Vol. 39, No. 8 www.arlingtondemocrats.org August 2014 Rip Sullivan up to challenge in barnburner special election The special election August 48th Delegate District went for 19 to pick a successor to Del. Bob John Vihstadt, the Republican Brink promises to be a running as an independent who barnburner since the GOP picked won a seat on the County Board its best vote getter of the last two in the special election earlier this decades to face Democratic nomi- year. nee Richard “Rip” Sullivan. The issue there was prima- Only hours before the filing rily the Columbia Pike streetcar. deadline, the Arlington GOP And Foster is trying to use that named David Foster as its nomi- issue as a lever in his campaign nee for the seat. for the delegate seat, even though Foster won two four-year it is a county issue and not a state Don’t wake up the morning terms on the Arlington School issue and even though Sullivan after Election Day and re- Board—the only non-Democrat supports a streetcar referendum. member you forgot. VOTE elected to the School Board in A Foster victory would add those years—and was also presi- to the hefty GOP majority in the EARLY! See Page 10 to find dent of the Virginia Board of Edu- House of Delegates and make it our where and how. cation. all the more difficult for Demo- He is counting on what he crats soon to overturn the ultra- RIP SULLIVAN sees as a resurgence of the GOP conservative control of that in Arlington. He points out that body—a majority that has . major challenge all 13 Arlington precincts in the stopped Medicaid expansion in Virginia despite support for it in both the State Sen- ate and the Governor’s Mansion—not to mention public support as shown in polls. Volunteers needed While Foster cited the vote in the last County Volunteers are needed to help out in the clos- Board election, many Democrats look at other num- ing weeks of the Rip Sullivan campaign for the 48th bers. They point out that since the current bound- District delegate seat. aries of the 48th District were drawn in 2011, Demo- The main need is for people to phone and to crats have done very well. Here are the percent- walk door-to-door. ages Democrats have won in the 48th District run- The Sullivan Campaign HQ is in the Lee- ning from lowest to highest. Harrison Shopping Center at 2505 North Harrison 2012 Obama 62% Street where it crosses Lee Highway. 2012 Kaine 64% Door-to-door canvassing launches from HQ: 2013 McAuliffe 65% Saturdays at 11 a.m., 1 p.m., 3 p.m. 2011 Brink 68% Sundays at noon, 2 p.m., 4 p.m. 2013 Herring 69% Weekdays are flexible. Canvass packets are pro- 2013 Northam 71% vided to anyone interested in weekday canvasses. 2011 Brink unopposed Phone banks are held at the Sullivan HQ: But many Democrats aren’t so impressed by A poll shows people think Monday-Thursday, 5:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m. those strong numbers and don’t see them as espe- he’s the worst president. Virtual phone banks (where you call from your cially relevant. Those were all November elections He doesn’t believe it and phone from your choice of location) can be set up and not special elections held in the middle of the neither should you. See at your request. vacation month of August. Page Six for all the details. Contact Kate Paterson at Special elections have been a challenge for [email protected] or 610-209-4718 if you Democrats. They mean low turnout, with Republi- can help out. continued on page seven ACDC Voice, August 2014, Page 2 Report from Chairman Kip Malinosky An election too many! It’s August. Congress is on recess, school didates step up to run, we had over 70 volun- unremarkable challengers. But that is not the is on summer break, the pools are crowded, teers to run the caucus, and 2,121 voters come case here, in that Foster is a former School and in Arlington it’s time for another elec- out to participate in what was one of Virginia’s Board member and likely to get money from tion. On August 19, we have a special elec- shortest ever election campaigns. the speaker. It seems quite clear that the tion for the 48th District in the House of Del- Our winner, Rip Sullivan, got a major- speaker thought that by calling for an August egates to fill the seat vacated by Delegate Bob ity of votes on the fifth ballot count under the special election he would put Democrats in Brink. It shouldn’t be this way. instant runoff system. Sullivan has deep roots disarray and sneak another Republican into The Republican speaker of the House, in the