CvilleDems.org

The Charlottesville Democratic Committee

News

Dues are Due! 

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3 old coins in someone's open palm
Treasurer Jason Vandever reminds us that 2023 dues (kept at the same affordable $15 rate for many years) can be paid via Act Blue or by mailing a check payable to:
Cville Dems to PO Box 916, Cville 22902.
If you’re already set up in Act Blue for a monthly donation, that recurring donation covers you and you needn’t do anything (convenient!).

Highlights of the Executive Committee 2/27 Meeting

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cartoon people sitting around a meeting table

  • Our party must collect the paperwork from all primary candidates between March 20 and April 6, and immediately afterwards verify the petition signatures to get each candidate on the ballot. It’s fun, and much quicker, as a group project; please email cvilledemschair@gmail.com for information if you might be able to pitch in a few hours.
  • We’d like to organize some candidate forums in April, possibly in collaboration with the Albemarle Democrats. Details will be announced when they’re worked out.
  • Nancy Damon updated us on the upcoming annual dinner fundraiser, tentatively scheduled for Friday June 2 (see below). Thanks to Nancy and the committee for doing all the planning!
  • We want to increase our efforts at community engagement to get more people (and more diversity!) in our membership. If you or someone you know might be interested in joining this effort, please contact cvilledemschair@gmail.com.
  • We’ve formalized some policies and procedures for covering the primary candidates, so we can pass on information to our members without showing favoritism to any candidate.
  • Kate Vasiloff, a local activist working with Compassion and Choices to expand end-of-life options, briefed us on a proposed bill that would allow for assisted suicide in very narrowly prescribed cases of incurable terminal illnesses. In past years, the General Assembly hasn’t passed similar bills, despite large majority support from both Democratic and Republican voters. The Charlottesville Democrats have not taken any position on this issue. If you’d like to learn more, or to participate in this effort, you can contact Kate: kate@untoldresearch.com 
  • Erin Monaghan gave 5th District and DPVA reports (see below).

2023 General Assembly Spring Session Ends

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Interior photo of Virginia state legislature

The spring Virginia legislative session is over, with plenty of sturm und drang but no budget thanks to Gov. Youngkin’s political posturing around tax cuts. One sample headline: “Va. General Assembly ends session with no budget deal, leaving money unspent“). Nathan Alderman and the Albemarle Dems do a great job covering the nuts and bolts of what’s going on in Richmond, we’re waiting to see his latest recap here.

Jennifer McClellan Rolls in 2/21 Special Election

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Jennifer_McClellan 2023 campaign photo

Congratulations to Jennifer for winning the special election (with 75% of the vote!) to serve the unfinished US House of Representatives term of the late Rep. Donald McEachin, thus becoming the first Black woman to represent Virginia in Congress. Next up: a 3/28 special election to replace her!

Charlottesville’s (DRAFT) Zoning Plan Revision

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Colorful map showing various areas of new DRAFT Charlottesville zoning map“It’s finally here! Charlottesville has released its draft zoning map. As dry as that sounds, this small document has the potential to dramatically change the look, feel — and livability — of this city for decades to come.”
That quote is from a Charlottesville Tomorrow overview of where this long process stands (prior background articles here and here and here) and notes how to share your input on the draft, either in writing (via this Google Form or to engage@cvilleplanstogether.com) and/or at these upcoming community open houses:
  • Wed. Feb. 22, 6:00-8:30pm — Charlottesville High School cafeteria, 1400 Melbourne
  • Thurs. Feb. 23, 6:00-8:30pm — Buford Middle School cafeteria, 1000 Cherry Ave.
  • Sat. Feb. 25, 11am to 1:30pm — CitySpace, 100 5th St. NW (Downtown Mall)
Other information sources to check out: Cville Plans Together(including an interactive map), the City of Charlottesville website, and some of these groups that have been working on housing issues for years: Charlottesville Low-Income Housing Coalition (CLIHC), the Charlottesville-Albemarle Affordable Housing Coalition (CHAAHC), the Piedmont Housing Alliance (PHA), and Habitat for Humanity.

From the Primary Campaign Trail

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Round graphic saying "Virginia is for Voters" put out by Virginia Department of ElectionsHere are the candidates we know about in 2023 Charlottesville election races (partisan races only, we won’t be disseminating information about the non-partisan but important races for City of Charlottesville School Board and Jefferson District Soil and Water Board):
Virginia Senate District 11
Delegate Sally Hudson (https://sallyforvirginia.com)
Sen. Creigh Deeds (https://www.senatordeeds.com/)
Virginia House of Delegates District 54
David Brown (dbrowndc@gmail.com)
Charlottesville City Council
(3 seats, but we’ve not seen any candidacies announced yet)
As a matter of policy, the Cville Dems don’t take sides in primaries. We’ll cover these races through June in an even-handed way in this newsletter, on our website, and on social media.
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