As the largest minority in Fairfax County, Asian-Americans are a major focus of outreach activity for the local Democratic Party, which faces a critical election on Nov. 5 to determine the control of the state assembly. Today Republicans hold one-vote majorities in both houses of the Virginia General Assembly and the Democrats are mounting a major effort here in northern…
Press release from the Fairfax County Democratic Committee: The Fairfax County Democratic Committee (FCDC) and Jeff McKay for Chairman have launched a joint field effort to help drive Democratic candidates to victory on November 5. This joint undertaking, called “Fighting for Fairfax,” is the most comprehensive campaign support initiative in the party’s history. Fighting for Fairfax augments the existing paid…
By Brad Swanson: Sean Perryman has only been president of the Fairfax County NAACP for a month, but he already has his priorities clear. “My plan is to focus on fewer issues, but go deeper,” he said. The top three topics for him are cannabis legalization, school name changes, starting with Robert E. Lee High School in Springfield, and more…
By Brad Swanson: Ricardo Alfaro is a man on a mission. As the newly elected president of the Latino Democratic Caucus in Virginia, he has crafted an ambitious workplan to expand the group’s reach and counter the rising tide of fear engulfing the Latino community in the Trump era. “No one should feel unsafe going to school or grocery shopping…
A pink slip at work is bad news. But blue slips may make the difference between Democratic wins and losses at this November’s election. Blue slips are the informal name for the one-page reminders that Democratic volunteers are handing out to voters, directing them to manage all their voting needs by going to the “Voting” page on the Fairfax County…
It’s never too early to begin grassroots organizing. That is the concept behind an innovative program at Sully District Democratic Committee that enables students to organize and participate in political events in their own community. Gun violence, unsurprisingly, is one of the topics that students in the program – called GROWTH Student Interns – feel most strongly about. “I am…
By Brad Swanson: What motivates a man to spend more than two decades – and counting – as a volunteer running a farmers market? In the case of John Lovaas, a manager of the award-winning Reston Farmers Market, the answer is self-evident. “I doubt anyone would work at a volunteer job for 22 years unless it was wildly satisfying and…
By Brad Swanson: Like many readers of The New York Times, both here in northern Virginia and across the nation, Dan Helmer was taken aback by the indifference to gun violence shown by an incumbent Virginia state delegate, especially in the wake of last week’s dual mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton. The only difference is that Helmer, a…
By Kimberly Davis: A curious alteration of Pierre-Auguste Renoir’s famed Impressionist painting “Luncheon of the Boating Party” has captured attention at recent events. Wait, isn’t that state delegate candidate Dan Helmer (dist. 40) in white? And there’s some other familiar faces there… Many of these faces and close to 200 more showed up for a real-life boating party on Sunday,…
An estimated 300 protesters showed up Tuesday evening, Aug. 5, to protest gun violence — and especially last weekend’s devastating attacks in El Paso and Dayton — at the headquarters of the NRA in Fairfax. There was a candle lighting ceremony and the names and ages of the victims were read by different speakers for El Paso and Dayton, followed…
By Brad Swanson: One week after disrupting a speech by Pres. Trump, although the headlines have faded from national news media, Ibraheem Samirah feels vindicated – and ready for more action. In an interview with The Blue View, the Virginia state delegate (D- 86) acknowledged criticism of his protest, from some Democrats as well as Republicans, but insisted that “most…
By Todd Smyth: We know how to solve epidemic gun violence. Every other developed country has solved this problem. Republicans won’t allow it in America. We know how to get better healthcare that covers everyone. Every other developed country spends half as much, with better results. Republicans won’t allow it in America. We know how to solve catastrophic climate change.…
By Brandon Thurner: In today’s heated political atmosphere, Americans need to learn from successful married couples how to “fight in a way to preserve the union,” and to avoid demonizing each other. This message was delivered by prominent sociologist and former White House Advisor Amitai Etzioni at a recent northern Virginia seminar. Dr. Etizioni, former president of the American Sociological…
By Paul Davis: Four young Democrats from Fairfax County were recently elected members of issues caucuses at the national level. The elections took place at the 2019 Young Democrats of America convention on July 16-22 in Indianapolis, Ind. The Fairfax Young Democrats elected are: Bo Cherif, Black Caucus Dan Rosenberg and Denver Supinger, Jewish Caucus Jessica Sun, Disabilities Caucus The…