We still need one or two friendly Dems to represent us at each polling station for just a few hours on Election Day, to share a sample ballot (marked for Josh!) and encourage people to take part in our local Democratic activities. We’ll provide the info that you’d need (it’s not hard!), please email us at cvilledemschair@gmail.org if you might be able to help with this very important final opportunity to influence people who will be voting in 20 seconds!
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The Charlottesville Area Young Democrats (CAYD) are up-and-running!
The newest Virginia Young Democrats chapter will serve Charlottesville and Albemarle, Buckingham, Fluvanna, and Greene Counties. If you’re between 13-35 and would like to register voters, canvass, and take campaign actions with other young people, sign up at bit.ly/cvilleyds, or get more info from their Facebook page (or email cvilleyds@gmail.com). The group’s initial officers are:
- President: Kara Kline (southside_region@vayd.org)
- VP: Trent Fisher
- Treasurer: Dashad Cooper
- Secretary: Hailey Yowell
- Outreach Director: Amanda Snead
- Communications Director: Samantha Litchford
REPORT: Ézé Amos A12 “The Story of Us” Photo Exhibition Events
Our two A12 events around Ézé Amos’ photo exhibition The Story of Us: Reclaiming the Narrative of #Charlottesville through Portraits of Community Resilience were very successful.
• Presentation (8/10) — 50 people, in-person and online, attended Ézé’s overview of the exhibition (partially given “in conversation with” Andrea Douglas, Executive Director of the Jefferson School African American Heritage Center). If you missed it, here’s a recording of Ézé’s presentation; the first 24 minutes, mostly Ézé and Andrea discussing how Eze’s became a photojournalist, why he chose the Downtown Mall and racial justice struggles as his main subject areas, and how he chose the 36 photos for this exhibition. The first 24 minutes are audio-only, but the video kicks in when he starts showing the photos.
• Walking Tour (8/13) — What was planned as a one-hour tour lasted two hours as Ézé led us to each installation and explained (much abridged) what was going on in each photo and a bit about each person featured. 100 or more people joined the tour at various points to listen and ask questions.
Thank you Ézé and Andrea and everyone who turned out for this very meaningful A12 commemoration.
If you’ve not seen the photos yet on the Downtown Mall, don’t wait much longer; the photos will be taken down after September 29th, though you’ll be able to visit Eze’s website.
Environmental Resolutions Approved
The full text of the approved resolutions are given on page 3 of our Earth Day flyer, but in short:
- We fully support the retirement of fossil-fuel electricity-generating facilities, the increased energy efficiency and renewable energy requirements, and the goal of a fully decarbonized power grid in Virginia by 2050 in 2020’s bipartisan Virginia Clean Economy Act (VCEA)
- We call on Governor Youngkin to protect and continue Virginia’s participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI, “Reggie”) and to reinstate the permitting authority recently removed from various state oversight boards.
- We call on the General Assembly to pass legislation prohibiting public utility companies from making political contributions to candidates and incumbents in various state offices.
- We call on the State Corporation Commission (SCC) to reject the February 2022 recommendation for a minimum bill of $55/month for participation in the upcoming Dominion Power Community Solar Program.
- We urge Gov. Youngkin to rescind his Executive Order 17 in order to reinstate Gov. Northam’s Executive Order 77 which required executive-branch state agencies to give up single-use plastics by the end of 2025.
- We urge the Charlottesville City Council to adopt a meaningful Climate Action Plan and to enact, this year, a zoning code that addresses a wide range of changes that will decrease the carbon footprint of both existing and future city residents.
- We support the Community Climate Collaborative’s (3C) Accessible, Clean Transportation (ACT) initiative that seeks robust, efficient and equitable public transit.
- We support theDivestUVA campaign, which calls on the UVA Endowment Fund to reallocate the millions of dollars invested in the fossil-fuel industries.