign now underway will be aimed at. Since neither McAuliffe nor Cuccinelli faces primary opposition, the fall campaign is already underway—and it’s still winter! As we reported last month, a Quinnipiac Bolling drawing many votes from The bottom line is that the campaign will poll taken just after New Year’s Day showed McAuliffe, but nowhere near as many as matter. the two men in a dead heat then. That poll from Cuccinelli. Bolling will announce his decision on also asked how voters would cast their bal- Still, even Quinnipiac played down the whether or not to run in mid-March. lots if Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling entered the race relevance of its own poll. Peter Brown, the Those polled were also split evenly on as an independent. With Bolling in, the poll Quinnipiac pollster, said, “When asked about the question of whether Cuccinelli should re- still showed a dead heat, which was counter- the candidates, most voters don’t know sign from office to run. The last six state at- intuitive since Bolling is a Republican and enough about Terry McAuliffe or Lt. Gov. Bill torneys general who ran for governor all re- could be expected to draw more from Bolling to have an opinion and barely half signed from that post when they became can- Cuccinelli than McAuliffe. know enough about Attorney General Ken didates. Cuccinelli has said he will not do so. The latest poll, taken in mid-February, Cuccinelli to form an opinion—this despite The poll showed 44 percent saying he should shows a three-way race giving 34 percent the fact that Bolling and Cuccinelli have been resign and 43 percent saying he should stay to McAuliffe, 31 percent to Cuccinelli and elected to statewide office and McAuliffe ran in office. 13 percent to Bolling. That still shows for governor four years ago.” Arlington’s Mike Signer has filed a free- dom of information act request with the AG’s office demanding release of his travel records, his schedule and his communications with campaign staff to see if he is using state time Bumper Sticker and resources for his campaign. of the Month

BOLLING McAULIFFE ACDC Voice, March 2013, Page 4 Atima runs for national Donkey Ears Listening to the doings YD president of Arlington’s Dems

Arlington’s Atima Omara-Alwala is as overheard by running for national president of the Young Dan Steen and Mädi Green Democrats of America. Atima has worked in ACDC and also in Young Democrats since 2004. For the last Recovering: Jack-of-all-trades Charley Conrad has been sidetracked, but only two years, she has been vice president of the briefly, by a troublesome gallstone. It seems that in January, just before the national YD organization. monthly Dem breakfast, some obviously Republican-minded gallstone In announcing her candidacy, Atima said, decided to take a trip through Charley’s pancreas. The solution for perma- “No other youth organization has what we nently barring any future such trips was to have his gall bladder removed, have across the country. We must invest and which duly happened February 13. This is now an outpatient procedure. empower our membership to not only elect Democrats, but to be advocates for our iden- Charley reports he was in Arlington Hospital less than six hours, “The surgeon tified issues.... put four little holes in my belly and sucked the gall bladder right out of me,” “We can and should own the market in he writes. Charley thanks all the Dems who checked in on him and offered training young leaders to serve on campaigns, help. “It is nice to know our ACDC family is there for you when most run for office and be effective progressive ad- needed.” vocates in government and their communities.” Equal rights for harpooners: With tongue firmly in cheek, Mark Habeeb, Atima, 31, was born in Providence, Yorktown precinct captain, founder of Blue Families and generally cheeky Rhode Island, the daughter of two African immigrants. She was reared in Richmond and fellow, has founded the National Harpoon Association (NHA) to protect and graduated from UVa before moving to Arling- defend the rights of all of America’s sterling harpoon gun owners. Mark ton, where, among other things, she was field makes the following emotional appeal for our second amendment rights: “We director for Jim Moran’s 2010 re-election support open carry of harpoon guns and oppose requiring harpoon purchasers campaign. to undergo potentially embarrassing background checks. And we believe Her first political memory is of her there would be fewer whale attacks on our schools if K-12 teachers were school’s mock political election in 1988, when allowed to carry harpoon guns. Please join us so that we can stop President she was seven years old. She says her political mentors are Nelson Mandela, who emerged Obama from carrying out his secret agenda to confiscate your harpoon gun, from prison without rancor or bitterness against leaving you and your family defenseless against whale mobs!” Comments on those who imprisoned him, and Hillary Clinton Mark’s Facebook posting include, “Many of the whales are here illegally, for her wisdom and “level of steel.” too.” The YDA will elect its next president for Still at work: It’s true that Mary Margaret Whipple retired from the State a two-year term at its convention in San An- Senate more than a year ago, but she’s still active. She will be the keynote tonio August 9-11. speaker March 16 at the state gathering in Richmond of the League of Women Voters of Virginia. Passages: On February 16, Val Kitchens, who was a conservationist, birder and advocate for women’s rights as well as a long time Dem volunteer, passed away under hospice care at Arlington Hospital. One Dem recalled being approached by Val and recruited for precinct work the very day she was unloading the moving van to settle down in Arlington. When Val was out of town, she made a point of recruiting neighbors to keep her bird feeders full. She received an MA in international affairs from GW in 1964. She is sur- vived by her children, Jeff, living in Montana, and Sharon, living in Maine, and two grandchildren. Atima Virginia grows faster: In the two years after the 2010 Census was taken, Omara- Virginia’s population is estimated to have grown 2.3 percent, outpacing the Alwala national average of 1.7 percent. There are now 8.2 million Virginians. The bulk of the growth is in Democratic areas—Northern Virginia, Hampton Roads and the Capital Region. ACDC Voice, March 2013, Page 5

