Events

POSTPONED to Saturday Jan. 13: Reorganization Meeting (with music and food!)

Posted on January 4, 2024

Rescheduled Date/Time: NEXT Saturday January 13 BUT start time moved to 2pm (you will need to arrive before 3pm to vote!). The City closed Carver Rec, we had no choice but to cancel.

Location: Carver Recreation Center, 233 4th Street, NW

Pushed back one week, still a great opportunity for new people with new ideas to get involved!!

Schedule:

During the 2-3pm registration hour we’ll be chatting with attendees and signing up volunteers. We’ll have light food (fresh apple juice, coffee, and homemade scones) and probably some live acoustic music. Current precinct committee members should arrive early to greet attendees, especially those new to us, and help them find the volunteer signup table(s) that match their interest(s) such as GOTV, event planning, helping with petitions, media, etc.

At 3pm sharp, the doors close (no one arriving after 3pm will be allowed in) and we switch over to election business (should only take about an hour):

Attendees who we’ve signed in by 3pm will elect Precinct Representatives, who then choose either a chair or two co-chairs for each precinct. Anyone who lives in and is registered to vote in Charlottesville is eligible to stand for election to become a member of our committee and have a voice in shaping our local party’s actions and positions on issues.
The Precinct Representatives and ex officio members, who together make up the Charlottesville Democratic Committee (“The Full Committee”), will then elect candidates for the following offices (listed with all candidates who have so far generously offered to run for them):

Co-Chairs: Josh Throneburg and Nancy Damon
Vice-Chair: still seeking candidate(s)
Treasurer: Jason Vandever is willing to stay on
Secretary: still seeking candidate(s)

Note that we have four other positions on the Executive Committee that are appointed, not elected:

Communications: Mary Jane Gore has volunteered to serve.
Voter Registration: Suzanne Michels is willing to stay on,
Voter Protection: Jeremy Jones is willing to stay on.
Fundraising: still seeking candidate(s).

Layperson descriptions of these various offices are on our website; full descriptions of the precinct roles (and officer roles) are in our bylaws.

These “changing of the guard” elections are critically important for every organization, including ours; it’s always important to have fresh faces and new ideas in the leadership mix.

To put it bluntly, we need you! We all know that the 2024 election will be a struggle for the future of this country. If we don’t grow the party (bring in new people with new energy and ideas), we’ll have to live with a re-elected President Trump and more MAGA extremists in all branches of government. If that’s not an acceptable future to you, then please rise to the challenge and play a part!

If you’re on our mailing list but haven’t ever gotten formally involved, this pivotal election year would be a really good time to give engagement a small try! Two of the ways you might do this (neither a big time commitment):

become a precinct representative, which gives you a voice in shaping the party, and plugs you into our volunteer network and all the practical ways you can work for good.

join one of our teams (Communications, Voter Registration, Voter Protection, etc.).

If you’re already a little bit involved, contribute just a bit more by joining a precinct committee or taking on one of our open leadership positions.

If you know people who you think could make good contributions to the Cville Dems, encourage them to come check us out (all of our meetings are public, including January 6).

If you’d like more information or have a question about a role you might consider taking, please contact John McLaren as soon as possible at cvilledemschair@gmail.com, and he’ll be happy to explain all.

CALL TO CAUCUS TO REORGANIZE THE CHARLOTTESVILLE DEMOCRATIC COMMITTEE 2024-2025

Posted on December 31, 2023

CALL TO CAUCUS
TO REORGANIZE THE
CHARLOTTESVILLE DEMOCRATIC COMMITTEE
2024-2025

The Charlottesville Democratic Committee (“Cville Dems”) will hold an assembled caucus on Saturday, January 6, 2024, from 2:00pm-4:00pm at the Carver Recreation Center, 233 4th Street, NW, Charlottesville, VA 22902, for the sole purpose of electing precinct representatives and alternates to the 2024-2025 Charlottesville Democratic Committee, as authorized by the Charlottesville Democratic Committee Bylaws and the Democratic Party of Virginia Party Plan. The doors at Carver will open at 1:00pm and close at 2:00pm sharp so the caucus can begin (see below).

