Cville Dems

The Charlottesville Democratic Committee

For the First Time, Cville will Use Ranked Choice Voting

Posted on

Ranked-choice voting will be used for the first time in Charlottesville for its City Council primary race only. In alphabetical order, the candidates are: Jen Fleisher, Brian Pinkston, and Juandiego Wade. Voters will pick two candidates from these three. This means rather than voting for a candidate by filling in circles, you will be able to rank candidates as your first, second, and third choices when you vote. The one in third place will lose the race. For more details on ranked-choice voting, read this article and/or watch this video and/or check out Ranked Choice Virginia’s community education events.

The League of Women Voters is conducting a May 7 online information session at 1:30pm; register in advance at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1254496846839.

Summer Bash will be August 23

Posted on

Stylized graphic with Multicolored capital letters spelling out "SUMMER" + Brown capital letters spelling out "BASH"(both mounted on a wood plank backing). The plank is set on top of a summer floral arrangement.

Save the date of Saturday, August 23, for our big night of the year, the Cville Dems Summer Bash. This year, tickets for the festive night out with speakers and a fine meal from Pearl Island Catering in the (air conditioned!) Carver Rec Center will be $40 per person, and sponsorships are available at the levels of $125, $250, $500, $1,000, and $5,000. Stay tuned for more information!

This is our only fundraiser of the year, so we really appreciate all the support you can give us this August.

Join Cville Canvassing for Abigail Spanberger for Governor

Posted on

The Abigail Spanberger for Governor Campaign will be canvassing the next two weeks and then some. If you’d like to knock doors to talk to LeanDemocrats and Strong Democrats who don’t always turn out to vote, see below. Canvassers will meet up at Belmont Park every Saturday at 10am and 1pm, and every Sunday at 1pm.

Here are the links to sign up:

CAMPAIGN NEWS: Sierra Thomas has just arrived in Virginia as campaign’s regional organizer for the 5th and 6th districts. Jimmy Flood (jimmy@abigailspanberger.com) is the 5th District organizer we’re in touch with for now; soon six organizers for the 5th District will be helping throughout the election cycle.

“Thursdays at Ix Park” Will Begin in June

Posted on

We’ll remind you again in the coming weeks, but the volunteer activities at Ix Park will resume this year after the June 17 primary, once we know which candidates will be on the final election ballot for Charlottesville voters. The time will be 5-7pm for Ix Park activities.

This year we’ll also be helping Lily Franklin in the Blacksburg (VA-41) House of Delegates District with cards, calls, and texts. She lost by under 200 votes in her last try, and we want to bring her over the finish line with a seat in Richmond.

Rep. John McGuire a No-Show at Town Hall Meeting

Posted on

A cardboard cutout of John McGuire at a odium onstage with a full auditorium of Democrats and other constituents wanting answers

Almost 1,000 people attended a town hall at Charlottesville High School’s MLK Auditorium on Saturday, April 26 to which 5th District Republican Congressman John McGuire had been repeatedly invited by Indivisible Charlottesville — but did not respond. The group propped up onstage a full-sized, cardboard cutout of McGuire at a podium.

Attendees then lined up at several microphones set up around the auditorium to ask questions they would have posed to the real McGuire on a wide range of topics including the economy and federal funding and job cuts. They also wrote questions on cards to be collated and delivered this week to McGuire’s office. We’ll see if he responds.

Also among the audience: other local, county, and state lawmakers. Thank you to Creigh Deeds, Katrina Callsen, Amy Laufer, Lloyd Snook, and Michael Payne for coming to listen to your constituents, and to Hashmi Ghazala for her inspiring words.

Note: Indivisible Charlottesville also shared a very amusing “bird-dogging” video of one of its members nabbing an unexpecting McGuire on the street in Charlottesville to personally invite him to attend!

Community Event: “Youth and Incarceration” Learning Session

Posted on

Logo of Charlottesville Area Justice Coalition - The name of the organization and 3 photos are given against a yellow background

On Tuesday, May 6, Noon-1:30pm at CitySpace, 100 5th Street NE, the Charlottesville Area Justice Coalition invites all to learn about youth incarceration rates/conditions nationally, how things are at Blue Ridge Juvenile Detention and in our court system, and what ways we might work together to better serve the youth in our area. Coffee and snacks will be served. Please register for this event.