Arlington County Democratic News Vol. 31, No. 2 www.arlingtondemocrats.org February 2006 Our new Race is on to unseat Allen governor— Harris Miller has become the first Democrat Miller expects to be to file to run for the U.S. Senate seat now held by outspent by George Tim Republican George Allen. And James Webb, the Allen, who already has Kaine novelist and Navy secretary under President $5.7 million in his cam- Reagan, is thinking about running—as a Democrat. paign account. Miller A primary will be held, probably in June, if says he hopes to offset more than one candidate files to join the race. that with technology. Harris Miller, 54, was chairman of the Fairfax The Internet will be County Democratic Committee for six years. A “absolutely essential to Our new former Capitol Hill staffer, he lost the 1984 primary get my message out,” he chairman— race for Congress from the 10th Congressional Dis- said. “That’s the differ- trict. From 1995 until a few weeks ago, he was ence between a cam- Peter president of the Ar- paign now and 20 or 30 Harris Miller Rousselot lington-based Infor- years ago.” mation Technology Miller’s website is www.miller2006.org. Association of Amer- James Webb, who lives in Northern Virginia, ica, a trade association. has written six novels and served as Secretary of He quit that post to the Navy under Ronald Reagan. He has said he is become a full-time considering a run against George Allen as a Demo- Our soon-to-be candidate. continued on page six ex-senator— George Allen James Webb Rousselot & Steering elected Peter Rousselot was unani- mously elected chairman of the Arlington County Democratic Arlington Dem Jen Howard Committee at the January meet- rescues a pet stranded by Hurri- ing for the 2006-07 biennium. cane Katrina. A slate of 13 other officers was elected without opposition Dems, dogs and at the same time. The full list of POOCH TALK—County Board Chair Jay Fisette continues Katrina—read all new Steering Committee offic- his tradition of reaching out to Arlington's non-traditional ers appears in a box on Page Five households! Here he is with Chocco (in front) and Cassie, about them—and learn of this month’s Democratic a border collie mix Jay found 24 (dog) years ago homeless News. and roaming the streets of Dallas. Chocco and Cassie sent how you you can help Rousselot’s first message as Biloxi recover—that’s chair appears this month on Page this photo out to dog owners around Arlington to remind Two, where it will be found in them before the election that “Jay will ensure Arlington a lot—on Page Five. each succeeding month as well. remains a great place for dogs and people alike.” ACDC News, February 2006, Page 2 Report from Chairman Peter Rousselot First report from the new chair It’s a great honor for me to serve as House. While we must continue to win all of nications and databases. ACDC Party Chair for 2006-2007. our local elections decisively, we will do We must find innovative new ways to I have been actively involved in ACDC more: raise money, and make better uses of our tra- since 2000, serving in a variety of volunteer • We will be the pacesetting Democratic ditional sources of financial support by pro- capacities, including Precinct Operations committee helping to carry Virginia for state- moting our success to a national donor base, Chair, Joint Campaign Co-Chair, and Joint wide Democratic candidates. developing new sustaining donors, and solic- Campaign Finance Chair. In 2004, I served • We will strive to be the model Demo- iting more targeted contributions. first as a leader of the Edwards for President cratic committee in Virginia and nationally. As a party of volunteers, we succeed campaign, and subsequently as a delegate to Everything we do must pass this test: when more and more people want to help us. the Democratic National Convention from the does it help us better connect with more vot- We must provide our volunteers with reasons Eighth Congressional District. ers? to join us, and with activities that are relevant I got my start in politics on the national I have three specific priorities for 2006- to connecting with voters. I urge each of you campaign staff of the Robert Kennedy for 2007: outreach, technology, and fundraising. to help us with your suggestions for how we President campaign, moving from a high of We must connect with more voters can better connect with our voters. traveling around the country rounding up del- whose participation in our elections should Robert Kennedy, for whom I first cam- egates to a low of planning the seating ar- be greater, such as African Americans, paigned, was fond of quoting a line from the rangements at the funeral after RFK’s assas- Latinos, Asians, North Africans, the