Vol. 34, No. 6 www.arlingtondemocrats.org June 2009 ACDC recruits Obama Army The vast army of Obama volunteers has been using new technology to reach out to these volun- invited to the June membership meeting, which will teers, many of whom have never been involved in focus on bringing their enthusiasm and skills into ACDC and may never even have heard of it. Think the broader party. The meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m., a half- The ACDC meeting June 3 will bring together hour earlier than usual, to allow time to meet with Obama 2008 volunteers, long-time Arlington Demo- state and local candidates before the program. crats, and a regional official with Organizing For Organizing For America’s Betsy Hoover will America (OFA) to look at lessons learned from last keynote the meeting with a discussion of how each Blue! fall’s campaign and what we can do now to keep of us can help the president’s agenda become real- the Obama agenda moving forward in Arlington and ity, with a focus on health care reform. County Board Virginia. Chair Barbara Favola and the co-chairs of the 2009 The focus of the meeting is to involve more Joint Campaign will present local perspectives on Obama volunteers in ACDC. To that end, ACDC is continued on page two Moran urges defense policy The 8th Congressional District Convention and minds, not for land and sea. Around the world, turned out to be virtually an Arlington convention Moran said, “There are a limitless number of young as more than half the Democrats who showed up people looking for something to believe in.” And came from Arlington. Americans must lead them away from those who Congressman Jim Moran delivered a rousing preach bloodshed by setting a good example. speech to the crowd, but not his usual Republicans- “When we have 47 million citizens without And vote as-red-meat barnburner. Instead, Moran emphasized health insurance, that helps the other side,” Moran the importance of a progressive domestic policy as said. “When we have a third of our students drop the first line of offense and defense in leading the out of high school, we lose ground.” in the world in the 21st Century. Moran argued that most of the $800 billion we Moran argued that the main battle in the world will spend this year on defense “is irrelevant to this primary today is ideological, not military, a fight for hearts continued on page four June 9 HQ must move again Or even The beautiful new Democratic Headquarters else?!) Previously, ACDC headquarters had been near the Courthouse will have to move to newer on Lee Highway for 20 years. earlier—find quarters, although not any time soon. The new headquarters has been a huge im- But, in the meantime, parking will be restored provement in terms of location and livability—but, out how on at the current headquarters in just a few weeks. about nine months after moving in, engineers found The County Board has approved a new devel- a structural fault in the support system under the page eight opment project for the site on North 14th Street. surface parking deck, and the entire off-street park- The existing seven-story building will come down ing area—a factor in the selection of the building— and eventually be replaced by a 16-story residen- had to be closed. tial structure with ground floor retail and office Now that the property owners have determined And read all about space. there will be a significant delay in the re-develop- the candidates on The date for the ball to knock down the cur- ment of the project, they have decided to demolish rent building hasn’t been set, although it will not be the surface parking deck to make parking available pages 7 thru 10 until sometime in 2010 at the earliest—and maybe in what had previously been the underground ga- later than that. rage. The property ownership estimates this demo- ACDC moved into the current headquarters in lition will be completed in June—well in time for April 2007 after the rooms were painted blue. (What the fall campaign season. ACDC Voice, June 2009, Page 2 Report from Chairman Peter Rousselot Arlington Democrats: Wake up! With your vital help, Arlington is again voters and activists are still weary from the right here in Arlington to provide health care going to make history in 2009 by providing all-out push we had last year. In particular, and preserve the social safety net. the decisive vote margins to carry the state of we need the help of every Voice subscriber to Those who attend this meeting will have Virginia for our Democratic nominees for help us reach out to the many first-time the opportunity to tell us what worked in the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and Attorney Obama volunteers. 