Please take a moment to go to this Facebook Event listing to indicate that you’ll be attending; we want to get a big turnout from both currently active members and newcomers, so the more RSVPs the better!!

*Notice Requirements***

The Charlottesville Democratic Committee shall cause to be published the time, date and location of the caucus at least seven (7) days prior to the caucus. All notices shall be published on the Democratic Party of Virginia’s website (www.vademocrats.org) as well as the website of the Charlottesville Democratic Committee (www.cvilledems.org), and a related press release shall be provided to all relevant newspapers of general circulation in the locality of Charlottesville.

Eligibility

Every Democrat who is a registered voter in the City of Charlottesville is urged to attend and participate. If an individual does not appear on the Registered Voter List, they will not be allowed to participate. Participants will also be required to sign a Caucus Participation Form stating that they:

Are a Democrat;
Are a registered voter within the City of Charlottesville, and indicating their voting precinct;
Believe in the principles of the Democratic Party; and
Do not intend to support any candidates opposed to a Democratic nominee in the next ensuing election.

Membership allocation

The elected membership of the Charlottesville Democratic Committee is allocated among the City’s voting precincts, and the caucus participants from each precinct will elect their precinct’s representatives. The number of positions within each precinct shall be as follows: Key Recreation, 16; Clark, 13; Carver, 8; Venable, 6; Jackson-Via, 13; Johnson, 9; Buford, 8; Charlottesville High School, 17; Walker, 10.

Conduct of the caucus

The doors to the caucus will open at 1:00pm and close at 2:00pm sharp. Upon the closing of the doors, only those participants who have registered, or are in line to register, will be permitted to participate.

The Chair of the Charlottesville Democratic Committee or his designee shall be the Temporary Chair of the Caucus and shall appoint a Temporary Secretary and such other Temporary Officers of the Caucus as is deemed appropriate. Until the adoption of Caucus Rules, the order of the caucus shall be determined by the Chair of the Caucus, subject to the approval of the caucus participants, Robert’s Rules of Order, and the Democratic Party of Virginia Party Plan.

There is no charge to participate in the caucus. Annual dues are expected from those who are elected as precinct representatives or alternates (Bylaws Section 3.07). If payment of dues would cause hardship to a precinct representative or alternate, s/he may request a waiver from the Chair or Co-Chairs, once elected.

Determination of winners

In the event that fewer people stand as candidates for a precinct than the number of positions in that precinct, those candidates shall be declared the winners. If there are more candidates than positions within a precinct, the candidates will be elected by a plurality of the votes of the Democrats from that precinct who are present at the assembled caucus. Vacancies may be filled by the new committee at the first meeting following the election of Officers.

Commitment to diversity

It shall be the duty and goal of all members of the Charlottesville Democratic Committee to seek out and encourage the broadest possible participation within the committee, and in its membership, of all duly qualified citizens without regard to race, sex, age, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, ethnic identity, disability, or economic status.

Officer Elections

Immediately following the adjournment of the assembled caucus, the newly formed Charlottesville Democratic Committee will meet for the sole purpose of electing the officers of the committee. All nominations will be made from the floor of the meeting (Bylaws Section 3.06).

Those interested in participating can contact the party for more information at cvilledemschair@gmail.com.

___________________________________

John McLaren, Chair
Charlottesville Democratic Committee

Looking Ahead to 2024

Posted on November 16, 2023

Graphic labeled "Cooperation" showing six stylized stick figures, each a different bright color, holding hands to help each other up a jagged difficult-to-climb hillside. A green arrow points up the hill. Election 2023 is over, but an existential 2024 election is almost upon us that will determine whether or not America’s democracy will survive (not to mention action on climate change, abortion rights, voting rights, LGBTQ+ rights, corrupt Supreme Court Justices, etc.).

Too many Americans, including many Dems, are “looking away”, either unwilling to acknowledge the current reality or hoping others will do the work to keep that from happening. The more people who hold this mindset, the more likely our nightmares will come true.

Decide if you should be one of the people who actively works to preserve our democracy in the coming year. If yes… a good option is to become empowered and energized and activated by becoming more involved with other local Dems in 2024… perhaps by taking a role at the January Reorganization Meeting!?