GLBT poet, Ralph Waldo Emerson: “When you have sination. community and voters in high rise buildings. chosen your part, abide by it, and do not The Democratic Party in Arlington must We must make smarter use of technol- weakly try to reconcile yourself with the continue to be ready to elect all our candi- ogy to connect with voters, including more world.” dates—from the school house to the White effective uses of our website, e-mail commu- Please join with us, all together now, as we do our part to make this world a better place. Dalal Musa, M.S.W., L.C.S.W. Calling all Falls Church Center for Counseling 207 Park Avenue techies........... Suite B-3 Do you make your living working with Falls Church, Virginia 22046 technology? Would you like to volunteer to apply your technology skills to help move Ar- lington, Virginia, and America forward 703-532-6220 through Arlington Democrats? ACDC is looking for people with tech- nical skills and some time to help on either Helping individuals, couples, and families cope with specific short-term projects or longer-term, anxiety, depression, grief, transitions and interpersonal conflict but lower key assignments. We have specific needs for people with experience in any or all Office hours by appointment of: Microsoft Windows Server Edition, PC configuration and repair, GIS systems. How- ever, we’re interested in hearing from any technies with some time to help out. Published monthly by the Think you might be interested? Please Arlington County Democratic Committee contact Eric Wolf ([email protected]) - in- clude some information about your technical 4620 Lee Highway, Suite 214, Arlington, VA 22207 background and what type of activity and Tel: (703) 528-8588 Fax: (703) 528-2321 level of involvement interests you. http://www.arlingtondemocrats.org Chair: Peter Rousselot —703-276-1584 (o), [email protected] Editor-in-Chief: Barbara van Voorst —703-522-6294 (h), [email protected] Calendar items Deputy Editor: Warren Nelson —703-243-7867 (h), [email protected] To submit items for the calendar—either Views expressed do not necessarily represent those of the ACDC for the web site or the Newsletter—go to unless expressly approved by an appropriate Committee Resolution http://www.arlingtondemocrats.org/ Copyright ©2006, ACDC, All Rights Reserved submitevent.phtml . ACDC News, February 2006, Page 3 Bumper Sticker Next Monthly Meeting—All Dems Invited of the Month Wednesday, February 1, 2006, 7 p.m. NRECA Building, 4301 Wilson Blvd % rm Bush.prez Corner of North Taylor and Wilson, just east of Glebe & Wilson Free parking under building, enter from Taylor Street (Okay, it needs an expla- We will look at the war in Iraq from the perspective of organizations that nation. This is the Unix provide humanitarian aid to the Iraqi people. What has been missing from command for “delete file.”) the debate are the voices of those involved only to serve the people of Iraq. Arlington crew marks Kaine inaugural The inauguration of Tim Kaine as gov- the modern technology that wasn’t available one another. Chairman Peter Rousselot re- ernor was a wet and windy affair, but the spir- for the last gubernatorial inauguration held in ported following former School Board mem- its of attending Democrats were definitely not Williamsburg. (That was back in 1779 when ber Libby Garvey much of the way down dampened, even if their clothing was. Thomas Jefferson got the job.) So, they for- the Interstate to Williamsburg. (Her car stands Many inaugural-goers took a walk down sook the bleachers for a champagne brunch in out with a display of bumper stickers.) Duke of Gloucester Street in Colonial front of a widescreen television with dry socks. A parade down Duke of Gloucester Williamsburg and glanced at the moist There was no registry of Arlington Dems Street in a horse-drawn coach followed the bleachers, then decided to take advantage of who attended, but many reported bumping into inauguration, the same parade route taken by new royal governors before Jefferson et al sent them packing. Libby commented on how the parade showed just how diverse Virginia has now become, with marchers who originated in the Caribbean, Korea and many other places in the parade, along with Indians—both the Asian variety and the kind that Colonial Williamsburg was familiar with. That evening, there were two inaugural balls—in Williamsburg and in Richmond. Democratic News correspondent Libby Garvey attended the Richmond ball and could occasionally hear her husband speak above the din. But she reports that the line for drinks was short and there was food, upgrades from four years ago. The inauguration was held in Williamsburg this year because the Capitol in Richmond is undergoing renovation.