The Cooch Corner—Keeping watch on our AG Thumbs up for pot; thumbs down for pools; thumbs akimbo for reason

It’s okay with Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli drew a distinction on hard drugs, worried about that. Cuccinelli if the state government legalizes saying he’d never waver on them. “This book wasn’t written for politics. pot, but he wants to close all public pools be- “There’s a libertarian streak to It wasn’t written for a governor’s race. It was cause that is not a proper function of govern- Cuccinelli’s conservatism, just as there is in written because we believe the government ment. the Tea Party generally,” Sabato said. “Not continues to burden and attack liberty, and we These are just two of the policy positions on all issues, of course — abortion being a need to push back,” Cuccinelli said in an in- the AG has staked out that have political ana- prominent one.” terview with The Associated Press. lysts—and, hopefully, voters—dumbfounded. So far, Cuccinelli’s marijuana remarks Among the passages drawing the most Joe Scarborough, a far-right Republican have gone largely unnoticed by the media attention are those dealing with federal safety and host of the national radio show “Morn- that’s been combing his new book, “The Last net programs. ing Joe,” has been scathing about Cuccinelli. Line of Defense,” for spicy excerpts. “These programs make people depen- “This is a guy that has said more things that One that’s received little attention is his dent on government,” Cuccinelli writes. “And will offend the voters in swing elections than writings about public pools and recreation once people are dependent, they feel they is humanly possible,” Scarborough said Feb- centers. can’t afford to have the programs taken away, ruary 26, seemingly casting Cuccinelli into Cuccinelli sees such facilities as an ex- no matter how inefficient, poorly run or costly the animal kingdom. ample of improper public sector involvement to the rest of society.” Scarborough is a former GOP congress- in the physical fitness marketplace that crowds In a written statement, Republican Lt. man from Florida and knows something about out private business because “government Gov. Bill Bolling, said, “I don’t think it’s smart campaigning. doesn’t need to be as concerned about losing or productive to make comments that could Cuccinelli is firmly against public pools money on the venture.” be interpreted as criticizing everyone who re- and recreation centers. He considers them to “After all, it could just raise taxes when ceives a benefit from government. Not every be improper interference by government that it needed to cover the losses that would in- government program is bad, and not every- undercuts private business investments in evitably occur,” he wrote on page 240 of his one who receives a government benefit is profit-making fitness centers. book. dependent on government.” As for marijuana initiatives, a story by Cuccinelli said, “Citizens’ liberty once He concluded: “I just don’t think Mr. Charlottesville-area station NBC 29 reports again finds itself reduced to a smaller and Cuccinelli’s ideas are consistent with what a he told a UVa audience he’s not against states smaller sliver of the liberty pie” due to majority of Virginians believe.” experimenting with the legalization of mari- government’s ability to crowd out private eco- Cuccinelli said critics are misinterpret- juana. nomic activity. ing his position. “The recipients of these pro- The Cavalier Daily, the UVa. student In “The Last Line of Defense,” a major grams is [sic] not what we’re addressing,” he newspaper, said Cuccinelli took on the topic theme is that the federal government and said. “Politicians try to use these programs in response to a student’s question. “I’m not President Obama’s Administration — which for political advantage, and it isn’t just for the sure about Virginia’s future [in terms of mari- he labels “the biggest set of lawbreakers in positive ends of the program.” juana legalization],” the newspaper quoted America” — are eroding individual liberties In the interview, Cuccinelli stepped back Cuccinelli saying. “But I and a lot of people and exceeding constitutional boundaries. just a bit, suggesting the criticisms have made are watching Colorado and Washington to see He says politicians use programs such their mark. “I think there’s a general consen- how it plays out.” as Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid to sus government should help those who, for a Cuccinelli’s marijuana comments sur- trap people into a cycle of government de- variety of reasons, are unable help themselves prised UVa political science professor Larry pendency to boost their own power rather than for a period of time. We can all debate how Sabato, whose class Cuccinelli addressed. to try to help them. much and how to do it and the mechanics of Sabato said, “Cuccinelli stressed he wouldn’t Many Republicans like Scarborough say it, but that’s not what we’re challenging