Arlington County Democratic News Vol. 30, No. 9 www.arlingtondemocrats.org September 2005 Gentlemen, start your palates! It’s Chili Cookoff time again! At least seven and crown one of our candidates with the esteemed different varieties of chili will be available Labor People’s Choice Award. A panel of judges will also Day to excite a multitude of palates at the annual give awards for the best chili in a variety of other ACDC Chili Cookoff. categories. As of press time, entries have been offered by Are you the timid or plain vanilla sort? Don’t the Joint Campaign (representing Tim Kaine, like spicy chili? Not to worry. There will be plenty Leslie Byrne and Creigh Deeds), Al Eisenberg (but of hot dogs, hamburgers, veggie burgers, and all read that as Sharon Davis—see below), Adam the trimmings, along with dessert to keep you well Ebbin, Jay Fisette and Ed Fendley. More are ex- fed. Donations of cornbread, side dishes and des- pected ranging from red hot to blue hot. serts will be gratefully accepted. Please contact You’ll have a chance to vote for your favorite continued on page four First— Get all fired-up at These are the signs of the times The County Board has approved a new law to A new ordinance is necessary because the Re- the Chili Cookoff regulate the display of political signs throughout the publicans successfully challenged the constitution- county under the formula of no more than “two signs ality of the previous sign ordinance. on Labor Day! per candidate per median strip segment.” The key provisions in the new ordinance: See article at right above The new ordinance will largely remove restric- • Allow no more than two signs per candidate tions on signs on private property. Regarding pub- per median strip segment. A segment is a strip en- lic property, signs are being restricted to median closed by a curb. Most strips are one block long. strips only, keeping them out of the neighborhoods. Some are a half-block long, where there is a left The new ordinance also caps the volume of turn cut into an alley. In a few cases, where no left signs while allowing them to be posted on week- turn is allowed, a strip may even be more than 1,000 days as well as weekends for the month before an feet long. Regardless of the length, only two signs election. continued on page six Sound the bugle! Dems invade! Troops based in Northern Virginia will be in- October 14th – 15th, they’ll be in Fairfax. vading the rest of the state this fall—but these troops Okay, maybe it’s not too far away, but the party has will be carrying clipboards and Democratic litera- two young Democrats running for the House of Del- ture rather than muskets. egates down there and the goal is to help. They are Like to join them? Want to see parts of Vir- Steve Shannon, running for re-election, and Greg Then— ginia outside of NoVA? Join Young Democrats from Werkheiser, a YD and first time candidate working Arlington and all over Virginia, as well as all over hard to knock off a conservative Republican incum- Help us deliver the country, as they travel downstate to campaign bent. for Tim Kaine and the Democratic ticket. The Democratic troops will be bivouacking in the Messenger to September 9th-10th, the troops will be in hotel or motel rooms in Harrisonburg and Harrisonburg, home of James Madison University, Blacksburg. Arlington YDs will coordinate car every door in to assist Lowell Fulk, candidate for the House of pools for all three invasions. RSVP to Mike Smaha Delegates and big supporter of the Virginia Young at [email protected] if you’d like to go down Arlington, Democrats as well as the Kaine, Leslie Byrne and south. Creigh Deeds campaigns. These invasions are always a ton of fun and a Saturday, September 30th – October 2nd, the troops will great way to meet other Democrats from across the be in Blacksburg, home of Virginia Tech, to cam- state. Volunteers will be coming in from other states September 17. paign for the Democratic ticket down in Southwest. to help as well. See Page Seven ACDC News, September 2005, Page 2 Report from Chairman Jim Turpin The obligations of leadership Each of us gets involved in politics for growth, opportunity for all people. Few com- funded is by asking those who support the different reasons. It may be historical, philo- munities nationally have such a history. It is party to contribute. Then you ask those same sophical, issue driven, or a particular candi- a spirit and a tradition that is passed on from people again. date. Whatever the reason, we are drawn to- generation to generation. The reasons vary. Third are your emotions. People get in- gether by the core fact that we are all Demo- We