2008 Presidential campaign. We want to hear General! Please take a few moments now to think what you think would help us advocate for The Democratic votes we produce in back to 2008 and identify as many of these important issues and elect a governor and leg- Arlington will be critical in turning Virginia first-time Obama volunteers whom you met islature who will work to support President blue in 2009. To illustrate, in 2006, Arlington’s and know. Then, please tell these volunteers Obama as he strives to bring the change we Democratic voters provided a 33,000 vote that ACDC, in collaboration with Organizing all worked so hard to see. margin of victory for Jim Webb in a U.S. Sen- for America (OFA)—the successor organiza- This event is completely FREE and all ate race that he won statewide in Virginia by tion to Obama for America, last year’s Presi- are welcome. We need help planning and or- only 9,300 votes. That race changed the course dential campaign organization—is sponsor- ganizing this event. If you can help in this of history by turning the U.S. Senate blue! ing a special event for Arlington Obama vol- regard, contact Marge Epstein at And just last year, in 2008, Arlington alone unteers on the evening of June 3. [email protected] provided a full 21 percent of Barack Obama’s This special event replaces our regular statewide Virginia victory margin. monthly meeting, but will be held at the same Arlington is indeed the GATEWAY TO A NRECA building location, starting at 6:30 BLUE VIRGINIA! p.m.. BUT, NONE OF THIS IS GOING TO This event will focus on ways in which Obama Army being BE EASY. each of us can help to see that President We Democrats here in Virginia put in a Obama’s agenda becomes a reality. I urge each sought by ACDC tremendous effort to turn the state blue in of you to come hear, for example, how you continued from page one can help to pass health care reform legisla- 2008, and now in 2009 we have seen signs moving the Obama health care agenda for- tion. Come find out what needs to be done that suggest that many of our Democratic ward in our own community. Obama volunteers and other meeting participants will divide up into small groups with facilitators to discuss what worked for them in the 2008 presidential campaign. The Jerry Botland ACDC volunteer coordination team is eager to hear what 2008 volunteers think would help Computer Consulting us advocate for important issues and elect a governor and legislature to support the presi- Troubleshoot and resolve computer and dent as he strives to bring about change. computer related problems. All are encouraged to attend this meet- Perform upgrades, set-up wireless routers and print servers. ing and bring any Obama volunteers you Transfer old files, address book and emails know along with you. This can be a great op- portunity to connect with people who are avid from an old computer to a new one. Democrats but not yet involved with ACDC. Ph# (703) 933-0558 — [email protected] For more information, contact Marge Epstein at [email protected]. Precincts filling up Published monthly by the Two new precinct captains were elected Arlington County Democratic Committee at the May meeting. James Schroll becomes 2009 North 14th Street, Suite #612, Arlington, VA 22201 captain in Clarendon precinct, one of the pre- Tel: (703) 528-8588 Fax: (703) 528-2321 cincts where ACDC has been captainless re- http://www.arlingtondemocrats.org cently, and Jason Rylander becomes the third Chair: Peter Rousselot —703-276-1584 (o), [email protected] captain in Woodlawn, one of the larger pre- Editor-in-Chief: Barbara van Voorst —703-522-6294 (h), [email protected] cincts and one of the 15 with three captain Deputy Editor: Warren L. Nelson —703-243-7867 (h), [email protected] slots rather than two. Views expressed do not necessarily represent those of the ACDC Arlington County has a total of 51 pre- unless expressly approved by an appropriate Committee Resolution cincts. Only two have no captains at this time: Copyright ©2009, ACDC, All Rights Reserved Monroe and Abingdon. ACDC Voice, June 2009, Page 3 Bumper Sticker Next Monthly Meeting—All Dems (ObamaVolunteers Especially) Invited of the Month Wednesday, June 3, 2009, 6:30 p.m. Annoy a NRECA Building, 4301 Wilson Blvd Republican – Corner of North Taylor and Wilson, just east of Glebe & Wilson Free parking under building, enter from Taylor Street Drive a Hybrid NOTE—WE ARE STARTING A HALF-HOUR EARLIER THIS MONTH. The Obama Army of volunteers has been invited to this month’s meeting as we are trying to recruit them and their enthusiasm to help out on Latinos score Virginia state and local campaigns.