in be recommending changes anytime soon. But such comments provide fodder for opponents this book. What we’re challenging is he praised states such as Colorado for experi- to use against him. Cuccinelli said he’s not government’s apparent ready willingness to menting with marijuana legalization, saying take a program— pick a program — and over- this was federalism in action. He said twice step its boundaries to expand its own power.” his views were ‘evolving’ on the subject.” In his book, the prime example underly- “The students were as surprised as I ing Cuccinelli’s theme of federal overreach was,” Sabato added, observing that based on is Obama’s health care law. Cuccinelli devotes their reactions, Cuccinelli’s “views made him a good portion of the first half of the book to more appealing to them.” recounting Virginia’s lawsuit and a similar Sabato surmised a semi-libertarian ap- challenge by several other states, which re- proach on marijuana policy could help Re- sulted in a 5-4 U.S. Supreme Court ruling publicans attract younger voters, adding that upholding the law. ACDC Voice, March 2013, Page 6 DREAM Act moves step closer to passage

By Alfonso Lopez his legislative package (HB 1525) – and I Virginia House of Delegates became the Chief Co-Patron of the bill. My Mom spent most of her career work- I am proud to say that this year HB 1525 ing with immigrant and ESOL/HILT students made it further than at any other time. In- in the Arlington County public school system. deed, over the several years since the bill was As a direct result of her tireless efforts on their originally introduced it had never passed out behalf, over 1,000 students, who could have of a House Subcommittee. been forgotten, graduated from high school Despite that history, after working day and were able to pursue higher education. and night to lobby members and bringing to- She understood that Virginia could be gether a broad coalition of business groups, serving its immigrant student population bet- universities (incl. UVA, Virginia Tech, and ter. George Mason), school systems, religious She also understood the unique chal- groups, educators, and immigrant rights or- lenges and needs of undocumented students ganizations, this session the bill was passed in our community. In most cases, these chil- unanimously out of the House Education Sub- dren are undocumented through no fault of committee and then passed by a vote of 17-4 their own. Brought here as infants, toddlers in the full House Education Committee. or children, they know no other country but Even with these positive outcomes and the U.S. and no other home but Virginia. a negligible budgetary impact, the bill was Under the law, we educate all students referred to the House Appropriations Com- from kindergarten through 12th grade. Every mittee with only 18 hours to go before Cross- year, a number of talented undocumented stu- over (the time when all House and Senate leg- dents (including valedictorians), who work islation must be completed before it is sent to hard and play by the rules, graduate from high the other chamber). The House Republican school in Virginia. LOPEZ Leadership did this in order to kill it. After These Virginia students, however, may . . . pushing legislation several meetings, the House Appropriations not receive in-state tuition. At best, they may Committee refused to take up the bill prior to be able to take their talent and our significant Commonwealth. Indeed, if we exclude some the Crossover deadline. investment in their K-12 education to another of our best and brightest students from Vir- Although the bill has been defeated this state (many will never come back) where they ginia schools, we not only hurt their chance year, I am very proud of the progress made may receive full or partial tuition scholarships. at success, we weaken the future success of on this legislation. This was a major step for- At worst, they may decide to drop out of high the Commonwealth as a whole. ward for Virginia’s immigrant community. school because college is an unrealistic goal. Last year, the Virginia DREAM Act was I’m also excited about our prospects for This may have horrible, long-term, unin- the first bill I introduced and I introduced it next year. For example, two weeks after the tended fiscal consequences for the social again this year (HB 1934). I also introduced bill failed, Carlos Campo, the president of safety net and other community costs. similar legislation (HB 2159) that took into Regent University, met with me in my office Virginia should be joining other states account President Obama’s Department of to tell me that he wants to actively support such as Texas, Kansas, Illinois, Utah, Ne- Homeland Security Deferred Action Plan. HB the legislation going forward. These kinds of braska, New York, Washington and Oklahoma 2159 stated that an undocumented person in meetings make me incredibly optimistic. in passing the DREAM Act (Development, the United States may be eligible for in-state I remain strongly committed to seeing Relief and Education for Alien Minors) and tuition if he or she has been approved for that these undocumented students are given opening this narrow window of opportunity Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals by the the opportunity to continue their education. for students. These States understand that U.S. Department of Homeland Security; has With that in mind, I will continue to fight for encouraging college access and opportunities graduated from a public or private high school the Virginia DREAM Act every year until it reduces high school dropout rates, increases in Virginia or received a GED certificate; and becomes the law of the Commonwealth. revenue, and