The 2012 campaign season is officially underway as Obama for America will be opening up their new office in Fairfax, VA. Please join the Fairfax Democrats and other local volunteers for this event. There will be food, music and special guests.

Date:  Saturday, December 3rd
Time:  doors open 11:00 am; program begins 11:30
Location:  11215-P Lee Highway Fairfax, VA 22030
map, click here (at the Fairfax Centre shopping center near the Chili’s restaurant, across Lee Highway from the K-Mart)

You can RSVP, click here.

See you this Saturday.

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.

Fairfax County Senate Democratic candidates have all been endorsed by the Washington Post, and the Post could not be any more clear: “Senate Democrats have been the grown-ups in Richmond. The role was forced on them by House Republicans, who have sent over waves of reckless legislation.” Read the entire article, click here.

Senate Democrats defeated a House attempt to force Virginia colleges and universities to allow students and faculty to carry guns on campus and a bill to repeal the state’s 20-year-old law limiting individuals to one handgun purchase a month. They killed legislation targeting illegal immigrants that would have plunged Virginia into the same bitter debates and federal litigation that have ensnared Arizona and Alabama. They rejected a bill that would have outlawed abortion in Virginia by granting fetuses legal rights and another that would have forced welfare recipients to undergo drug screenings. They halted Republican attempts to raid scarce funds for public schools and colleges.

 All that is cause for worry about the consequences of a GOP takeover of the Senate in statewide elections Nov. 8. So is the pledge that many (though not all) Republican candidates have taken to oppose any new taxes, a stance that would condemn Northern Virginia to a future of steadily worsening traffic gridlock.

1. Virginia would change radically if the McDonnell-Cuccinelli Cantor Republicans take over the Senate
   In less than three weeks Virginia voters will go to the polls and make decisions that will affect the future of our Commonwealth and the families who live here. If Republicans are successful in taking over the state Senate they will have complete control of our government and free rein to advance their backward agenda – unless we spend the next 20 days doing everything we can to stop them and elect our Democratic candidates. To read Chairman Brian Moran’s rundown of what’s at stake and how you can help click here. To read an Associated Press column on the many radical right-wing laws that would go through if Republicans have full control of our government click here.
    
2. McDonnell’s Department of Education credits President Obama for saving or creating more than 7,000 jobs
   As President Obama visited Virginia again to talk about his plan to put more Americans back to work and more money in their pockets, Governor Bob McDonnell’s Department of Education told the Huffington Post that the President has already saved more than 7,000 jobs in Virginia. Maybe McDonnell’s thank you card got lost in the mail. To read about the jobs that President Obama saved in Virginia click here.
    
3. Jason Flanary signed Norquist’s anti-tax pledge before he didn’t
   Controversy erupted this week in the 37th Senate District race (incumbent, Democrat Dave Marsden) about whether Tea Partier Jason Flanary did or did not sign Grover Norquist’s anti-tax pledge. During the primary Flanary seemed all too eager to bow to Grover and kiss the ring, but now that he’s running in a general election against a results-oriented leader like Dave Marsden, Flanary seems to have changed his tune. Luckily, Norquist isn’t letting him off the hook. To read more about the right-wing spat between Flanary and Norquist click here.
    
4. DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz stresses the importance of keeping the state Senate this year
   At the recent DPVA reception in Arlington DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz, DPVA Chair Brian Moran and U.S. Reps. Jim Moran and Gerry Connolly urged all Virginia Democrats to do everything they can to get out the vote for our Democratic candidates in the Senate and the House of Delegates this year. To view a video of each leader talking about this year’s elections click here.
    
5. Virginia communities brace for McDonnell’s budget cuts
   Governor Bob “McGimmick” McDonnell has dropped his self-congratulation over the “budget surplus,” and has replaced it with dire warnings of looming budget cuts to state agencies that could further damage education, transportation and other core services. To read more about the potential for new budget cuts to Virginia communities click here. To read statements from Democratic leaders across Virginia urging the Governor to put middle class families ahead of the Tea Party click here.

Our LeeDems elected officials have been in the news a lot lately, and here are some recent noteworthy appearances, comments, etc.

18th Annual SALT Social Justice Forum for Virginia General Assembly candidates on Saturday, October 15th at the Arlington-Fairfax Elks Lodge, hosted by Social Action Linking Together (SALT – a parish based network of persons in the Catholic Diocese of Arlington, Virginia; http://www.s-a-l-t.org). The forum gives legislators chance to talk about issues confronting ‘most vulnerable citizens.’

Senator Dick Saslaw (D-35th)
“After all these years, the main reason I’m still doing this is to restore cuts in education and social service. … I just don’t want to see the lunatics take over the asylum. That’s the reason I’m still in it,” Saslaw said.

Delegate Vivian Watts (D-39th)
“We need to protect the general fund from transportation being siphoned off it. We’re in quicksand here. … Reliance on debt is not the answer,” said Del. Vivian Watts (D-39), who served as a former Secretary for Transportation and Public Safety from 1986 to 1990.

She explained her decision to vote against Gov. Bob McDonnell’s (R) transportation bill this session, which authorizes him to sell $1.8 billion in bonds that help fund 900 projects, including the widening of Interstate 66 and high-occupancy toll lanes on Interstates 395 and 95.

“I’m always concerned about Northern Virginia getting its fair share, but it’s as important to look at where the money comes from as what we get back. Less than a third of transportation revenue comes from Northern Virginia, while almost 45 percent of General Fund revenue comes from our income and sales taxes. Funding transportation from the General Fund is not a good deal for us, even before you consider the cuts to education and other services that result. New revenue must be part of the solution. Please don’t hesitate to share your thoughts and guidance with me on this most difficult issue.

