Vol. 36, No. 1 www.arlingtondemocrats.org January 2011 ’s Trodden retirement sets up Season ngs Greetin commonwealth’s attorney primary race this summer Commonwealth’s Attorney torney in private practice in Ar- Dick Trodden has announced lington with the firm of Albo & that he will not run for re-elec- Oblon who previously worked in tion next fall, concluding 18 years the commonwealth’s attorney’s from everyone in ACDC in office. office in Fairfax County. Two Democrats swiftly an- Stamos joined the com- nounced they will run to succeed monwealth’s attorney’s office Trodden, setting up a primary right out of law school. She be- bÇ axã lxtÜËá election in the summer. came deputy in 1998 and chief Trodden announced his re- deputy in 2002. Wtç? }É|Ç çÉâÜ tirement at the December 1 Stamos told The Voice, “I’m ACDC meeting. passionate about the work our of- Trodden, 64, grew up in Ar- fice does and after almost 25 yxÄÄÉã WxÅá |Ç lington and has been the county’s years as an assistant and deputy, chief prosecutor since 1993, I’m thrilled to be able to run for when he was appointed to suc- commonwealth’s attorney. I will à{x y|Üáà áÉv|tÄ ceed Helen Fahey. He won elec- continue the work of ensuring tion in 1995, 1999, 2003 and 2007 that the voices of crime victims xäxÇà Éy à{x çxtÜA without ever facing opposition. TRODDEN are heard and that the formidable The office of about two dozen powers of a prosecutor are exer- attorneys prosecutes all criminal cases in the county. cised with integrity, fairness and professionalism. fxx wxàt|Äá tà The two Democrats who have announced plans I’m looking forward to working hard and earning to run are Theo Stamos, 53, who has served on the the support of the voters in Arlington County and staff of the commonwealth’s attorney for more than the City of Falls Church.” ÄÉãxÜ Ü|z{àA two decades, and David Deane, 38, a defense at- continued on page seven The party parties on New Year’s You don’t have to wait long for the first Demo- stromboli, or other brunchie nibblies, wine, and ci- cratic social gathering of 2011—just 12 hours. der. The annual Arlington Dems New Year celebra- The Kitchen Crew welcomes additional folks tion will be held from noon to 2 p.m. January 1 at for set up, clean up, slicing bread, and keeping the the home of County Board Member Barbara mulled cider bowl filled! Please contact Madi Favola, 2319 North 18th Street. The street is paral- Green at [email protected] if you’d lel to and a block south of Lee Highway, near the like to help out! For everything you ever Lee-Vietch intersection just up the hill from Rosslyn. The New Year’s event was started decades ago This annual event follows the organizational at the home of Joe Fisher when he was a member wanted to know about meeting of the Arlington County Board, which ev- of the County Board, and was held there for years Arlington’s four-year eryone can attend in person or watch on TV. after he left the Board and went on to the U.S. House election cycle and didn’t The New Year’s event is free for all. Follow- of Representatives. The celebration now rotates ing tradition, everyone brings bread, quick breads, among the homes of County Board members. dare ask, see Page 10. ACDC Voice, January 2011, Page 2 Report from Chairman Mike Lieberman A chance to give back So many times over the course of the ing oil, core cooking components we have we work to shape will be able to do so on our year, we talk about the importance of caring been informed are those most often requested behalf. for those who are least able to care for them- this holiday season. With that in mind, I will close my col- selves. These are core Democratic values, But the holiday season is not the only umn with this simple request – that each and core community values, and core human val- time when we have a duty to give back. In- every one of you reading this column find a ues we should never take for granted. But deed, throughout the year, at every ACDC way to give back to your community this holi- while political action indirectly addresses meeting, we have made a point of collecting day season. Whether that is through ACDC, these challenges, it is not nearly often enough cereal and other non-perishable food for the another charity, or a simple donation of your that we get a chance to directly put our Demo- Arlington Food Assistance Center, helping in time, money or other resources, your help is cratic values into action. a small way to make sure every Arlingtonian very much needed, and I can