Cville Dems

The Charlottesville Democratic Committee

Kudos to the Voter Protection Team!

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graphic headlined "Voting in Virginia is Protected" listing some of the protections voters have

Jeremy Jones and his Voter Protection Team did a great job making sure voters in our heavily Democratic districts were able to cast their ballots from sunup to sundown. Having fewer competitive local races than in most other surrounding areas, members of our C’ville-based team were able to help out in Goochland, Fluvanna, and Henrico. We’re already collecting our learnings from these experiences to make sure we’re even more effective in 2024.

If you might be willing to get involved in these very important voter empowerment efforts, or have any questions, please reach out to Jeremy: hijeremyjones@gmail.com .

4 Ways to Work for a November 7 Dems Victory!

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Round graphic saying "Virginia is for Voters" put out by Virginia Department of ElectionsLocal 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 yellowSpreadsheet 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)

A Cville Dems poster whose top shows eight donuts with varying shades of blue icing in a circle; in the middle of the arranged donuts are the words "Donut forget to VOTE". Text under the images reads "This Saturday, November 4, 8:30-11:00am outside City Registrars Office City Hall Annex, 120 Seventh Street NE. Meet Senator Deeds, Katrina Callsen, and candidates for City Council and School Board. Free yummy donuts!"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:

  1. tell your friends and family who live in these districts how critical it is that they get out and vote for these Democratic candidates!
  2. 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!

REPORT: Senator Mark Warner’s 10/28 GOTV Visit

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Senator Mark Warner speaking to a crowd of Charlottesville and Albemarle County Dems on Sunday October 28 2023 at a Pen Park get-out-the-vote pre-canvass lunchLast weekend the Albemarle Dems hosted a Sunday pre-canvass get-out-the-vote (GOTV) event at Pen Park with Sen. Mark Warner as guest speaker. The Senator was in fine form, flagging the many ways that Democratic policies over the past few years have benefitted Virginians:

  • Preserving abortion and reproductive rights
  • Infrastructure improvements under Biden (massive job-creating investments)
  • Internet access for more people
  • Efforts to address climate change and Environmental protection
  • Democracy and rule of law (our election systems and Justice Dept withstood Trump’s/Republicans’ lawlessness)

All this progress (and more!) disappears if we lose our razor-thin majority in the Senate; Creigh Deeds’ seat is critical!

Roughly 90 Dems came out to hear his inspiring remarks; they asked questions, took pictures, and then went out to hit lots of doors in the canvass afterwards. Buoyed by the nice weather and provided lunch, spirits and energy were high! Thank you Albemarle Dems chair Karen Combs for organizing this great gathering.

 

Crowd of Charlottesville and Albemarle County Dems on Sunday October 28 2023 listening to Senator Mark Warner at a Pen Park get-out-the-vote pre-canvass lunch

Work for Democratic Victories on November 7!

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Local Option #1: Early In-Person Voting

Round graphic saying "Virginia is for Voters" put out by Virginia Department of ElectionsEarly Voting is happening now through November 4 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). 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: 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”

Poster using a wide variety of different letter and background colors used with the words "Turn out the Vote Thursdays, Phone bank, Have a Taco, write postcards to voters"

No more work at Ix needed, we wrote and mailed approximately 7,500 postcards! This is far more than we’ve ever done before, and it happened due to:

  • Superb organizing by Mary Ann Harris, Nancy Damon, and Suzanne Michels – huge kudos!
  • Sincere gratitude to everyone who pitched in throughout the Summer and Fall by writing postcards and/or donating money to buy postcards and stamps.

So our Thursday at Ix work is done for this cycle, no more meet-ups at IX Park this Fall!

Now for the details about those 7500 postcards:

  •    700 to new City of Charlottesville voters
  • 1,800 to new Albemarle County voters
  • 2,000 to City residents
  •    500 for Rachel Levy in Louisa County
  •    500 for Michael Feggans in Virginia Beach
  • 1,000 for Susanna Gibson in Henrico County
  • 1,000 for Lily Franklin in Montgomery County.

It was a pleasure spending time with old friends and getting to meet new friends — spending our Thursday afternoons together working to help elect the best candidates locally and statewide! We’re most definitely looking forward to sitting around the picnic tables in the Spring when the BIG 2024 presidential election cycle begins.

We hope most of you will join us for the big Sunday October 28 Canvassing push with Sen. Mark Warner at Pen Park! And… make sure to remind all your Dem-leaning friends, both City and County, of the importance of voting; we can’t take victory for granted, it’s all about turnout!

Local Option #3: Canvassing

We’re partnering with the Albemarle Dems to ensure we win all our local races; with several uncontested City races, it makes sense to shift some of our energy.

  • 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, use SignUp Genius to participate in one or more of these coordinated canvasses:

Option #4 Non-local: Help Key VA Races with Time and/or Cash

Pink-colored piggy bank surrounded by gold coinsRepublicans 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” for Senate and House of Delegate seats. Please please please:

1 of 2 spreadsheet screenshots showing the most competitive 2023 Virginia Legislature races, with columns giving District number, which City or County, name of the Democrat running, and relevant notes.

2 of 2 spreadsheet screenshots showing the most competitive 2023 Virginia Legislature races, with columns giving District number, which City or County, name of the Democrat running, and relevant notes.

 

 

 

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

Note: past newsletters have highlighted other great candidates in close races, like teacher Schuyler Vanvalkenburg, tech entrepreneur and veteran Michael Feggans, long-time Democratic staffer Lily Franklin (for Delegate Sam Rasoul and Josh Throneburg), and more!

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