saves long-term costs for the has begun the process of becoming a community. citizen. Students must also prove Virginia has already made a tremendous their residency and that they or a fam- investment in the primary and secondary edu- ily member has filed Virginia income cation of undocumented students. Allowing tax returns. them the opportunity to earn in-state tuition This year I worked closely with for higher education will ensure that Virginia Delegate Tom Rust of Herndon, the keeps its best and brightest students so that chair of the House Higher Education they can continue to contribute to the Com- Subcommittee, on this issue. Del- monwealth. This is not just the right thing to egate Rust had voted against the do morally for these students, who are here at DREAM Act in the past, but changed no fault of their own, but it’s also the eco- his position on the legislation this nomically prudent, pro-growth choice for the year. We combined my two bills into ACDC Voice, March 2013, Page 7 Musical trio runs 2013 Joint Campaign

continued from page one munity where low taxes trump solid services, it lost. As a freshman at Indiana University, Aimee met the president of the Young Demo- crats Club, Marc Kelly. He is now her husband. In ACDC, he was previously finance chair and campaign manger for Jay Fisette. Aimee was born in Bloomington, Indi- ana, reared in Orlando, then returned to Bloomington for college, and moved to Ar- lington fresh out of college in 2003 to work for the National Conference for Community and Justice. Then it was off to the University of Chicago for a master’s in public policy, a DAWSON ASHIN HYNES third stint in Indiana, and a return to Arling- . . . on guitar . . . on keyboard . . . on bass ton. She has worked for Deloitte Consulting since 2007. he joined USAID and came to Arlington in after having seven kids, that didn’t appear be While in college in 2000, she interned 1994. He shifted among various Washington a respectable line of work. So she turned four for NBC News at both political conventions. jobs for awhile, but has been with the Inter- of her kids, including Mary, into a band. Mary Part of her assignment there was to be go- national Monetary Fund since 2004 battling played bass. The band made it to the finals at kart driver for Jon Stewart and Andrea money laundering and working on counter- the Minnesota State Fair one year in the early Mitchell. From this experience, she learned terrorist financing efforts. 1970s. three things: that “Jon Stewart is a very short His wife, Carol, is still in academia as Mary was born in Ames, Iowa, but reared man,” that “Andrea Mitchell means some chair of the history department at Georgetown in Minnesota and got her BA in textiles from pretty serious business,” and that “I was far University while son Mark is a junior at the College of St. Benedict in that state. more engaged in what was going on inside Georgetown Day School. She came to Washington in 1977 after the convention hall and less interested in the Paul first got involved in anti-machine graduating to work for one of Minnesota’s media angles.” politics in Chicago with Abner Mikva in the senators, Wendell Anderson. But she soon Aimee is now ACDC’s program chair, late 1960s. His first precinct work was around went into education—running a pre-school, setting up the programs that are offered at each 1971 when he was tapped to persuade a pre- becoming a classroom teacher and later an of the monthly meetings. cinct filled with white ethnic steelworkers on itinerant music teacher. But for the last two When away from Deloitte and the Dems, Chicago’s Southeast Side that a black Meth- years, the County Board and Metro Board and Aimee plays guitar and writes her own songs. odist minister would be a great alderman for related positions have become a full time job. At one time, she used to do the open mic cof- them. They didn’t agree. In her free time, she still plays the bass. fee shop circuit. After he moved to Arlington, he was re- And five kids, even though they are all grown, Paul Ashin, 59, comes from a truly po- cruited by the late Maury Flagg to be a co- still consume a lot of time. litical family. Both of his paternal grandpar- captain of their precinct and has moved from Her husband, Patrick, used to work in ents were anti-tsarist activists in Russia, mem- one activity to another in ACDC since then, the Senate cloakroom and helped to provide bers of the social-democratic Menshevik party mostly in Precinct Ops, despite his Chicago a lot of information about Lyndon Johnson’s that split with Lenin’s camp, the Bolsheviks. experience. arm-twisting techniques to Robert Caro for Paul’s grandmother was tossed into prison in When not IMFing or ACDCing, Paul two volumes of his biography of LBJ. 1905 when she was found smuggling social- spends a lot of his time in bars and nightclubs. Mary started out in politics her junior ist pamphlets under her skirt—perhaps the That’s because he plays keyboard and har- year in high school when she ran for Girls’ family’s first involvement in a lit drop. monica with the band “Nobody’s Business.” State delegate and won—by one vote. When she got out of jail, she headed A bunch of Dems heard them play at this In Arlington, she started out as a poll straight for New York, where she met Paul’s year’s “Grassroots Gala” at the State Theatre. greeter in Lyon Village and then ran and won granddad in the emigre political movement. And that music brings us to the third co-chair a School Board seat in 1994, the first year When the czar was overthrown in 1917, of the Joint Campaign. elective boards were re-established. (They granddad went back to join the revolution. His Mary Hynes, 57, is a long-time School were abolished