If you’d like the “Obama sings Al Green” for a ringtone, click here for the MP3 file (small, 145k) or snap the QR code [via BarackObama.com/ringtone].

President Obama was inspired to sing a bit of Al Green during a recent campaign stop at the Apollo Theater (story, click here; YouTube video, click here).

Sunday, February 26, 2012   11:00 am – 1:00 pm

Vespucci Restaurant (10579 Fairfax Blvd, Fairfax, VA 22030; map, click here). Additional parking is available in the business lot next door on the left side (east) of Vespucci’s.

• RSVP by ordering your tickets on ActBlue, click here.
• Flier, click here.
• Share on Facebook, click here.

John Sturdivant Award, honoring a member of the labor community for his/her commitment to Democratic ideals and values.

11th CD Community Service Awards, honoring three Democrats from the respective jurisdictions of the 11th Congressional District (Fairfax County, Fairfax City, and Prince William County) for community service:

• The Joseph V. Gartlan Award, Fairfax County – Linda Byrne,
• The Deloris Hampton Award, Prince William County – Fred Parish, and
• The Frederick W. Silverthorne Award, Fairfax City – TBA.

Questions, more Info contact George Burke, Chair (chair@11thDistrictDemocrats.org).

For 26 years David Bailey Associates have published what all the General Assembly members are familiar with, the ‘Red Book’. It is an excellent comprehensive directory of General Assembly members and their contact information. It is available as a PDF (free), click here.

The selection of Delegates to the Congressional District Conventions in May, State Convention in June at GMU, and National Convention in September in Charlotte is quite a process, and to learn more about it we have some helpful resources.

• Delegate Selection Process 2012
• Delegate Selection 2012 Q&A
• 2012 Delegate Selection Seminar with Frank Leone (DNC Member, Virginia; www.DemRulz.org)

click to get your bumper sticker

This afternoon, Tim and George Allen will face off in the first debate of this campaign. They’ll be meeting from 1:30 – 3:00 pm at the Capitol during the annual Associated Press Day – be sure that you have an opportunity to tune in.

Tim’s been working hard to prepare for the debate. He’s ready to discuss his forward-thinking approach to the challenges facing Virginia and the need to work together to deliver results in Washington. This debate is an opportunity for all Virginians to clearly see what’s at stake when it comes to who we elect as our next Senator.

You can watch the debate by clicking here (the Richmond Times-Dispatch is streaming the debate live from 1:30 – 3:00 pm).

Tim approaches all aspects of his life with civility, thoughtfulness, and commitment, and that’s what I think you’ll see this afternoon. As Mayor, and then as Governor, Tim worked on bipartisan initiatives, setting aside the partisan politics that have brought gridlock to Washington.

Get on Board with Kaine for Senate, click here.

He slashed $5 billion from the state budget, more than any Governor in Virginia’s history, brought Fortune 500 companies to the Commonwealth, and protected our Triple A bond rating during the worst economic downturn in a generation.

We need a Senator in Washington who will seek common ground and real solutions, not play political games with our economic future.

The Kaine for Virginia team will be responding — in real time — to any false claims about Tim’s record here: www.kaineforva.com/rapidresponse

The 2011 White House Christmas ornament honors the administration of Theodore Roosevelt, the twenty-sixth president of the United States. This year’s ornament reflects the excitement that President Roosevelt, his wife Edith, and their lively young family brought to life at the White House. The front face of the ornament is a color illustration derived from a political cartoon drawn by William A. Rogers in 1901. Capturing the anticipation associated with the family’s first White House Christmas, a jolly Santa Claus crosses the snow covered North Lawn carrying a large bag of toys over his shoulder and announces, “I hear that there are some kids in the White House this year.”

$17.95, to order click here (White House Historical Association)

Crossroads Grassroots Policy Strategies, also known as Crossroads GPS, is a secretly-funded 501(c)(4) conservative political group created in June 2010 by right-wing political operatives and “advised” by Karl Rove and former RNC chairman Ed Gillespie to support Republican candidates. It is a spin-off group of American Crossroads, a 527 Political Action Committee under the same leadership.

“It’s no surprise that Karl Rove has an early eye on this Senate seat,” said DPVA Chairman Brian Moran. “When looking at George Allen’s record next to Tim Kaine’s there’s no comparison.

“Republicans know that they can’t run on George Allen’s dismal Senate record so they’ve resorted to false claims about Tim Kaine. Voters in Virginia deserve to know the facts about their candidates not be mislead by outright lies.”