assure you that That’s why I am particularly proud this has enough to eat. you will not regret it. No greater personal holiday season that ACDC has directed much In the summer, we worked with the Al- reward can be found than giving back to those of its energies to community service – put- exandria Democratic Committee to clean up who are not able to provide for themselves. ting our time, money and efforts into caring Four Mile Run, a stream that links our two Happy holidays to you and your fami- for those in the Arlington community who communities. And last winter, we worked to lies, and thanks for all that you do to make need it most. collect clothes and other necessities to ensure our Arlington community a better place. In just the last month, we have worked those who cannot afford warm clothing are with the Fairfax County Democrats to adopt able to have a buffer against the cold. a platoon in Afghanistan, providing food, We do these projects not for public credit clothes, and sundry items we are told are or for political gain, but rather because they Democratic Values in Action needed by our troops in the field. We have are the right thing to do. If we are not willing also worked with the Arlington Food Assis- to contribute ourselves to community service, tance Center to collect sugar, flour and cook- it is unrealistic to expect that the government Clothing and food collections continue At the January ACDC meeting, we will be collecting gently used and clean winter Jerry Botland coats for men and women, new work gloves for men, new coats for children and new Computer Consulting gloves and hats for boys and girls. As always, we will continue to collect Troubleshoot and resolve computer and cereal and canned goods for the Arlington computer related problems. Food Assistance Center (AFAC). Perform upgrades, set-up wireless routers and print servers. Bring these articles to the monthly meet- Transfer old files, address book and emails ing and drop them off just inside the door. from an old computer to a new one. Phone: (703) 933-0558 — [email protected] Published monthly by the Arlington County Democratic Committee 2009 North 14th Street, Suite #612, Arlington, VA 22201 Tel: (703) 528-8588 Fax: (703) 528-2321 http://www.arlingtondemocrats.org Chair: Mike Lieberman —(703) 408-3940 (h), [email protected] Editor-in-Chief: Warren L. Nelson —(703) 243-7867 (h), [email protected] Deputy Editor: Vacant Views expressed do not necessarily represent those of the ACDC unless expressly approved by an appropriate Committee Resolution Copyright ©2010, ACDC, All Rights Reserved ACDC Voice, January 2011, Page 3 Next Monthly Meeting Brian Moran All Dems Invited wins state Wednesday, January 5, 2011, 7:00 p.m. NRECA Building, 4301 Wilson Blvd Corner of North Taylor and Wilson, just east of Glebe & Wilson chairmanship Free parking under building, enter from Taylor Street Virginia Democrats have elected Brian Moran as the new chairman of the Demo- It’s time to start writing “2011” on all your checks cratic Party of Virginia (DPVA). Moran, 51, (checks???). ACDC will be in the New Year mode as well, succeeds Richard Cranwell who served as looking at “What’s ahead in 2011.” The County Board will state chair for five years. Both Moran and just have installed its new chair and the General Assem- Cranwell are former members of the House bly will start up in Richmond January 12. So, we will hear of Delegates. from our Richmond delegation, our County Board and our Moran defeated Peter Rousselot, former School Board about what to look for in 2011. chair of ACDC, in a vote taken by secret bal- lot at the December 4 meeting of the state party’s Central Committee in Newport News. More than 200 committee members attended. There was no debate before the vote, and the totals were not announced afterward. Rousselot moved to make the election of Moran by acclamation after being told he Bumper Sticker had not won. Rousselot said he had no regrets about of the Month running, and pledged to support Moran. “Brian deserves a chance. He won. There are no hard feelings on my part,” Rousselot said. Moran emphasized party unity going for- ward. He said he had gotten support from all across the state. “The divisions don’t exist,” he said. “We are unified.” One party issue Moran will have to im- mediately face is how to tackle the legisla- tive races next fall when all 100 seats in the House of Delegates and 40 in the Senate will be on the ballot in new districts drawn from the 2010 Census results.