decades earlier to prevent sup- wife was pregnant with Paul’s dad and couldn’t Board member and now County Board mem- porters of integration from winning seats.) go. Granddad was never heard from again. ber. She comes from a very musical family. Mary has worked on many Joint Cam- Paul was born and reared in Chicago So, with Aimee, Paul and Mary together, do paigns over the years and was a co-chair along before heading off to Princeton. After a not be surprised if they suddenly break out with Peter Rousselot and the late Charles master’s and a doctorate from Stanford, he with “Blowin’ In The Wind.” Monroe in 2001, which was also a guberna- settled into life as college professor (of Rus- Mary’s mom always wanted to be a caba- torial election year. Mark Warner won that sian history, wouldn’t you know). But then ret singer, sort of what Paul is doing. But year. ACDC Voice, March 2013, Page 8 Only voting ‘reform’ to pass is photo ID

Virginia now The Republican three-part assault among five 1—Redraw State Senate boundaries to reduce the number of seats Democrats can win. DIED strictest states 2—Tighten voting rules to make it harder for voters to qualify to cast ballots. PASSED The General Assembly faced a huge 3—Change the Electoral College system. DIED number of bills dealing with voting this session. The overwhelming majority of those— whether pushed by conservatives or liberals— were defeated. Only a solitary bill made it to and the boundaries were drawn in 2011 added victory from the jaws of defeat. the governor’s desk. But it would make Vir- to the discomfort of many. But the public uproar over that pro- ginia only the fifth state in the nation to re- In the end, House Speaker William J. posal—including from many Republicans— quire citizens to produce a photo ID before Howell, a Republican, ruled that the Senate was too much and the bill was quietly they can cast a ballot—the toughest standard boundary legislation, which had been passed euthanized. in the nation. as an amendment to a House bill, was not Perhaps the issue of greatest interest was Last year, Gov. Bob McDonnell opposed germane to the underlying bill, as required. that the General Assembly did absolutely a photo ID requirement, pushing the General That automatically stripped the Senate lan- nothing to address the long lines that so many Assembly to adopt a complex bill that allowed guage out of the bill without any vote in the voters complained of last November. Even all sorts of papers to be used to establish the House, which has a huge GOP majority. non-controversial bills were defeated. identity of a voter, including even a recent Howell said he was pressured by mem- One bill would have extended voting utility bill. That legislation also required that bers of his party to let the amendment pass hours so more people could have voted after the state spend about $2 million to mail out muster, but he felt bound to uphold the honor work. new voter cards to every registered voter in of House rules that make speakers the guard- Another—supported by most city and the state. ians of legislative integrity and fair play. county registrars—would have allowed any But those cards are made worthless by House Clerk G. Paul Nardo assembled senior citizen to vote early simply based on the new legislation, which will accept only all the germaneness rulings Howell had made age. The registrars said many senior citizens an ID issued by a government agency and since becoming speaker in 2003. Howell said cannot come inside polling stations and must carrying a photo of the holder. That makes a he studied them before ruling. “I’ve tried to vote at curbside. That requires voting staff to driver’s license eligible as well as a passport— be pretty consistently tight in my interpreta- take voting materials out to the curb. A great and in Virginia a concealed carry permit will tions,” he said. deal of time is devoted to that one voter. The also make you eligible to vote. The third piece of legislation being pro- result is often that there are too few staffers Currently, only four states have photo ID moted on the Republican side would change inside and the voting process slows down. requirements in force: Georgia, Mississippi, the way Electoral College votes are counted. That legislation died. Tennessee and Kansas. That puts Virginia up Right now, in 48 of the 50 states—all but Other bills would have permitted any- there at the top in terms of the strictness of its Maine and Nebraska—all of a state’s electoral one in the state to vote early without having law. votes go to the candidate who received a ma- to provide any justification. Those bills got The voter ID bill that passed and went jority of the popular vote in the state. Repub- nowhere. to the governor was the toughest and most licans expressed irritation that this meant Another surprising death awaited a bill restrictive voter ID legislation that was intro- President Obama, who received 51 percent to allow felons who were convicted of non- duced in either chamber. of the popular vote in Virginia, got 100 per- violent crimes and who have completed their But GOP legislators pushed two other cent of the electoral votes. sentences to have their voting rights restored efforts to try to throttle Democratic voters, as The proposed legislation would assign automatically. Gov. McDonnell supported the listed in the accompanying box. Both of them the electoral vote of each congressional dis- bill. Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli sup- died. trict to the candidate with the majority of the ported the bill. Democrats overwhelmingly One would have redrawn State Senate vote in that district and the two other elec- supported the bill. boundaries to cram more Democratic voters toral votes of the state to whomever won a It was killed. into a few already Democratic districts so the majority of the districts. Since the state leg- In Virginia, 7.3 percent of the voting GOP would have a good chance of picking islature has already gerrymandered the state population cannot vote because of a previous up six districts in the 2015 balloting. Right so that most Democrats are crammed into felony conviction. According to a report from now, the Senate is split 20-20 between the two three of the state’s 11 congressional districts, the Sentencing Project, an advocacy group parties. those three votes are all Obama would have that pushes for restoration of voting rights, Even many in the GOP were startled at received under the scheme. In other words, only four states have disenfranchised a larger the sleight of hand used to pass that bill. The Mitt Romney, who got 48 percent of the popu- proportion—Mississippi, Alabama, Florida fact that the State Constitution calls for new lar vote in Virginia would have gotten 77 per- and Kentucky. district boundaries to be drawn every 10 years cent of the electoral vote, neatly snatching continued on next page ACDC Voice, March 2013, Page 9 Most vote tampering bills die in Richmond

continued from previous page ment won’t have a major impact either way, until 2014. So be sure to take a utility bill to that those without photo IDs rarely bother to the polls this fall. One in five African-American Virginians vote anyway. It remains to be seen if Governor is disenfranchised under this policy. But many then point out that the GOP McDonnell will sign the photo ID bill. He Returning to the one bill that did pass philosophy is solidly opposed to burdensome opposed it last year, but has been mute this and requires a photo ID to vote, a February government regulations and ask why the GOP year. Tucker Martin, the governor’s spokes- poll taken by Quinnipiac University showed is so dedicated to imposing this extra burden. man said the current law has worked well with Virginians overwhelmingly supporting that In fact, the new Virginia law will be a burden only 600 provisional ballots being required requirement—including Democrats and Af- to the state by requiring more government statewide last fall by voters who arrived at rican-Americans. spending. To show they were not trying to the polls without sufficient identification. The poll showed Republicans support- suppress the vote, the GOP in the General “The governor believes Virginia’s current sys- ing it 95-4, white voters 79-19, independents Assembly has required the state to provide tem generally has proven successful,” Mar- 78-20, black voters 66-34 and Democrats 57- free photo IDs to any citizen who requests tin said. “He will carefully review any legis- 41. one. Every voter registrar in the state will lation passed by the General Assembly on this Supporters of the bill argued that it would now be provided with cameras and the equip- issue.” prevent voter fraud. But repeated investiga- ment to laminate IDs. State colleges will be tions of alleged fraudulent voting have never required to add photos to student IDs. turned up any evidence of a real problem. No one knows what the tab will be for Eighth CD Del. Joseph D. Morrissey (D-Henrico) this new requirement. The Commonwealth said, “Zero people were convicted or charged Institute for Fiscal Analysis estimates up to with it [in Virginia] since 2008. The evidence $22 million, a lot of money to solve a non- convention of voter-booth fraud is non-existent. It’s ut- existent problem. ter nonsense.” Add to that the $2 million spent last year Opponents argue that the GOP goal is to to produce photoless voter registration cards slated for May drive down the Democratic vote because the that are now valueless. The 8th Congressional District Demo- people most likely to lack photo IDs are the In addition, there is a time issue. Del cratic Committee will hold its convention poor, the black and the young, all of whom Rob Krupicka, who represents Alexandria May 18 to elect party officials and approve tend to vote heavily Democratic. and the southern tip of Arlington, said that policy resolutions. Republicans deny that is their goal, but someone living at the far end of his district Any and all Democrats registered in the that claim was undermined last year when the would have to travel more than two hours by 8th District are invited to attend. You just show GOP leader in the Pennsylvania state House bus one-way to get a photo ID at the voter up and register and go to the Arlington cau- boasted after passage of a voter ID bill there registrar’s office. Altogether, it might take cus. that it would guarantee a Romney win in the that person seven hours to get the document. There are two main items on the agenda state. That legislation was sidetracked by a “That is a burden higher than we ask of any- for this year’s convention: court and Obama won Pennsylvania. one else to vote,” Krupicka said. • Electing six representatives to the 8th Some analysts say the photo ID require- The photo ID bill does not go into effect District Committee and State Central Com- mittee. Three men and three women must come from Arlington. They serve double duty as members of both the district committee, which meets monthly, and the state committee, which meets quarterly. • Considering policy resolutions, which, if approved, will be sent up the chain to the state party. Those interested in running for one of the four-year posts at the convention must file by 5 p.m., Friday, May 10. Anyone interested should contact Margo Horner, the chair of the Eighth District Committee, at [email protected]. Arlington also gets to name five members to each of three committees that meet before the convention to organize its business: Rules, Resolutions and Credentials. Anyone interested in serving on one of those committees should contact ACDC Chair Mike Lieberman at [email protected]. ACDC Voice, March 2013, Page 10 Some jurisdictions have good reasons to get out from under the Voting Rights Act

