RK ARCHIVE - Will we win Where We Should Win in November?

Over my time at RK, many of us have discussed the importance of Party and local committee communication and how that might energize Virginians to take up the cause and work to elect Democrats.

I live in the NW part of the 1st District and really believe that there are many "Democrats" in those bounds who either don't understand what Virginia Democrats stand for nor know how to participate in helping elect them. Since moving to this area 8 years ago from NoVa, I've witnessed the effectiveness of the Republicans in communicating with the local electorate. For example, I regularly receive an e-mail from a Republican delegate telling me what is going on and how and why he is voting....and yet I'm a Democrat and don't receive any from Democrats. When I look at websites of the local Republican committees, I realize just how hard they are working to get their Republican candidates elected. Take a look:

Spotsylvania Republican Committee: It is up-to-date, informative, has a poll, links to the candidates' websites, and has a very active blog with really great links to local newspapers, the county government, tax information, the public school system, and the Stafford GOP's website. This organized website and blog is why Republican candidates will probably do well in Spotsylvania in November. The Republicans have caught on to the value of good communication. I hope I am wrong.

It is time, no more excuses, that the DPVA lend a meaningful helping hand to Spotsylvania Democrats. We are here, and probably in larger numbers than you are aware of! I'm tired of being told that this area is solidly Republican. Chuck Feldbush's underfunded campaign against Mark Cole (88th District's delegate) in 2005 proved that with hard work Democratic turnout can be meaningfully improved (a 10% improvement in Stafford County!!). If there had been adaquate Party support and enough Democratic volunteers, who knows what the results might have been.

There is something wrong when I never receive even one electronic communication from the Spotsylvania Democrats in over a year...and I'm willing to work. So this year I'm working to elect a Supervisor in my county and will be making phone calls for a NoVa Democrat running for delegate. Spotsylvania is one of the fastest growing counties in Virginia with loads of folks from Democratic NoVa moving here and commuting back north to work. So the Democrats are here and could help to tilt the GA into a Democratic majority!

If the DPVA still doesn't move on this and help Spotsylvania Democrats come out of the closet (help them with their website-- at least put the candidates' website links on it!!!), will "Rkers" help by making a call or sending an e-mail to the DPVA to get this county and committee in shape so we can elect Democrats?

Comments

Getting the reorg date might be a problem.... (Dianne - 10/21/2007 11:57:52 AM)

You see in 2005 they didn't let us know about the reorg until just 13 days before it actually happened and they held it Christmas week! The Chair and Vice Chair wanted to get themselves re-elected so they didn't even tell the members until the last minute (they had told Richmond, as required by the end of October....but not the members). (I had only been a member less than a year and the re-org was never mentioned until we got the e-mail with a 5 day deadline to file papers to be able to vote....too late for most of us to run for anything or take it over.) Since they've taken me off their e-mail distribution, I don't know what's goes on with the committee. As you see from their website, it's still a secret (just like the candidates who are running are still a secret).

The DPVA can best (Gordie - 10/22/2007 7:11:58 AM)

help the Democratic Party in VA, by changing the by-laws that the local committees have to follow.
Also by the state party being able to eject committee members who donate money to the opposite party. In Appomattox a committee member donated $400 to Watkins campaign. That should be an automatic removal from holding any party position, including janitor.

You're right about the DPVA (Dianne - 10/22/2007 9:02:20 AM)

Gordie, First, my county committee does not follow any rules, including DPVAs. First, they operated with NO bylaws for years until I complained to the DPVA. When they finally drafted bylaws last year, the officers wrote them to ensure that they'd stay in office, and would not allow members to vote on them article by article. The officers included an article that removed members from the committee if they missed three consecutive meetings (mind you when I first started attending meetings, other than the officers, the only attendees were my husband and myself). I recently asked if this "punishment" was enforced to ensure a voting quorum....and the answer was NO. Seems only a few people show up for the meetings.

This bylaws fiasco followed the phony re-org in December 2005 described above. I complained formally (in writing) to the DPVA about both but NOTHING was done.

And yes in this committee, there is an officer who has donated to a Republican candidate.

I left in disgust and frustration. Up until that point I had spent an incredible amount of time doing work to make the committee an active one and also worked almost full time on a delegate's campaign. But I was naive and foolish. I found out at reorg time, that this is not what the current officers wanted.....

Scuttlebutt (Gordie - 10/23/2007 2:37:11 PM)

is, that should Connie loose and the House is 49D-49R-2I, then Watkins Abbitt is the deciding vote that possibly Ward becomes speaker of the house. So it seems the scuttlebutt is to stay on the good side of Abbitt.
Personnaly it would be like getting on the good side of Virgil and expecting him to vote with the D's.