Regional Obama Campaign Office Opens on Downtown Mall

Strong Cville voter turnout is key to turning VA blue!

News Shorts

• HELP SEND KRISTIN SZAKOS TO THE DENVER NATIONAL CONVENTION
The Democratic Committee of Charlottesville is proud to have one of our own selected as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention. Kristin is accepting private donations to help her get to Denver. The City Democratic Committee has agreed to match each dolar contribution up to $200.00. You can contribute on line or contact jlm2z@yahoo.com for additional details). Thank you in advance! Lets help turn Virginia blue.

• Del. David Toscano recaps the "resounding thud" that was the General Assembly's Special Session on Transportation (July 11).

• Congratulations to the 2008 winners of the Grace Tinsley Scholarships: CHS graduates Kiara Redd-Martin (below, left) and Erica Jackson (below, right).

• Charlottesville Democratic Party Co-Chair Jonathan Blank is quoted in a Daily Progress article on the meaning of patriotism (July 6).

• The Charlottesville - Albemarle Coordinated Campaign needs volunteers. The coordinated campaign will be canvassing and phone-banking for the Obama, Warner, and Perriello campaigns. See Volunteer Opportunities for details.

• Alan Zimmerman spends a day with the Tom Perriello campaign -- read all about it on our blog

• Tom Perriello launches unprecedented volunteer tithing initiative -- 10% of all volunteer efforts will be directed to community service projects around the 5th Congressional District. See the discussion on our new Virginia Politics blog.

volunteers at the regional Obama campaign office in Charlottesville

Throngs of supporters came out Saturday, July 19, to celebrate the opening of a regional campaign office for Barack Obama. The crowd heard Kristin Szakos, David Toscano, David Slutzky and Sarah El Amin speak. The theme of the evening was turn Virginia Blue- which is change all of us can believe in. To change VA Blue some work needs to be done: registering voters, restoring voters rights, identifying potential voters, and turning out those voters.

Charlottesville will be instrumental in determining whether Virginia turns blue this November. The Charlottesville Committee is committed to 90/90 plan, 90% turnout and 90% of the voters voting for Barack Obama, Tom Perriello and Mark Warner. Help us turn out the vote this year by volunteering with the campaign organizations in town. We can turn VA Blue!

For more on Obama's prospects in Virginia see:

• Obama Adds 20 Va. Offices In a Big Push To Win State, Washington Post, July 17, 2008.

• Obama saturates Virginia with hopes of carrying state, Roanoke Times, July 17, 2008.

• In Virginia, Thawing a Map, Washington Post, July 15, 2008.

• Can Obama Paint Virginia Blue?, Newsweek

Below, click to watch Obama's campaign ad, "The Country I Love."

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