Michael Paul Williams Richmond Times-Dispatch March 1, 2013 Virginia’s Hanover County is half as populous as Alabama’s Shelby County, but otherwise, the locales have similar profiles. Hanover is about 87 percent white; Shelby, 85 percent. Their rate of homeownership and per capita income mir- nose clean for a decade. cause, well, air quality has improved as a re- ror each other’s. And both — as part of their Hanover was not content to sit back and sult of the monitoring. region’s legacy of racial discrimination — are await the outcome of Shelby County, Ala. v. It’s a strange time to talk about weaken- required to submit proposed changes to vot- Holder. ing the Voting Rights Act. ing procedures to the U.S. Justice Department “We became aware of the case back in According to King Salim Khalfani, ex- for approval. the fall,” Rives said. “And the board’s direc- ecutive director of the Virginia State Confer- The Alabama county is asking the Su- tion was to file the petition and not wait to ence NAACP, Section 5 was used to block preme Court to invalidate Section 5 of the see what the court would do.” laws that would have a discriminatory impact Voting Rights Act, a critical provision that The 15th Amendment, ratified in 1870, on voters of color in Texas (restrictive voter requires part or all of 16 states with a history stated that the right to vote shall not be de- photo ID requirements), South Carolina (re- of voter discrimination to get federal nied or abridged “on account of race, color, strictive voter photo ID requirements) and preclearance to make voting changes. or previous condition of servitude.” But for Florida (cuts to early voting days). Five of the nine justices appeared to be nearly a century, jurisdictions — particularly This year, the General Assembly passed leaning toward doing so, based on question- in the South — made a mockery of it before legislation requiring voters to show photo ing during Wednesday’s oral argument. Jus- the Voting Rights Act of 1965. identification, an idea supported by many tice Antonin Scalia went so far as to call the “I think there was great justification for voters but opposed by civil rights groups. renewal of the act a “perpetuation of racial the preclearance requirement when it was in- Meanwhile, a House subcommittee killed a entitlement.” stituted, and I also think the bailout require- measure, supported by Gov. Bob McDonnell, Hanover, meanwhile, is seeking an ex- ment” effectively mitigates the requirement, that would automatically restore the voting emption from the preclearance provision, a Rives said. “It seems like a good balance.” rights of nonviolent felons who have finished feat 25 counties and six cities in Virginia have To scuttle the provision would disrupt their sentences. accomplished. {That is one-quarter of that balance and effectively render the act The threat to the Voting Rights Act is Virginia’s 134 counties and cities.] toothless. “tragic,” said Dr. William Ferguson Reid, who “We have very nearly completed com- The rationale that a majority of the court co-founded the Richmond Crusade for Vot- piling the information necessary to submit to seems to be buying — that the act has out- ers in 1955 to register and mobilize black the Justice Department,” County Attorney lived its need — is unsupported. The court voters during Massive Resistance. In 1967 — Sterling E. Rives III said Thursday. need not look any further than Shelby County. two years after the passage of the act — he Justice typically takes a month to look Before the 2008 elections in the Shelby became the first African-American elected to over the information before sending it to a County city of Calera, a redistricting plan was the state legislature since the end of Recon- three-judge panel for review, Rives said. enacted without Justice Department approval struction. “All things considered, we think it is that more than halved the number of black “The bad part about it is it sets us back, likely we will have action by the court by the voters in a council district. As a result, the but the good part is it may motivate more end of June.” city’s lone African-American councilman was people to get involved,” Reid, 87, said Thurs- He’s confident that Hanover will receive defeated. The Justice Department invalidated day. “We have some history that is repeating “bailout” status. Rives says the county has not the election, and the councilman, Ernest itself, and if you live long enough you’re go- had a preclearance request rejected by Jus- Montgomery, regained his seat. ing to see it over and over again. We’re just tice during his 25-year tenure. Justice Sonia Sotomayor cited 240 dis- going to have to renew our efforts.” Rives has another reason to be confident. criminatory voting measures by Shelby that If the Supreme Court eviscerates this Nikki Sheridan, a policy advisor for the Vir- were blocked by the preclearance provision. landmark legislation — overwhelmingly re- ginia State Board of Elections, says no one Given Shelby’s history, it’s understandable authorized by Congress in 2006 — it will there could recall a Virginia jurisdiction be- that it would seek an end run around the feds. someday have to answer why it rewarded a ing rejected. Without preclearance, plaintiffs will locale that thumbed its nose at the act. It appears that getting out from under the have to rely on after-the-fact lawsuits. Invali- There may come a time when we no Section 5 requirement is not terribly onerous. dating the preclearance protection makes as longer need this provision of the act. But we’re Mostly, it involves a jurisdiction keeping its much sense as scraping the Clean Air Act be- not there yet. ACDC Voice, March 2013, Page 11 It’s YD Date Auction time of year again