Former Virginia Republican State Senate Finance Chairman John Chichester endorsed Senator Linda T. “Toddy” Puller for reelection to the 36th Senatorial District of Virginia. Senator Chichester said: “We need more senators like Toddy Puller. She is fair, has integrity, listens and has no agenda except to represent the people of Virginia in the best way possible.”

“Senator Barker: Accomplished Legislator” video on YouTube. See the video below or click here.

Bulova Byline – The Monthly Newsletter from Chairman Bulova

Please click here to view the October Bulova Byline, a monthly report from Chairman Bulova.  See inside for information on:

• 95/395 HOT Lanes Project Advances
• Oak Hill Day Coming Up on October 15
• First Rezoning Case Meets Ambitious Goals of Tysons Corner Plan
• Board Takes Action to End Water Rate Inequity
• Flood Cleanup Continues; Sign up for Emergency Alerts

And more!

Sharon Bulova for Chairman
  SharonBulova.com

The Washington Post did not merely endorse Bulova for Chairman, they super-endorsed her …

If any elected official in Northern Virginia deserves to be returned to office Nov. 8, it’s Ms. Bulova. … With her gracious, civil, inclusive political style, two decades of previous experience on the board and mastery of the county’s $6 billion budget, Ms. Bulova is indisputably the right person in the right job at the right time.

Editorial Board Opinion
Bulova for Fairfax chairman

By Editorial, Sunday, September 25th, 2011

SHARON S. BULOVA, a Democrat who as chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors has more constituents (1.1 million) than any other locally elected official in the Washington region, has been in her post for 2-1/2years. It happens that her ascent to the job, in a special election in February 2009, coincided with the most dizzying plunge in municipal revenue that Fairfax, like most counties, had suffered in decades.

That coincidence is Fairfax’s good fortune. With her gracious, civil, inclusive political style, two decades of previous experience on the board and mastery of the county’s $6 billion budget, Ms. Bulova is indisputably the right person in the right job at the right time. Her bid for reelection, against an unimpressive Republican and two obscure independents, should be a slam dunk. If any elected official in Northern Virginia deserves to be returned to office Nov. 8, it’s Ms. Bulova.

Her trademark, as the board’s chair and as a district supervisor for 21 years before that, has been to stick to her guns while working collaboratively with her colleagues. Remarkably, given her long tenure and the array of issues she has handled, she has almost no enemies. Yet she has not shied away from the most volatile controversies.

A recent example was her role in pushing for nearly $1 billion in cuts from Metrorail’s expansion to Dulles and points farther west. The cuts, though sensible and politically necessary, were bitterly opposed by the airports authority board, which is overseeing construction of the $6 billion project. Despite an array of robust personalities and what appeared to be an intractable impasse, Ms. Bulova — businesslike and non-confrontational — played a critical role in nudging the board into negotiations and toward an eventual deal.

Similarly, she has helped shepherd painfully austere budgets through the county board for three years, allowing Republicans their say and managing disputes over taxes and funding for affordable housing with an emollient style. And having led the board’s budget committee for years before becoming chairman, Ms. Bulova commands respect on a subject of no small complexity.

Her Republican opponent, Michael J. “Spike” Williams, a businessman and real estate agent, is utterly unversed on the budget — a disqualifying trait in a county of Fairfax’s size and sophistication. Mr. Williams speaks airily of excising “waste, fraud and abuse” from the budget, but he cannot offer a single example. He claims the increase in Fairfax’s budget over the past decade was too rapid, without acknowledging it was barely faster than the rate of inflation plus population growth — and no faster, and in many cases slower, than in similar jurisdictions. He complains that property taxes have soared; in fact, they have been flat for most homeowners since 2007.

Why did Republicans, with their considerable Fairfax constituency, especially outside the Beltway, not put forward a heavyweight to run for the premier local elected position in Northern Virginia? The explanation, in addition to Ms. Bulova’s prowess as a fundraiser, may lie simply in her sterling record, reputation and record of accomplishment. In all, it’s an easy choice for voters.

WHAT:  Reception for Sen. George Barker
WHEN:  Saturday, September 24th, 4-6 pm
WHERE: Home of Susie Warner (6229 Edison Drive, Alexandria, VA 22310; map, click here)

$50/person, other contribution levels appreciated. RSVP / tickets online, click here. Questions or information contact finance director Kim Howard at (703) 831-7336 or kim@senatorbarker.com.

With less than seven weeks left until people head to the polls on November 8th, the campaign efforts are ramping up. Voters are beginning to pay attention to the critical issues at stake, and volunteers are reaching out each day on the phones and doors.

But we still have work to do.

George is up against an opponent who has already dumped $75,000 of his own money into this race, and his top contributor in last week’s finance report was the right-wing, out-of-touch Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli. Please join your friends at a fundraising reception this Saturday to ensure that George has the resources he needs to prevent the extreme budget cuts and right-wing legislation that a GOP Senate would bring.

Kommen, essen und trinken – German music and food! German beer and wine. New: dancing and polka instruction!

Join Chairman of the Board Sharon Bulova for her annual fundraiser at the new location in the Lorton Workhouse Arts Center (9601 Ox Road, Lorton, VA 22079; map click here).

4:15 tours of the historic Workhouse Facility

Tickets online, click here. Mail-in registration form, click here.
Individual Ticket $50; Family $75; Friend $500; Sponsor $1,000; Patron $2,500; Benefactor $5,000; Angel $10,000.

Annual Fundraiser to Re-Elect Sharon Bulova, PO Box 19 Fairfax Station, Virginia 22039, www.SharonBulova.com. Please RSVP by mail or mail to BulovaRSVP2011@gmail.com. For more information, call 703-663-8001. Make checks payable to: “Re-Elect Sharon Bulova”. Paid for and Authorized by Sharon Bulova.