Now that DPVA has suspended its voter protection work, that work falls to us locals! Kristin Clarens, Jeremy Jones, and Bekah Saxon are spearheading this very important work; if you’d like more information, or might want to volunteer to help with voter protection, please contact: bekah saxon at gmail.com
Events
Court Support for Swords into Plowshares (Time #2)
The Jefferson School African American Heritage Center (JSAAHC) continues to be harassed by Confederate-sympathizing plaintiffs suing it to try to further delay the Swords into Plowshares repurposing of the Lee statue into inclusive art (an already City Council-approved project).Please join us on Wed. February 1, 2023 at Charlottesville Circuit Court, 315 E. High Street to show our support for the project:
- 9:00am for a rally in front of the courthouse, for the Jefferson School African American Heritage Center, and for Dr. Andrea Douglas.
- 9:30am for the beginning of the actual court proceeding(stay and show your support by attending if you can!)
Dems Do Well in VA Special Elections!
Congratulations to all three of these great candidates:
- Closest to home, Jade Harris ran a great though unsuccessful race in the very heavily Republican-leaning District 24
- Aaron Rouse flipped the Virginia Beach State Senate District 7 for the Dems. This is a very important victory for protecting reproductive rights in Virginia!
- Holly Seibold won the District 35 House of Delegates race in NoVa.
Three VA Early-January “Must-Win” Special Elections
The three races below are critical to protect the progress we’ve made and for the upcoming legislative session. We have just a few days left to elect candidates who will support reproductive and voting rights, environmental protection, rule of law, etc. These aren’t our districts, but Democrats are all on one team and we need to show up for each other!
1. Our friends at Rural GroundGame need our help for the final 4 days of District 24’s 1/10 Special Election that will helpfully see Jade Harris win a seat in the House of Delegates!
Jade is the only candidate in the race with solid, local, political experience (she was Vice Mayor of Glasgow, VA) and has worked on funding for community infrastructure and gun violence prevention.
At this point she really needs physical and virtual “boots on the ground” for the final GOTV:
- January 7, 8, & 9 — In-person AND virtual at 10am/Noon/3pm
- Election Day 1/10 — In-person AND virtual at 9am/Noon/3pm
In-person meet-up locations:
Lexington: 11 S. Jefferson St. Lexington, VA 24450
Amherst: (location TBA)
For more details, please reach out to harris4va@gmail.com
2. Aaron Rouse, former Virginia Beach City Councilman (and Hokie/NFL football player) is running for VA-07 State Senate (Virginia Beach area). The election is Jan. 10th. Visit https://rouseforsenate.com to find out more about this excellent candidate, and donate here.
3. VA-35 (Fairfax County) has a January 7th Special Election. Holly Siebold is a progressive Dem (and Mom and Educator), and this is an important seat for us to keep blue! Visit hollyseibold.com for info about this excellent candidate, and donate here.
Full Committee Meeting via Zoom (Monday January 9th, 6:30pm)
UPDATE: This meeting, the only one we’re having in January, will only be on Zoom, not also in person as previously announced. Don’t go to the library, instead look for an email a day or two pre-meeting providing the Zoom link.
Here are the agenda highlights:
Voter Protection
DPVA is eliminating its statewide Voter Protection Department, so we and other local committees need to meet and establish our own VoPro committees. Priority #1 is to recruit an army of volunteers to help voters who have Election Day problems, including any voters whose eligibility is challenged. These people need to be in place for this November’s election so we can use that experience to prepare for the November 2024 presidential election, where it could really matter! Kristin Clarens will brief us on the evolving voter protection strategy.
2023 Primaries
There will likely be primaries in June 2023 for City Council, House of Delegates, and State Senate elections. We’ll share what we know about the primaries at this meeting.
Update on Ranked Choice Voting (RCV)
Delegate Hudson told the Executive Committee last month that, due to electronic voting equipment limitations, City Council won’t have the ability to use RCV in a 6/2023 primary, but could authorize its use starting as soon as the 11/2023 general election. Sally asked the Executive Committee to consider having the Full Committee pass a resolution telling City Council whether we support or oppose an ordinance authorizing RCV for City Council elections.
Sally shared a document with some of her perspectives on RCV (please look it over before the meeting):
Court Support for the Jefferson School / Swords into Plowshares
The Jefferson School African American Heritage Center continues to be harassed by Confederate-sympathizing plaintiffs suing it to try to further delay the Swords into Plowshares repurposing of the Lee statue into inclusive art (an already City Council-approved project). Please join us on Monday, January 9 at 3pm at Charlottesville Circuit Court, 315 E High St., to show our support for Dr. Andrea Douglas and the JSAAHC as she answers some questions in advance of the trial.
Despite the on-going legal harassment, the Swords into Plowshares team has completed the community engagement phase and will soon begin the search for an artist to create new art in collaboration with the community.