Recent Cartoons from Clay Jones

Posted on November 16, 2023

A street hoodlum, blessed, dressed in black with a gold necklace and smoking a cigarette stands in front of a table set up on a sidewalk with three red drinking cups turned upside down in a triangle. The hoodlum says to another man, a potential customer on the other side of the table, who's holding money in his hand "All proceeds benefit the Donald J Trump legal defense fund". New House of Representative speaker Mike Johnson, standing at a lecturn labeled "MAGA Mike" in front of a big American flag, says "Billionaire tax cheaters are God's chosen people". In one hand, he holds a document reading "$14.3 billion to Israel" in the other hand, a document reading "$14.5 billion cuts to IRS". Donald Trump is sitting in a court witness stand. He holds a baby bottle in one hand, a coffee mug reading "A perfect boom boom" in the other, and has a bucket of fried chicken, a hamburger, a teddy bear, and a MAGA pacifier in the witness stand with him. Judge Arthur Engoron says "The court will now take a 15-minute recess for a diaper change." Two green aliens are in a flying saucer plastered with a variety of silly bumper stickers, headed away from Earth. One of the aliens is reading an alien newspaper headlined "Trump leads Biden in five swing states" and says "Maybe the next planet will have intelligent life…"

4 Ways to Work for a November 7 Dems Victory!

Posted on November 2, 2023

Local Option #1: Early In-Person Voting

You can still do Early Voting today, Friday, and Saturday at the Registrar’s Office in the City Hall Annex,120 7th St. NE, Room 142. Be sure to bring a valid-for-voting ID (see this overview and list of acceptable forms of ID). Saturday is our “Donut Forget to Vote”, see below.

Hours of operation:

Monday – Friday, 8:30am to 4:30pm (Thursdays until 7:00pm)
Next Saturday, October 28, and also Saturday, November 4, from 8:30am – 5:00pm

Note 1: When you do vote (whether Early or 11/7), be sure to wear the “I Voted” sticker they give you, to remind others to also vote!

Note 2: Curbside voting from a car is available to anyone with a disability, limited mobility, or who is over age 65; just call 434-970-3250 when you arrive at the Registrar’s Office.

Whether you’re voting early or voting on Election Day, check now to make sure you’re registered; botched Republican “voter security” efforts mistakenly purged thousands of eligible voters. Check your own registration, and warn friends and family to check theirs too!

Helpful website pages:

• Voter Registration and Voting Information

• City of Charlottesville’s Interactive Precinct Map to find your polling place

• Upcoming Local Elections

Local Option #2: “Turn Out the Vote Thursdays”

No more Option 2 efforts needed; we wrote and mailed approximately 7,500 postcards! This is far more than we’ve ever done before, thanks to (1) so many of you who pitched in by coming out to write postcards and/or who donated to buy stamps and cards, and (2) superb organizing by Mary Ann Harris, Nancy Damon, and Suzanne Michels -– huge kudos!

So our Thursdays at Ix work is done for this election cycle; no more Ix Park meet-ups until Spring!

Local Option #3: Canvassing (Last Chance!)

A woman standing in her front doorway is talking with another woman who has come by to canvass her neighborhood. This is our last weekend to reach voters; we need to make a BIG final push to overcome what is looking like an otherwise low-turnout election (not good for abortion rights or continued constitutional government or any of the issues that you care about!). The Charlottesville and Albemarle parties are partnering to ensure we win all our local races; with several uncontested City races, it makes sense to shift some of our energy and resources their way.

Senator Mark Warner came down last week to give our canvassing surge a boost (see report below) because winning Senator Creigh Deeds’ State Senate race is critical to keeping it under Democratic control, but all these races we’re canvassing for are very important:

State Senate: Incumbent Senator Creigh Deeds is favored to win our crucial Senate District 11, but the district has some very conservative areas, and we can’t be complacent if we’re going to keep this seat. His opponent, Philip Hamilton, is quite a piece of work; among other claims to fame, he’s publicly misgendered his own 12-year-old, claiming that school teachers had poisoned his child’s mind into being non-binary. And he favors schools outing gay students to their parents (see below in “Preaching Beyond the Choir”). This is not someone we want representing us; please donate to or canvass for (or both) the Deeds campaign!

