What we can do for 2007

With the announcements by Obama, Clinton and Richardson (and Brownback on the dark side) many people are already focusing on  preparing for 2008.  And given the immense task of fundraising, since anyone serious will opt out of matching funds, there is a certain logic to this.  But that logic ignores something very important - what is happening in  2007.

Three states elect Governors:  LA, KY and MS.  Those three, and two more - NJ and VA - elect all or most of their state legislatures.  For those of us in those 5 states (I live in VA) this should be our current focus.  And even those elsewhere can take an interest and participate.  If in a nearby state one can volunteer.  If more distant, one can certainly contribute.

In this posting I will explain what my wife and I did last night as an illustration of what is possible.
There is a woman I know from the Dean campaign in Virginia.  She briefly worked for Howard at the DNC.  She has maintained contacts with many of us from the Dean campaign, and periodically hosts social / political events at her house.  At previous events people like Leslie Byrne (Lt. Gov candidate in 2005) and Don Beyer (2-time LT Gov, Gubernatorial candidate in 1997 and national treasurer of Dean's presidential run) were among the attendees.  Lots of activitists at various levels are likely to attend.  Last night she invited all 4 of the Democratic candidates who had announced for the Virginia House of Delegates from Fairfax County, and 3 showed up.  This was a social event, informal, with the hostess and her husband providing the drinks and people encouraged to bring munchies.  The edibles ranged from cocktail franks to lasagna to various desserts to the usual cheeses, pretzels, chips, and the like.  No contribution was required, and each of the 3 attending candidates got a chance to speak  Our hostess is serving as finance chair for one of the three, a fact she disclosed up front.  This was an opportunity for the candidates to meet informally with a number of local activists at one time in a low pressure situation.

I will talk about each of the three as far as I can in a moment.  All 140 seats in the Virginia General assembly are up for grabs.  If the Democrats pick up net 4 Senate seats they will take control of that body.  We are hoping to pick up tow or three in Fairfax County alone, with the highest profile race being that of former Delegate Chap Peterson challenging Jeanne Marie Devolites, who is married to Congressman Tom Davis of the 11th CD., who spent over 3 million dollars defending his seat against Andy Hurst this past cycle.  Expenditures between the two will run into the millions, for a seat representing less than 200,000 people.  It will be extremely high profile.  Chap has already declared, with Sen. Jim Webb being the principal speaker at his announcement event (and Sen. Webb has committed to doing all he can to turn the state legislature blue, to turning the state blue). 

The House of Delegates is a tougher get.  Both chambers have been gerrymandered to favor Republicans, and in the lower chamber the Democrats currently hold only 40 seats, although we have gained seats in each of the recent cycles.  Gaining control of the lower house is considered a longshot for 2007, although the biggest issue statewide is transportation, something the Republicans have finally recognized, although the compromise proposal recently released is being rejected in Northern Virginia even by Republican members of the General Assembly. 

The key thing is that we can leave no seat unchallenged.  Above I referred to Congressman Davis.  The more than 3 million he spent defending what should have been an easy rentention meant that he was not giving money to other Congressional candidates, that he was leaning on donors to help him instead of steering them to races elsewhere in the country.  We know that some of the races we will take on will be difficult.  But if we do not run decent candidates and support them, we are not in position to take advantage if we have yet another Republican foot in mouth situation, something that seems to be increasingly common among Virginia Republican officeholders (George Allen, Virgil Goode, Frank Hargrove).

Let me offer a bit about each of the three candidates who were present last night.  I can say only a little about Jay Donahue, a longterm employee of AAA who is about to retire and is seeking to represent a district that includes Herndon (I think it is the 86th).  He talked about how he used to be able to leave his office and get home for things like kids' soccer and basketball games in a half hour drive -  now it takes nearly twice as long.  He has just gotten into the race and does not yet have a campaign web site as far as I know. 

Rip Sullivan is a law partner of Andy Hurst, and he is running against Vince Callahan in the 34th AD.  Callahan is chairman of the Finance Committee, used to be seen as a moderate, and has been in the legislature since 1967.  He lives in McLean, and his district is turning increasingly blue.  This will be an incredibly expensive challenge, but Rip has already begun.  In his remarks he addressed his four key issues by framing each in terms of one of his four children.  Those issue included young people, health care, energy, and transportion.  He noted that one in 7 Virginians lacks health care, and that we need to address this issue for all of our residents.  Rip was one of the organizers of the Blue Dominion PAC, which sponsored an event for Chap Peterson before he announced (and at which I first encountered Rip).  OUt side of politics, he has helped organize something called  Homestretch, based in Fairfax, providing transition services for homeless families and yes, even in wealthy Fairfax and elsewhere in N Virginia we have homeless.  Housing is incredibly expensive, something Rip noted when talking about his daughter studying to become a special ed teacher but wondering how she could afford to live in Fairfax on a teacher's salary.  If you want to know more about Rip Sullivan, go to his campaign website.

I had met Morris Meyer before at a Jim Webb celebration and also at an event at a community access cable tv station.  He is by background a software engineer who grew up in Ohio, and has run for Congress in Texas:  in 2004 he did the thankless task of taking on Joe Barton while Bush was running for reelection.  While the incumbent did get 66% of the vote, it is interesting to note that Morris got 84,000 votes.  In the district next door longtime Democratic Congressman Martin Frost, onetime chair of the DCCC, got only 88,000 in his redistricted race against Pete Sessions, a race in which the total expenditures were 9 million.  Morris knows how to build a campaign from the ground up.  He got into that race because his little daughter was developing asthma from the poor quality of the air, and Barton, a principal assistant to Delay, was a major enabler of things like refineries pouring pollution into the air. 

Morris is running in the 40th AD against Tim Hugo.  While he is a relative newcomer to Virginia, he moved here because of his wife, who has long-term roots, and whose father was involved with one of the press galleries on the Hill.  He has already identified 5,800 households in the district with no registered voters, and the district - like much of No. Virginia - has a fairly transient population, something that makes his newcomer status somewhat less important.  To quote a key part of his remarks "as parents our most sacred responsibility is to represent the future for our children."  Morris is quite concerned about environmental and energy issues.  He attended Al Gore's The Climate Project training in Nashville in November, and is now a certified presenter.  A very bright an engaging man, he is working very hard to hone his political communication skills.  You can find out more about him at his website.

For the first time in several years this summer I will not attend any workshops or seminars for teachers.  I want to be free to help on as many campaigns as I can.  Our country hangs in the balance, and we cannot wait until 2008.  The work we do in the 5 states with legislative and/or gubernatorial contests is a precondition to controlling redistricting in 2011.  It is also important for the building of the party structures to continue control of Congress and to gain control of the White House in 2008.  I know what I am going to do.

WHAT ABOUT YOU?

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