Welcome to the Arlington and Alexandria area (Virginia) group of Democracy for America and Democracy for Virginia supporters!
newly updated August edition
May 19, 2005: Arlington/Alexandria for Democracy Endorses David Englin for Delegate
June 14, 2005: David Englin wins Democratic Primary (campaign website)
On Friday, August 19, at 11:00 AM, we will meet with Rep. Jim Moran (VA-8) to strongly urge support for Congressional investigations into the Downing Street Memos and the Bush administration's buildup to the Iraq War. Northern Virginia residents in the 10th and 11th Districts will meet with Reps. Frank Wolf and Tom Davis at times that are currently being scheduled with their offices.
Will you join us as a constituent of Rep. Moran who wants Congress to fully investigate the administration's policy that led us into the Iraq War? Please sign up right away so we can include you in the planning!
Our "Ides of March" Meetup was blogged by an EchoDitto employee living in Arlington. EchoDitto is a consulting firm of former Dean campaign staffers (the Meetup team, I believe) that does online community building and eAdvocacy for non-profits, political organizations, and businesses. He followed up with a post highlighting Laura Mandala's comment about supporting unions in response to his initial post.
Democracy for America arose out of the end of Gov. Howard Dean's campaign for president in 2004. Many of us want to continue with this movement to change America and fight for progressive causes at every level of government. We invite those who are interested in this progressive movement to join us. All are welcome... this would include Independents, Greens, moderate Republicans, and of course Democrats who want to work for progress!
Most simply, we want to promote fiscally responsible and socially progressive candidates for all levels of government. You should feel welcome to join us if you also share these goals.
A primary goal of our group is to increase civic awareness and involvement in our community. To do this, we want to keep our members informed about important events and actions in which they can become involved, and furthermore share ideas for how they can reach out to others in their communities, to bring them into the process as well.
Please join us at our monthly Meetup! Check the details below, and remember that you can refer back to this website (and also sign up on DFA-Link) for the latest information about the Arlington Meetup.
DFA Meetups throughout the world are officially scheduled on the first Wednesday of each month, but we've moved ours to another date (third Tuesday of the month) to avoid conflicts for those who wish to attend the Arlington County Democratic Committee or Arlington Courthouse Greens meetings. Please contact us if you might want to come on some other night in the future!
For the first Wednesday of each month (September 7), we suggest:
Virginia has important statewide races in 2005. Current Lt. Governor Tim Kaine is running for governor, former U.S. Congresswoman and State Senator Leslie Byrne is running for Lt. Governor, and State Senator Creigh Deeds is running for Attorney General.
All 100 seats of the Virginia General Assembly are also up for election, so we hope you'll adopt a candidate in a competitive race by contributing your volunteer time or money as you are able! Democracy for Virginia PAC will be endorsing some great candidates whose campaigns we can help significantly with our efforts this fall!
Our next Meetup is scheduled for Tuesday, August 16 at 7:00 pm, at Murky Coffee Arlington (formerly Common Grounds) in Clarendon. You may RSVP directly to us or on the DFA-Link site.
Murky Coffee Arlington (Common Grounds)
3211 Wilson Blvd (map)
Arlington, VA 22201
Metro: Clarendon station (orange line), on other side of Washington Blvd
free parking: adjacent metered spots (free after 6:00pm), or DHS garage on Highland St off Wilson (after 5:30pm)
You've probably heard of Cindy Sheehan, whose son Casey was killed in Iraq, and who is now waiting outside President Bush's Crawford ranch to ask him simple questions about the truth behind the Iraq war. Will you stand up with Cindy, who participates in DFA group Sacramento for Democracy, and join Arlington/Alexandria in demanding the truth?
For August, we'll plan for our meeting with Rep. Jim Moran (VA- 8) scheduled this Friday morning. In particular, we will deliver petitions demanding that Congress investigate the Downing Street Memos and Bush administration plans to lead us into the Iraq war by fixing evidence. Help us make our strongest case to hold the administration accountable for these immoral actions!
Can you meet Rep. Moran with us this Friday to encourage investigations into the administration's early plans to lead us into Iraq?
RSVP: http://tools.democracyforamerica.com/link/event.php?id=386
Tuesday evening, at Common Grounds (Murky Coffee) in Clarendon:
1. Introductions and networking
2. Update on DFA and DFV events
3. Plan message and talking points for Rep. Moran
4. Discuss ways to bring Iraq war planning to light
5. Announcements from members
6. Wrap-up and evaluation
Join us and bring a friend! It's across the street from the Clarendon Metro, next to free evening parking.
There are a number of other Meetup groups and meetings in Northern Virginia and the Washington, DC metropolitan area. Look for one near you, focused on issues you care about! You can sign up for as many Meetup groups as you want. The following list is provided to help DC metro area members find the groups they want to attend, now that multiple localities within the old "regions" have split up into separate groups for each venue.
First, try looking at all DFA-Link groups in Virginia. You can also search for groups within some distance. However, some local groups are not yet entered in the new system, so you may need to refer to some of the Meetup.com sites which no longer be maintained in the near future.
It is also a good idea to attend meetings of the Democratic Party in Arlington to be involved with important decisions made there. They meet the same day as most DFA Meetups (first Wednesday), but both we and the VGC have switched our Meetup days so you can attend both.
This website and our Arlington/Alexandria area organization will be evolving over time based on what you (our members) want us to do and think will be most productive for improving our community and country. Please contact us if you have any questions or are interested in being involved in any way!
Sections below cover actions and events that have happened in the past and are only useful as a record of things we've done.
As the local Democracy for America group in the Arlington and Alexandria area, our involvement in the 45th District House of Delegates race this year is very relevant. The 45th District includes much of Alexandria as well as parts of Arlington and Fairfax Counties.
Please check our page about the Virginia 45th District House of Delegates race regularly for the latest information and hopefully the most comprehensive source about the upcoming primary!
There is also a Democratic primary race for retiring State Delegate Marian Van Landingham's 45th District seat, which is very relevant to us since it contains a number of Alexandria precincts, three Arlington precincts, and several Fairfax County precincts. We have recently obtained each candidate's responses to our questionnaire, as a consideration for endorsing a candidate in this race. Please learn more about these candidates and lend support to the candidate you think is best!
Please check our page about the Virginia 45th District House of Delegates race regularly for the latest information and hopefully the most comprehensive source about the upcoming primary!
