Last night I got a chance to attend Chap Peterson's end of quarter fundraiser in Oakton. If there was ever a candidate who could bring judgement and leadership to the VA State Senate, it's Chap. This is a guy with clarity, passion, dedication and charisma.
His fundraiser was very well attended and will make a contribution towards what promises to be a powerful fundraising quarter.
Chap's going to win this thing because he, like so many talented and dedicated Fairfax democrats, has "the fire inside" to keep going and keep Building a Better Virginia. If the Republicans keep the Senate, Virginia's going to be in dire shape. Virginia deserves a Democratic majority. It's long overdue.
Even though the reporting period ended at midnight, you can still donate to Chap's campaign at the RK/Act Blue Fundraising Page.
Detailed comments below.
[The following are paraphrased and aren't exact quotes. My apologies to Leslie Byrne, Dick Saslaw, and Chap Peterson for my poor note-taking skills and my thanks to them for putting their excellent talents to work for all of us.]
Leslie Byrne started off the introductions:
* The face of the State Senate is changing, Moderate Senators like Russ Potts are retiring and will be replaced by reactionaries in the mold of Ken Cuccinelli.
* If we don't pick up theses seats in Northern Virginia, Virginia will go backwards.
* We can pick up these seats if we work hard. If we put up numbers like we got in 2006 and 2005 I guarantee that Chap will be your next State Senator.
Dick Saslaw is going to fight for Chap all year long:
* With the changing face of the State Senate, there will be no way to stop the ideology of the Virginia House.
* With one more Democrat we could have sent a transportation bill to the governor with no general fund raid.
* The current transportation bill doesn't do much, and it's likely it's not even constitutional. There are a lot of problems with it, and we may have to re-do the whole thing. If that happens we need enough Democrats in Richmond to control the proces.
* Chap Petersen is quick on his feet and there's no harder worker. This is a winnable district. Jeannmarie won 53-47 vs a candidate with no name recognition and no money. Think of what a great candidate like Chap can do.
* If we do everything we need to do Albo will be the only elected Republican representing Fairfax.
And finally, Chap. His message was compelling:
* This morning was the funeral for Chap's grandmother. She was a great woman and a great Democrat. She believed that government has a role in advancing the lives of the average citizen. She'd be proud to have her grandson working to make a difference.
* The district has changed. You hear it when you talk to people, and we're talking to a lot of people.
* We're working hard, raising money, and as tough as things get "We've got the fire."
* There's always excitement at the beginning and the end of a campaign. If we can keep the momentum throughout we'll win, and you're investing in a winner. This is a Democratic district and we're going to bring it home.