The proposal will move through a discussion and public comment process before Council votes on it.
The proposal to replace polling places Alumni Hall and Tonsler with new polling places Charlottesville High School and Jackson-Via, and to redraw the lines of all current precincts in the City of Charlottesville, was presented to City Council on January 17th.
Jim Nix and Registrar Taylor Yowell explained at our November meeting that these changes were motivated by issues like population shifts and problems with location, building size, and parking.
The General Assembly is in Session!
A lot is happening between now and February 27th! If you want, you can follow things (play along!) from home by watching the House and Senate floor and committee livestreams through the links given on this General Assembly website page. And to understand how the VA legislative system works, check out the Albemarle Dems’ wonderful 9-pager “What Do Your Elected Officials Actually Vote For?” (aka LIS 101).
Voter Protection Update
Now that DPVA has suspended its voter protection work, that work falls to us locals! Kristin Clarens, Jeremy Jones, and Bekah Saxon are spearheading this very important work; if you’d like more information, or might want to volunteer to help with voter protection, please contact: bekah saxon at gmail.com
Court Support for Swords into Plowshares (Time #2)
The Jefferson School African American Heritage Center (JSAAHC) continues to be harassed by Confederate-sympathizing plaintiffs suing it to try to further delay the Swords into Plowshares repurposing of the Lee statue into inclusive art (an already City Council-approved project).
Please join us on Wed. February 1, 2023 at Charlottesville Circuit Court, 315 E. High Street to show our support for the project:
- 9:00am for a rally in front of the courthouse, for the Jefferson School African American Heritage Center, and for Dr. Andrea Douglas.
- 9:30am for the beginning of the actual court proceeding(stay and show your support by attending if you can!)
Dems Do Well in VA Special Elections!
Congratulations to all three of these great candidates:
- Closest to home, Jade Harris ran a great though unsuccessful race in the very heavily Republican-leaning District 24
- Aaron Rouse flipped the Virginia Beach State Senate District 7 for the Dems. This is a very important victory for protecting reproductive rights in Virginia!
- Holly Seibold won the District 35 House of Delegates race in NoVa.
Three VA Early-January “Must-Win” Special Elections
The three races below are critical to protect the progress we’ve made and for the upcoming legislative session. We have just a few days left to elect candidates who will support reproductive and voting rights, environmental protection, rule of law, etc. These aren’t our districts, but Democrats are all on one team and we need to show up for each other!
1. Our friends at Rural GroundGame need our help for the final 4 days of District 24’s 1/10 Special Election that will helpfully see Jade Harris win a seat in the House of Delegates!
Jade is the only candidate in the race with solid, local, political experience (she was Vice Mayor of Glasgow, VA) and has worked on funding for community infrastructure and gun violence prevention.
At this point she really needs physical and virtual “boots on the ground” for the final GOTV:
- January 7, 8, & 9 — In-person AND virtual at 10am/Noon/3pm
- Election Day 1/10 — In-person AND virtual at 9am/Noon/3pm
In-person meet-up locations:
Lexington: 11 S. Jefferson St. Lexington, VA 24450
Amherst: (location TBA)
For more details, please reach out to harris4va@gmail.com
2. Aaron Rouse, former Virginia Beach City Councilman (and Hokie/NFL football player) is running for VA-07 State Senate (Virginia Beach area). The election is Jan. 10th. Visit https://rouseforsenate.com to find out more about this excellent candidate, and donate here.
3. VA-35 (Fairfax County) has a January 7th Special Election. Holly Siebold is a progressive Dem (and Mom and Educator), and this is an important seat for us to keep blue! Visit hollyseibold.com for info about this excellent candidate, and donate here.