Newspapers across the Commonwealth agree, see the video below or click here.

Coffee & Conversation – join us for coffee, tea, and good conversation at one of Lee District’s Coffee Spots. Afterwards we have candidate signs for you to put out in Lee District. We’ll have some of our new Voter’s Guides for you as well.

Sunday morning October 23rd, 9:30 am

Grounded Coffee
6919 Telegraph Rd  
Alexandria, VA  22310-3320   
map, click here

Democrats United Following GOP Strategist’s
Controversial Remarks

FAIRFAX – All Democratic-endorsed school board candidates in Fairfax County support a school funding formula that provides added resources to schools with high numbers of at-risk students, so all students get a fair and equitable shot at academic success.  The needs-based formula helps Fairfax County Public School students overcome challenges such as impoverished backgrounds, language barriers, little or no computer access, and homes where there may not be a quiet place to study or enough food to eat.

This formula has been in place for several years, has enjoyed bipartisan support, and is a basic foundation for FCPS—one of the most respected school systems in the country.

The Democratic candidates were responding to last Friday’s controversial remarks to the Washington Post criticizing needs-based funding made by a Republican school board election strategist (“GOP strategist shapes Fairfax schools race,” October 14, 2011).  Republican Catherine Lorenze, who is advising several GOP school board candidates, reportedly stated that poor neighborhoods in Fairfax “make out like bandits” compared with affluent areas, such as the McLean neighborhood where she lives.

notes added to press release …
See in-kind contributions that McCain-McDonnell-GOP activist Lorenze has contributed to coordinated messaging among GOP endorsed / *affiliated candidates: VA State Board of Elections, campaign finance disclosure reports, click here; spreadsheet of same contributions, click here. The candidates she ‘advises’ (Brown-Kaplan, Epstein, Schultz, Smoak, and *Stuban) are clearly a coordinated outlet of her messaging (such as her rob from the poor and give to the rich notion). Not only did these candidates seek GOP endorsement, but went so far as to reach out for Tea Party endorsement.

Ilryong Moon, an at-large school board member with 12 years of experience and running for a fourth term, stated, “I have always supported the needs-based staffing formula and will resist any effort to dismantle it.  This is about believing every single one of our students should have the opportunity to succeed, even those who have special circumstances that require more educational resources.   We need a level playing field.  FCPS is a world-class school system that does, should, and must continue performing for all of its students whether in special education, regular education, advanced academic, or ESOL classes or from a well-to-do or economically challenged family.”

A second Democratic-endorsed at-large candidate, Ted Velkoff stated, “I unequivocally support the current FCPS staffing formula that targets extra resources to schools and populations in greatest need.”

Ryan McElveen, another Democratic-endorsed candidate running for one of the three at-large seats wrote on his campaign blog, “The idea that students in an economically disadvantaged part of the county receive increasing school funding is critical to narrowing the achievement gap. I intend to continue the work of our school board to close the gaps inherent in a system that has students from all corners of the economic spectrum.”

Current Dranesville school board member and Chairman Janie Strauss told the Washington Post, “If we don’t help the kids who need additional help, we are wasting the minds and talents of many of our citizens.”  Strauss added that her top priority if re-elected will be to reduce class size in her Dranesville district which includes McLean, but she made clear she will get it done “without negatively impacting students at other schools.”

“Ultimately, all of society benefits when we provide extra support for those who need it so we have an educated community,” wrote Mason district school board member and candidate for re-election Sandy Evans to her supporters after the remarks were printed.  She added that the needs-based formula is critical in her district.

Kathy Smith, the Sully district incumbent seeking re-election stated, “I fully support the needs-based staffing formula which created a cost effective way to meet the requirements of our neediest students.  We focus resources where they are needed to help children achieve.  My commitment and the commitment of FCPS are to help all children achieve to their fullest potential.”

Megan McLaughlin, running in the Braddock district wrote a comment online to the newspaper stating, “I fully support ‘Needs Based Staffing’, which ensures smaller class sizes in our most challenged schools.  It is one of the most important methods for narrowing the achievement gap.  It’s unfortunate that this article creates the impression that it’s a zero-sum game; that in order to reduce class sizes in more affluent parts of the county, you have to take teachers away from schools with economically disadvantaged students.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  I advocate for smaller class sizes, and believe it can be accomplished by having budget priorities that focus on the classroom.  As such, FCPS needs to ensure all of its schools have reasonable class sizes so that every child has access to a quality education.”