It’s time for the Arlington Young Demo- “Doorways is an important member of the “Whether you’re in the market for love, crats 12th Annual Charity Date Auction, with Arlington community that relies on the sup- looking to support a good cause or just want a portion of the proceeds benefiting Doorways port of all of its neighbors; we’re really ex- to have a fun night, our Date Auction is sure for Women and Families. cited to help out,” Hall said. to deliver. Where else in the area can you bid For all those who didn’t have enough ex- Hosted by Date Auction pro and former on a fun date and also win a power lunch with citement on Valentine’s Day, the Date Auc- Courtlands precinct captain Anjon Roy and a local politician?” Hall asked. tion will be held Thursday, March 14, at the Miss DC United States Tina Mont- You can find more details on the web Clarendon Grill, 1101 North Highland Street, gomery, this year’s auction will feature some at http://www.arlingtonyoungdems.org/ just a hop, skip and a jump from the Clarendon of the area’s most eligible bachelors and ayddate/ or on Facebook at https:// Metro Station and a short block south of Wil- bachelorettes up for auction, including some w w w . f a c e b o o k . c o m / e v e n t s / son Blvd. from the AYD Executive Board, as well as 340857106019340/. And you can help make “Each year, AYD brings the whole com- silent auction items from the local business this a success by spreading the word. munity together, in the spirit of fun, for a light- community In addition, AYD is collecting hearted auction and a good cause; this year is The Date Auction, however, will not donated items that Doorways needs. Attend- no different,” said AYD President Lauren be silent. It never is. Join the shouts ees are encouraged to bring at least one of the Hall. and squeals, and also get some face time following: Grocery Gift Cards; coloring Part of the proceeds from the auction will with local elected officials in between books; crayons; dryer sheets; hangers; alumi- go to Doorways for Women and Families. bidding. num foil; and baby grooming kits. Dems sought to clean up Potomac

Put on your work clothes and take a dip Democratic Values in Action percent complete, it is only 6 percent of the in the Potomac! Democratic Values in Ac- way toward that goal with 22 boxes collected. tion (DVA) is organizing volunteers for the It looks like another challenging race! 25th Annual Potomac River Watershed sary. Bring boxes to any ACDC monthly Cleanup on Saturday, April 6, from 9 a.m. to As you will recall, DVA last year set a meeting or Second Saturday Breakfast. And noon. goal of collecting 150 cereal boxes in the last if you forget, there is also a cash jar so you There’s always some competition to see half of the year for the Arlington Food Assis- can put down the equivalent funds and DVA who can come up with the most curious item tance Center (AFAC). It shattered that goal— will do the cereal shopping for you. dumped in the river beyond the usual old tires but only in December with a huge, last- DVA is also thinking of getting t-shirts —perhaps a refrigerator filled with beer. minute, post-campaign turnout by contribu- that volunteers can wear as they work around To sign up, contact Kim Klingler, DVA’s tors. the community (and in the Potomac River). chair, at [email protected] or (703) Well, DVA is at it again. It has set a goal For that, DVA needs a new logo. If you have 489-7408. No previous experience is neces- of 350 boxes for 2013. And with the year 16 any design suggestions, contact Kim. School Board race sets up May caucus

Two Democrats have so far announced recently headed last year’s statewide effort to to the parking lot at the end. A few are more plans to run for a seat on the Arlington School gather the signatures required to put President intricate, such as checking voters against the Board this fall—incumbent James Lander Obama’s name on the ballot. state’s voter registration records on a laptop. and challenger Barbara Kanninen. The endorsement caucus will be held Only those registered to vote in Arlington may Democrats will vote in a caucus in May over two days—on Thursday, May 9, from vote at the caucus. on whom to endorse for the post. 7-9 p.m. at Drew Model Elementary School, Anyone interested in helping staff part Lander and Kanninen have both an- 3500 23rd Street South, and Saturday, May of the caucus hours should email Peter Owen, nounced their candidacies. The window for 11, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Washington- the School Board Caucus chair, at candidates does not close until March 4, so Lee High School, 1301 North Stafford [email protected]. others may still join the race. Street. Under Virginia law, seats on school Messages from both (all) the candidates Caucuses are major events that take boards are non-partisan. But it is common will appear in next month’s Voice. many dozens of volunteers to run smoothly. practice in the commonwealth for county/city Lander is completing his first four-year Most of the jobs are easy—just helping to parties to “endorse” candidates for the school term on the School Board. Kanninen has been guide voters through each step of the proce- board, and the parties in Arlington have rou- active in school issues as a parent and most dure, from the parking lot at the start and back tinely done so.