Chairman's Report for Friday, June 23, 2011

Friends,

After a month of intense activity I'm pleased to bring back my regular Chairman's reports.  As you can see from the report below, we've been pretty busy!  Thanks for all that you do and I'll be keeping these reports coming as the we progress through the Summer and into the heat of the elections this fall.

The Virginia Summit: July 15-16 at VCU's Student Center Commons

I want to lead off my report with one of the most exciting events in Democratic Party history: our first-ever Virginia Summit!  We're only able to do an event this large and exciting because of the strong and enthusiastic support of my ad hoc Summit team, Organizing for America and the Virginia Young Democrats.  The Summit will give our grassroots Democratic community the opportunity to:

• Engage in high-level discussions and briefings with nationally recognized experts on the critical policy issues facing our Commonwealth and our nation including jobs and the economy, education, health care, national security and energy and the environment. EDUCATE!

• Participate in trainings conducted by top-tier operatives to develop the skills and tools that our local leaders and grassroots organizers need to win elections. TRAIN!

• Play a role in developing winning strategies for candidates and potential candidates to build a bench of prospective public servants that is second to none. WIN!

• Network with fellow Democratic professionals and explore career development opportunities. HAVE FUN!!!

A brand new Summit Schedule is online now, so you can review all of the terrific trainings and panel discussions being offered this year.  Registration is only $25, and you can reserve your spot online right now by clicking here: http://www.vademocrats.org/dpva-summithttp://www.vademocrats.org/dpva-summit

Remarks to Alexandria and Arlington JJ Dinners:

Congratulations to Clark Mercer and Mike Lieberman and everyone who made these fantastic JJ Dinners possible.  I was honored to be able to deliver remarks at both events, and share our state party's vision for the future with some of the best Democrats around.  You can watch a brief clip of my remarks to the Arlington JJ at the end of Dave's most recent video update by clicking here: http://www.vademocrats.org/video-update-june-15-2011-0http://www.vademocrats.org/video-update-june-15-2011-0

Keynote Remarks at Prince William County JJ

I was so honored to be asked to deliver the keynote address at the 32nd Annual Prince William County JJ Dinner. The energy in the room was electric! I was so happy to be joined by Congressman Gerry Connolly, Governor Tim Kaine, Senators, Delegates, Chairman of the Board candidate Babur Lateef, and a whole host of local elected officials and candidates. Thanks to Bruce Roemmelt, the new chair of Prince William and the JJ planning committee for being terrific hosts and for your hard work on a successful event. We all know that Prince William plays a pivotal role in Virginia's elections and the DPVA plans to support the local Democratic Committee and its candidates in 2011. Special thanks to Senator Chuck Colgan for making the decision to run for re-election.

New Format for Blacksburg Central Committee Meeting

At our most recent Central Committee meeting in Blacksburg we unveiled a new format for our organization’s quarterly meetings.  This new format allows for more substance, more opportunities to train our volunteers and chairs, and more interaction between DPVA Staff and the Central Committee members themselves.  Overall we were thrilled by the positive feedback we received, and we'll be looking to replicate this new format at our upcoming meeting in Prince William in September.

I want to thank Steve Cochran and the entire Montgomery County Democratic Committee for hosting a terrific reception on Friday evening.  You can catch a little bit of the event by checking out this video link: http://www.vademocrats.org/blacksburg-reception-0

Event with Senator Warner a Huge Success

I want to thank everyone who came out to Croc's in Virginia Beach on Sunday, May 15th. It was incredible to be with over 140 Democrats getting fired up for the 2011 elections. I especially want to thank my friend Senator Mark Warner, who shared his thoughts on what's going on in Washington and how critical it is for us to preserve the State Senate Majority and help the House of Delegates this year. Thanks to our DPVA Finance Team for their hard work ensuring a great turnout and meeting our fundraising goals.

Check out video from the event at: http://www.vademocrats.org/highlights-virginia-beach-reception-sen-mark-warnerhttp://www.vademocrats.org/highlights-virginia-beach-reception-sen-mark-warner

Political and Fundraising Travel

I've covered a lot of ground over the last several weeks in an effort to raise money for the DPVA and provide political support to our local electeds, candidates, and committees. I had successful meetings in Newport News, Hampton, Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Richmond, and McLean.

Hot Delegate race

I was pleased to join many McLean democrats at former Delegate Margie Vanderhye's home. She hosted a “friendraiser” for Del. Bob Brink and challenger Pam Danner. Pam has a long history of community involvement in McLean and greater Fairfax County. The current incumbent is an extreme who does not share the values of the 34th House district. Her votes speak for themselves and we are all looking forward to replacing her with a leader of Pam’s caliber in November.

Great Crowd at Charlottesville Brunch

I really appreciated so many Democrats in Charlottesville coming out to spend some time discussing the future of our party a few weeks back. I want to thank Delegate David Toscano, 5th CD Chairman Fred Hudson, OFA, and Albemarle Chair Valerie L'Herrou for all of their help in organizing the event.

Charlottesville and Albemarle are not only critical to the elections of our statewide Democratic candidates next year; they are critical to reelecting Senators Edd Houck and Creigh Deeds this year.

Political Roundtable in Stafford County

On Saturday, May 21st I had the opportunity to meet with Bill Britton, the new chair of Stafford County, Opal Stroup and Doug Ferguson, the co-chairs of Spotsylvania County and Harold Bannister the Chair of Fredericksburg. We discussed a wide variety of topics including candidate recruitment, committee organization, messaging and fundraising. Democrats have a lot of opportunities in this area of Virginia and I look forward to working with these committees. I plan to hold more Chairs’ Roundtables with local chairs all over the Commonwealth.

After that meeting, I made a quick visit to the Stafford Membership Picnic. I was able to meet with the terrific Democrats in the county of Stafford. While my visit was brief, I enjoyed the socialization and gave a quick update and answered some questions. I'm looking forward to returning to Stafford soon to spend more time.

Minority Leader Armstrong.

I was happy to welcome Ward Armstrong to the neighborhood in Alexandria on Monday. Ward's special guest was Sen. Mark Warner. The House may be down but they are not out. With Ward's leadership and fundraising ability we shouldn’t discount out our ability to pick up seats this fall.