Patricia Hynes, the Democratic-endorsed school board candidate for Hunter Mill district, expressed her support for needs-based funding.  “Denying schools with higher concentrations of poverty the extra resources they need not only hurts the children at those schools.  It also hurts the teachers who need that extra support to do their jobs.”

The Democratic-endorsed candidate in the Springfield district, John Wittman added, “We need to reduce student achievement gaps everywhere in Fairfax County.  By providing additional teachers to those schools with the greatest need, students identified with academic deficiencies have a supplemental opportunity to succeed in our schools, and later in life.  Without such consideration, many students will linger in our school system year after year, never achieving to their inner potential.  It is a time of constrained resources, but nevertheless we must build our community’s future child by child.”

Lee district candidate Tamara Derenak Kaufax stated, “I find it unfortunate that the vocal critics who claim they want school reform lack an understanding of the many complex and varied needs of all of our diverse student body.  To try and pit the needs of one group of students against another is not what we need from our elected officials.  I want all children in our public schools to have the skills and knowledge they need to reach their fullest potential.  This will be a priority for me in my district and throughout the county.”

Mount Vernon incumbent Dan Storck, who is running for re-election, said, “I strongly support the staffing formula, not only having helped develop it and voting for it for elementary and middle schools during my first term on the School Board, but supporting the expansion of it to high schools during my second term.  It has made a huge difference in helping to make sure that not only all our students learn the “3 Rs”, but that all our students learn other essential 21st Century skills.”

Fairfax County Democratic Committee Chair Rex Simmons said, “Republican election strategist Catherine Lorenze has caustically attempted to divide our community with her elitist, Rush Limbaugh-type comments.  She should take back her hurtful words and apologize.  Lorenze’s parochial and partisan approach to school board elections is the antithesis of the highly successful ‘Fairfax Way’  of investing in a world class public education system that makes our county a destination of choice for so many of the nation’s best employers.”

Simmons added, “Voters ought to ask school board candidates whether they support a needs-based funding formula for schools with programs that benefit all students or whether they intend to cut resources for at-risk children and put communities at odds with each other.  Democrats believe the Fairfax County Public School system is supposed to be world class for all students in the county.  We have an obligation to educate all students.  And we recognize not all our students enter the race for education quality on equal footing.”

Every Fairfax County school board seat is up for election on November 8, and each voter will have an opportunity to choose a district school board member and three at-large members.

Fairfax County schools are consistently among the highest performing in the nation. Our school system is the bedrock of our community; it is the reason most often cited by families and businesses for locating in Fairfax County. Parents send their children to school confident that those in charge – teachers, administrators, and elected officials – are focused on keeping their children safe while preparing them for success. We cannot afford to risk that confidence. With so much change coming to the school board this year, we must be careful not to mistake ideology for ideas or sound bites for sound policy.

The Fairfax County School Board’s responsibility is to educate all students at all schools despite differing socioeconomic backgrounds. It has long been school policy to tailor resources to fit the needs of individual students and schools so that all Fairfax County students are given the tools they need to succeed.

Fairfax County leaders celebrate the diversity of our community. We are fortunate to have the resources available to offer all children the opportunity to become highly productive members of our community. Without success across all schools, we could lose the resources our children represent and our entire community will suffer.

After the November 8 election, the Fairfax County School Board will count among its members at least six new leaders. What kind of leaders will they be?

• Will they offer pragmatic, thoughtful solutions to the problems they face?
• Will they serve their community by using their experience and knowledge to craft policy?
• Or will they instead use a political playbook that will produce gridlock instead of progress?
• Will they owe their allegiance to party instead of community?

These are the questions we must answer in the coming weeks. The success of our children and our community is at stake.

The following are my  picks for School Board.  I hope they have your support and your vote!

At-large candidates running County-wide

And, for the following candidates in your respective district

Click [here] for more information on those candidates.

Thank you for your support.  Click [here] to volunteer for Bulova for Chairman, or [here] to donate to Bulova for Chairman.  Call my campaign anytime at 703-663-8001 or write me, sharonbulova@gmail.com.

Sharon

P.S.  Don’t forget to vote “YES” on the School Bond Referendum.  A “YES” vote will give FCPS the level of funding it needs to continue to be the best school system in the nation.