House of Delegates: Amy Laufer (our Albemarle County neighbor running in a competitive District #55 race, recently endorsed by Gabby Giffords’s Gun Safety PAC) and Katrina Callsen (running unopposed in our District #54).

Charlottesville City Council: Natalie Oschrin, Michael Payne, and Lloyd Snook (running unopposed).

Charlottesville School Board: Amanda Burns, Shymora Cooper, Chris Meyer, and Nicole Richardson (four candidates running unopposed for four open seats).

Albemarle County Board of Supervisors: Bea LaPisto-Kirtley, Ann Mallek, and Michael Pruitt.

Albemarle County School Board (ACSB): Rebecca Berlin, Judy Le, Ellen Moore Osborne, and Allison Spillman. A few notes about Allison’s race: she’s running against Meg Scalia Bryce, the daughter of the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. Bryce (a) said on 10/15 at an NAACP forum “not everybody agrees that there is systemic racism. And it has to be OK for people to disagree about that.” (She’s also very offended by the County’s anti-racist curriculum), and (b) is very concerned that the ACSB has been treating LGBTQ kids with respect and support. Although Allison has been closing the fundraising gap, Scalia Bryce is still ahead. We can’t let extremists like her (e.g. a fan of the Moms for Liberty book banners) start taking over our local schools (per Forward Albemarle, all her kids attend private schools). Please help Allison’s campaign any way you can, especially via donations and canvassing help.

If you’d like to canvass locally (it takes about 3 hours):

1. On a weekday, please email karencombs6522@gmail.com.

2. On a weekend, sign up via Mobilize to participate in one or more of these coordinated canvasses:

Spreadsheet screenshot showing dates + start times + cities + locations of Fall 2023 Democratic canvasses as of 11-2-2023 - Some rows are highlighted in yellow

Maps to Combs’ Office and Mudhouse (Crozet)

Option #4: “Donut Forget to Vote” Saturday Morning 11/4 Event!

On Saturday November 4, the last day of Early Voting, we’ll be partying 8:30-11:00am near the Cville Registrar’s office (120 7th Street NE at City Hall Annex, near the Pavilion). Come join us and a medley of candidates who will chat with us and encourage us (and those walking by!?) to get their vote in. Donuts never hurt, so we’re offering them too!

Please contact Suzanne Michels suzemichels@gmail.com if you’d like to help with this event or have any questions. Thanks to our friends at Himalayan Fusion for help with staging logistics.

Sen. Creigh Deeds needs all our Cville blue votes to keep his seat and a Dem majority in the VA Senate. Don’t let the City’s uncontested races lull you into complacency; we need to work to make sure our neighbors and friends turn out to vote! So far this cycle, Early Voting is way down, which is worrisome…

Option #5 Non-local: Help Key VA Races with Time and/or Cash

Republicans control the House of Delegates and the Governor’s mansion, and Dems barely hold the Senate; if Republicans take the Senate, then Virginia will become Florida, which means forced childbirth laws, schools teaching whitewashed history, “don’t-say-gay” laws, and other measures to erase LGBTQ youth…we can’t let this happen!

Below is a list of the hottest “battleground races” (sorry it’s so fuzzy below, clearer in our newsletter for some reason) for Senate and House of Delegate seats.

Please please please:

tell your friends and family who live in these districts how critical it is that they get out and vote for these Democratic candidates!
ask them to ask their friends and family too!

SD 17 is enormous: Suffolk, Isle of Wight (including Franklin City), Portsmouth (part), Southampton, Brunswick, Greensville, Dinwiddie (part), Emporia, Chesapeake (part).

Note: past newsletters highlighted some of these great candidates, e.g. teacher Schuyler VanValkenburg, tech entrepreneur and veteran Michael Feggans, long-time Democratic staffer Lily Franklin (for Delegate Sam Rasoul and Josh Throneburg), and more!

“Donut Forget to Vote” Saturday Morning 11/4 Event!