community and is a strong defender of the General Assembly. William Howell, had the sole authority to call Democratic values. He has been president of We have already proved the speaker the date of this election. The speaker could Northern Virginia’s Legal Services and a wrong on the first count. Not only did the have made life for everyone in the district member of Virginia’s Commission on Civics Arlington and Fairfax committees work fairly much easier and called for a special election Education, among many other commissions and effectively together, but also all seven can- concurrent with the November election. This and activities. He will join Arlington’s great didates campaigned graciously and have come would have saved money for Arlington and Richmond delegation and stand up for com- together for a unity rally. Sullivan’s campaign Fairfax counties and given candidates suffi- mon sense gun safety, fighting climate change has opened a centrally located HQ in the Lee- cient time to make their case to voters. and reducing testing in our schools. Also, he Harrison shopping center that is bustling with Of course, that’s not what happened. will work to change the state code, so we don’t volunteers. On August 19, voters in the 48th When the speaker last month issued the writ have to deal with another six-day campaign District (even if you’re on vacation, vote ab- of election for August 19, the Virginia Code and Sunday caucus. sentee) can send the speaker a message: Your only gave political parties six days to nomi- In the midst of our caucus, we learned schemes won’t work, and we’re electing Rip nate candidates. As soon as we realized this that Republicans had anointed their candidate. Sullivan. was the case, we swung into action. The Ar- They didn’t bother with an election; their chair lington and Fairfax Democratic Committees simply nominated Dave Foster. And so be- found venues to hold our caucus on July 6, gins our second special election of the year. the last possible date before the filing was due. Delegate Brink, over the last few cycles, Get ready for Amazingly, we had seven well prepared can- had a remarkable talent for drawing distinctly Chili Cookoff For more than a century, the informal Jerry Botland start to campaign season around the country has been Labor Day. In Arlington, we have Computer Consulting made Labor Day into a social kickoff with lots of eats at our Chili Cookoff. Troubleshoot and resolve computer and As for many years, the 2014 Chili computer related problems. Cookoff will be held at Lyon Park, at the cor- Perform upgrades, set-up wireless routers and print servers. ner of Pershing Drive and North Fillmore Transfer old files, address book and emails Street, from 4-7 p.m. on September 1. And if you would like to enter a chili in from an old computer to a new one. our contest, Arlington Dems would be de- Phone: (703) 933-0558 — [email protected] lighted to have a taste. We have judges with certified taste buds who vote on all entries. And since this is a Democratic event and a democratic event, we also have all those at- tending cast their ballots for their first choice. Published monthly by the Entries range from meaty to vegetarian Arlington County Democratic Committee and from bland to Cape Canaveral launch hot. 2001 Jefferson Davis Highway, Suite #604, Arlington VA 22202 There is a taste for every tongue. Mailing address: P.O. Box 7132, Arlington VA 22207 This year’s organizers are also looking Tel: (703) 528-8588 Fax: (703) 528-2321 for volunteers to staff the event and to pro- http://www.arlingtondemocrats.org vide such things as yard games for the kids, Chair: Kip Malinosky — [email protected] grills, coolers and things with which to fill Editor-in-Chief: Warren L. Nelson —(703) 243-7867 (h), [email protected] the coolers. Deputy Editor: Eric Wiener — (703) 524-6899 (h), [email protected] To get all the details on how to enter your Views expressed do not necessarily represent those of the ACDC chili or to volunteer, contact this year’s co- unless expressly approved by an appropriate committee resolution chairs, Kim Phillip and Sarah Eckman at Copyright ©2014, ACDC, All Rights Reserved [email protected]. ACDC Voice, August 2014, Page 3 Democratic Values in Action Next Monthly Meeting Cereal boxes Yet again, All Dems Invited are on Wednesday, August 6 at 7 p.m. Dems ove! make great the m FAIRLINGTON CENTER 3308 South Stafford Street (Take Quaker Lane south from I-395. Take second right onto 33rd straw poll! Street.