To FCRC, From FCDC (Kenton - 10/6/2008 11:09:05 AM)
From FCDC chairman Scott Surovell, who also rocks! :)
Today, the Fairfax County Democratic Committee ("FCDC") announced that it has raised a record amount of $138,000 between September 1, 2008 and September 30, 2008. FCDC Chair, Scott A. Surovell said, "like the Obama Campaign, FCDC has been the recipient of an incredible level of grassroots support from both existing and new donors. We are confident that this support will translate into strong support on Election Day."Preliminary figures show that FCDC has raised approximately $415,808.94 in federal and non-federal funds for the first three quarters of 2008. FCDC's previous record was $267,557 of federal and non-federal funds raised for the entire year in 2007. FCDC's previous record month was May, 2008 when FCDC raised $75,000 after FCDC's biggest grossing Jefferson-Jackson Dinner which sold out all 500 tickets. FCDC Vice-Chair Finance, Mary Ann Hovis said "our fundraising has been a team effort. This year required extraordinary performance by our Finance Committee and everyone big and small has come through."
The Fairfax County Republican Committee's ("FCRC") fundraising has not enjoyed similar support. According to reports filed with the Federal Election Commission ("FEC") and the Virginia State Board of Elections ("SBE"), the FCRC has raised only $103,472 between January 1, 2007 and August 30, 2008 in federal funds and $9,085 in non-federal funds between January 1, 2008 and June 30, 2008. In other words, in one month, FCDC raised 133% of what the FCRC's raised in federal funds for the 20 months ending August 30, 2008.
The FCRC also has reported a very bleak cash on hand situation. As of August 30, 2008, the FCRC reported $13,446 cash on hand and $5,000 of debt in federal funds to the FEC and $2,367 of non-federal funds according to reports filed with the SBE. As of September 30, 2008, FCDC has approximately $187,800 cash on hand consisting of approximately $160,000 of federal funds and approximately $27,800 of non-federal funds.FCDC has effectively raised $2,000 per day between April 1, 2008 and September 30, 2008. After FCDC and the FCRC, the Alexandria Democratic Committee has raised $87,179 in federal funds since January 1, 2007. No other local committee has raised more than $7,000 in federal funds through August 31, 2008.
FCDC's fundraising has enabled FCDC to promote expanded Joint Campaign activities to supplement the efforts of the Virginia Victory Coordinated Campaign and the Virginia Campaign for Change (the Obama Campaign) which have been primarily focused on canvassing and calling potential voters. This year, FCDC has accomplished the following:
G求 Printed and distributed 287,000 8-page, full-color Joint Campaign newspapers featuring all 6 federal candidates in Fairfax County, including an additional 100,000 voter registration applications which were hand-delivered into targeted areas.
G求 Printed and distributed 50,000 4-page full-color Back to School Night newspapers featuring all 6 federal candidates in Fairfax County.
G求 Purchased 21,000+ Obama-Biden yard signs, 100 Obama-Biden barn signs, and 21,000 Obama-Biden bumper stickers.
G求 Printed and mailed literature to every individual voting absentee by mail in Fairfax County (anticipated to be 30,000 voters).
G求 FCDC will print and distribute nearly 300,000 sample ballots on Election Day.
G求 Hired a full-time Executive Director who recruited and managed 17 interns.
G求 Invested in $20,000 of technology upgrades for the FCDC Office.
"The Democratic Party is mounting an unprecedented multi-pronged effort in Fairfax County which leverages every asset the Party can bring to bear on the electorate," said Surovell. "FCDC's efforts complement the Campaign for Change and the coordinated Campaign's efforts by amplifying their message into mediums not otherwise utilized by the campaigns such as customized candidate-specific newspapers, yard signs, bumper stickers, sample ballots, and supplemental voter registration efforts. The Republican Committee simply does not have the funds or the grassroots resources to execute these kinds of activities. The volunteer and donor resources that have come forward have enabled the Democratic Party to compete in ways we have never been able to dream of until this year. They simply do not have significant popular support in Northern Virginia."
In addition to maximizing FCDC's promotion of Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Mark Warner, Jim Moran, Judy Feder and Gerry Connolly, all of these investments significantly enhance FCDC's ability to support all of Fairfax County's Democratic candidates in 2009, including candidates in next year's multiple possible special elections and November's critical elections before the next redistricting cycle which are expected to feature three targeted Republican House of Delegate seats with Fairfax County precincts.
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For further information or to schedule an interview with Scott Surovell, please call 703.587.7872 or send an email to chair@fairfaxdemocrats.org.
30 Days Out, Democrats Barnstorm VirginiaWeekend Activities include 18K Obama Rally, Four New Offices
RICHMOND, Va -- The weekend before today's voter registration deadline and with a month before election day, Democrats across Virginia celebrated a weekend of extensive grassroots activities including a visit from U.S. Sen. Barack Obama and other top surrogates. On Saturday, Obama held a major rally in Newport News attended by 18,000 Virginians. At the rally, Obama laid out the major differences between his plan to provide all Americans access to good, affordable health care and U.S. Sen. John McCain's policy, which for the first time in history would tax health care benefits and could lead to an additional 20 million Americans losing their health care coverage.
Also on Saturday, Susan Eisenhower - granddaughter of President Dwight Eisenhower - headlined a Women for Obama event in Leesburg, and actors Blair Underwood and Megalyn Echikunwoke kicked off a weekend of Voter Registration Rallies in Hampton Roads that continued throughout northern Virginia on Sunday. On Sunday, U.S. Senator Evan Bayh campaigned in Roanoke and Richmond, holding town halls to talk to voters about Obama's plans to provide tax cuts to 95 percent of working Americans, bring a responsible end to the Iraq war and limit the influence of lobbyists.
Throughout the weekend, thousands of volunteers took part in statewide canvassing and voter registration efforts, capped by the opening of four additional offices. The new offices in Stafford, Sterling, South Boston and Richmond bring the total number of Campaign for Change offices to 49. They will be community hubs for grassroots activities between now and November 4th.
Virginians are encouraged to visit their local office to participate in the campaign's daily grassroots activities. A full list of offices can be found here: http://my.barackobama.com/page...
The Campaign for Change is a project of the Virginia Democratic Party, led by top staffers who will work to harness the enthusiasm of U.S. Sen. Barack Obama's grassroots-level supporters and organize them in communities across the Commonwealth - neighbor to neighbor, friend to friend and colleague to colleague - working for the benefit of Democratic candidates up and down the ticket.
Details for the new offices can be found below:
Stafford "Campaign for Change" Office
Where: 2063 Jefferson Davis Highway
Stafford, VASterling "Campaign for Change" Office
Where: 21165 Whitfield Place
Suite 202
Sterling, VASouth Boston "Campaign for Change" Office
Where: 217 Main Street
South Boston, VARichmond "Campaign for Change" Office
Where: 8921 Three Chopt Road
Suite 2
Richmond, VA