are fortunate to live in a community like volved because they care either about their crats. Arlington. community, an issue, or a candidate. All of us A political party or a campaign draws Being a leader brings additional obliga- who have been around politics for any length people of different backgrounds and views tions. of time have both won and lost. Winning is together for a common good. As Democrats, What are these obligations? They include one of the great legal ways to get high. Few we do not all look alike or agree on every is- time, money and emotions. things make you feel worse than losing an sue. We do agree and care about people and First is your time. However you cut it, election. This leads to the inevitable “what our community. Unlike today’s Republicans, being involved in politics takes time—time ifs” —what if we identified more voters, what we are diverse in many ways. you would otherwise spend with your family if we did one more mailing. As citizens, we have a variety of obliga- or doing some recreational activity. Instead, If it takes your time, your money, and tions. If you decide to participate in the po- if you choose politics, all too often your time can be disappointing, why would anyone litical process, you have chosen to be a leader is no longer your own. choose to be involved? and not a follower. Second is your money. Politics is expen- The reason is that one person does make In Arlington, we have a long history of sive. We are all aware that campaigns cost a a difference. We take our obligations seri- people being involved and making a differ- lot of money. Party organizations from the ously. We are also able to share our experi- ence. We are a community that led the way local to the national level all are required to ences with other people who share our com- for better schools, an end to segregation, smart run all year round. The primary way these are mitment. One of the most encouraging trends is that more and younger people are choosing to get involved in politics. These are individu- als who share our values and are willing to Dalal Musa, M.S.W., L.C.S.W. make the commitments necessary for the fu- ture. That is why the future of the Democratic Party at all levels is so bright. Falls Church Center for Counseling This is especially true this year in Vir- ginia. Never have the choices been so clear. 207 Park Avenue Tim Kaine, Leslie Byrne, and Creigh Suite B-3 Deeds are all top-flight candidates who re- Falls Church, Virginia 22046 flect and share our values. They are out there working hard for us. They have proven records that demonstrate all three understand 703-532-6220 and reflect the obligation of leadership. The Republican ticket harkens back to a different time and set of values — values we Helping individuals, couples, and families cope with do not share. That does not mean that those anxiety, depression, grief, transitions and interpersonal conflict who are supporting the Republicans are not just as committed as we are. We simply dis- Office hours by appointment agree with them over both the present and the future of our community, state and country. The hardest thing for people like us to understand is how anyone can choose to not Published monthly by the get involved. We all know those who ask — Arlington County Democratic Committee “Why would you want to be in politics?” Of- ten, these are people who don’t even bother 4620 Lee Highway, Suite 214, Arlington, VA 22207 to vote or who readily complain but don’t do Tel: (703) 528-8588 Fax: (703) 528-2321 anything about it. http://www.arlingtondemocrats.org My father was a member of the United Chair: Jim Turpin —703-248-6988 (h), [email protected] Mine Workers under John L. Lewis. In the Editor-in-Chief: Warren Nelson —703-243-7867 (h), [email protected] coalfields of Southwest Virginia, the question Managing Editor: Barbara van Voorst —703-522-6294 (h), [email protected] was simple — “Which side are you on?” Views expressed do not necessarily represent those of the ACDC For us, the answer to that question is unless expressly approved by an appropriate Committee Resolution simple — “We are all Democrats.” Copyright ©2005, ACDC, All Rights Reserved ACDC News, September 2005, Page 3 Next Monthly Meeting—All Dems Invited Quote of Wednesday, September 7, 2005, 7 p.m. the Month NRECA Building, 4301 Wilson Blvd Corner of North Taylor and Wilson, just east of Glebe & Wilson Here it is August already, and Re- Free parking under building, enter from Taylor Street publican gubernatorial candidate Jerry Kilgore can’t seem to settle After a short business meeting, we will again break into stations on the campaign issue.