Cville Dems

The Charlottesville Democratic Committee

Events

Abortion Rights and Access in a Post-Roe Charlottesville (RESCHEDULED)

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June 23, 2022 Abortion Access webinar poster

Anticipating the Supreme Court overturning abortion rights, the Cville Dems and the Blue Ridge Abortion Fund are sponsoring a Zoom webinar on Thursday June 23, 7:00-8:30pm, to help our community understand and prepare for the local challenges of the post-Roe abortion access landscape.

Pre-register here:  https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_ssI39I46QEuznYVZsy0_YQ

Virginia is a “receiving” state for abortion seekers; if abortion is banned in other states there’ll be a huge impact on abortion access here.
The webinar, produced by the Fund, will share “in the trenches” perspectives from a variety of Southern abortion funds:
  • how we got here
  • why the potential overturning of Roe isn’t just about abortion
  • how to talk about abortion access as a moral and community good
  • how community members can support abortion access today.
Please attend if you can (pre-registration required), and please share this invitation widely with friends, family, and anyone who wants/needs to understand this challenging new abortion landscape.
RESCHEDULED for 6/23 (originally 6/16), time and webinar link are still the same.

Josh Throneburg Campaign News (6/17/22)

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Photo of Josh TrentTrent Fisher, a VCU grad from Greene County, has just come on board as the Campaign’s point person for Charlottesville and Albemarle: canvassing, phone banking, text banking (coming very soon!), meet & greets, etc. Come meet him in person at next Saturday’s Fish Fry (you do have your tickets, right!?) or reach him by email trent@joshforvirginia.com .
Dudley Doane reports that Josh’s June 4th Leadership Summit (6/4) went really well, an all-around great day. Turnout was good (and diverse), and Dudley was particularly struck by a major turnout of trained up and motivated people from the former Spanberger districts and from the Lynchburg/Amherst area. Del. Sam Rasoul, Sen. Jennifer McClellan, DPVA’s Gaylene Kanoyton, 5th District Chair Patricia Harper-Tunley, and Rural GroundGame’s Jennifer Kitchen provided valuable training.
Josh Throneburg yard sign
Reminder: if you live at a high-visibility property, help raise Josh Throneburg’s visibility by hosting one of his yard signs! Dudley or Jane Boatner will be happy to deliver one to you, just contact him: jlbd1013@gmail.com

“Turn Out the Vote Thursdays”

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Photo of volunteers at Turn Out the Vote ThursdaysWe’ve started doing “Turn Out the Vote Thursdays” every Thursday (taking the place of “Take Action Tuesdays”) from 5-7pm outside of Brazos Tacos, to overlap with the sunset market at IX Park.

We’re writing postcards to newly registered City of Charlottesville voters, making phone calls, and generally doing what’s needed to help us win in November. Come join us and hang out while we help elect Dems!

Announcing our June 24th Fish Fry Fundraiser with Senator Louise Lucas!

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VA Senator Louise LucasOur big annual fundraiser will be the long-awaited, much discussed fish fry… with special guest Senator Louise Lucas!

  • WHEN: Friday, June 24, 6-8pm
  • WHERE: on the lawn of the Jefferson School African American Heritage Center, 223 4th Street NW

Come meet and hear Sen. Louise Lucas, President pro tempore of the Virginia Senate (and social media star famous for her barbed sense of humor!). VA 5th District candidate Josh Throneburg and VA 5th Chair Patricia Harper-Tunley will also be on hand to say a few words.

The outdoor setting will let us get together in person (finally!) in a safe way to catch up, hang out, and meet new people; it will be great fun! And your ticket purchases fund our November election work and everything else we do this year.

Individual tickets are $15, “bring a friend” tickets are $30, and children under 12 are only $5.

Sponsorships by individuals and companies (at various higher levels that include the dinner) make up the bulk of our proceeds (i.e. our annual budget!), so if you can please choose one of the sponsor options when you get your tickets.

Tickets are now available at https://secure.actblue.com/donate/demsfishfry. Additional event details are there too, e.g. a vegetarian option is available.

Please buy your tickets as soon as possible; we won’t be able to accommodate more than a handful of walk-ins without reservations (if any), so order your tickets now before you forget!

Josh Throneburg Charlottesville/Albemarle Dems Candidate Forum (May 10, 2022)

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An energetic crowd came out to the Jefferson School African-American Heritage Center on Tuesday, May 10th to hear Josh Throneberg answer questions about his 5th District race. The event ran smoothly and was well-moderated by Cville Dems Co-ChairDashad Cooper and Albemarle Dems Chair Amy Laufer.
The first 50 minutes are available online (watch Josh in action!), but here are some highlights courtesy of our Co-Chair John McLaren:
  • Josh made a good case for how he can win as a committed Democrat in a mostly rural Republican-leaning district; he grew up in a Republican family in a rural environment; he understands the district culture, he understands farm issues, and he takes a pragmatic approach on issues.
  • He unwaveringly supports a woman’s right to choose, and argues that Democratic policies are the best policies to reduce the number of abortions, e.g. the number of abortions fell every year of the Obama administration largely because Obama’s Affordable Care Act (ACA) expanded access to healthcare including contraceptives.
  • Farmers are acutely aware of the potentially disastrous impacts of climate change, e.g. the California drought which is drastically reducing agricultural productivity across-the-board.
  • Josh emphatically called out Rep. Good for failing to bring in any federal money whatsoever for projects in the Fifth District, while Senators Warner and Kaine have done so and Democrat Abigail Spanberger brought in $6 million in federal funds for Seventh District projects.
  • Josh reaffirmed that Democrats don’t want to take away peoples’ guns; we do want universal background checks and a few other widely popular, common sense loophole fixes that would help prevent tragedies.
It’s unusual to have the Democratic nominee in place so early in the cycle, and Josh is clearly hitting the ground running!

“Bans Off Our Bodies” rally was a big success!

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"Bans Off Our Bodies" rally for abortion and reproductive rights at Charlottesville Free Speech Wall (5/14/2022)

The grassroots group “Bans Off Our Bodies Cville” organized the rally, with very significant organizing support from the Cville Dems. The event was a great success despite some rainy weather, with 300-400 coming out to voice their support for abortion and reproductive rights.

Event speakers were:

  • Josh Throneburg, Candidate for VA 5th District
  • Prof. Anne Coughlin, UVA Law
  • Prof. Larycia Hawkins, UVA Religion
  • Deborah Arenstein, Blue Ridge Abortion Fund
  • Renee Branson, Sexual Assault Resource Agency (SARA)
  • Doris Gelbman, local attorney
  • Dr. Irène Mathieu, local pediatrician

Thanks to all the Cville Dems who did Voter Registration (our VR crew also did a second event at the same time!), who volunteered to help make the event happen, and who attended to show our support!

Video of the “Bans Off Our Bodies” rally for abortion and reproductive rights at the Charlottesville Free Speech Wall (5/14/2022)