Arlington Democrats

Bipartisan Election Night Drinking in Arlington

By ARLnow.com

Whether you’re Republican, Democrat, or none of the above, there’s an opportunity for you to imbibe tomorrow night while election results come in.

Arlington Democrats will be watching the election returns on the big screen at the Arlington Cinema and Drafthouse (2903 Columbia Pike). The event, which starts at 6:00 p.m., features free admission, a hot food buffet ($10 or $12, depending who you ask) and a cash bar.

“We will be joined by volunteers, candidates, elected officials and the general public as we watch the returns, share stories from the campaign trail and celebrate democracy in action!” said Arlington Young Democrats spokesman Mike Lewan.

Arlington Republicans will be monitoring the election results on five televisions at RiRa Irish Pub in Clarendon (2915 Wilson Blvd). The grand ole party will include $3 Heineken and Newcastle all night, plus “some specials on some Americana type beers, likely Sam Adams.” Nachos and pretzels will be half off.

The event is officially being held from 8:00 to 11:00 p.m., but attendees are being encouraged to show up earlier and stay later. WiFi internet access will be provided for wonks who want to monitor real-time results and Twitter reactions.

The Arlington Green Party, meanwhile, will be holding a more subdued affair. The Greens’ celebration, which is being held at a private north Arlington residence starting at 7:00 p.m., will feature “vegetarian chili, corn bread, hot and cold drinks.”

Those hoping for a more non-partisan event can attend an “Election Day Decompression Session” at Iota Club and Cafe in Clarendon (2832 Wilson Blvd) on Tuesday. The free event will offer happy hour prices from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. DJ Sam Snow will be spinning tunes from 6:00 until “late.” The DJing will be decidedly undemocratic: no requests will be taken.

“IOTA is a politics-free zone lovin’ the donkeys and the elephants and the indies,” said co-owner Jane Negrey Inge. “It’s all about togetherness!”

Capitol City Brewing in Shirlington (4001 Campbell Avenue) is hosting Election Day festivities all day on Tuesday. The event, from 11:00 a.m. to midnight, includes election-related programming on the TVs, $5 appetizers, half dollar wings and happy hour-priced pints of beer.

Some local restaurants are offering election-specific specials in the run-up to the election.

Bar TNT (within Eamonn’s, 2413 Columbia Pike) is offering two bipartisan cocktails for the price on one: a red tequila-based “Willard ‘Mitt’ Romney-rita” and a blue rum-based “Obama-Mama,” $12 for the pair (pictured). Good Stuff Eatery in Crystal City (2110 Crystal Drive), meanwhile, is still tallying votes for its “Great Burger Debate,” featuring a Democratic “James Carville” burger and a Republican “Mary Matalin” burger.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

November is Here — Today is the first day of November. Thanksgiving is three weeks away and Christmas is just under eight weeks away.

Daycare Workers At Fort Myer Accused of Abuse — Three childcare workers at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall have been charged with assault after Army investigators, using surveillance cameras, observed them hitting, pushing and pinching young children, according to court documents. [WJLA]

Dems Set Fundraising Record — The Arlington County Democratic Committee has set a new fundraising record. ACDC raised more than $38,000 through its “Dollars for Democrats” campaign, compared to last year’s record haul of $21,258. [Sun Gazette]

Absentee Voting May Set Record — Arlington election officials are predicting a record number of absentee ballots cast in advance of the Nov. 6 general election. [Arlington Connection]

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Local Parties to Hold Debate Watching Parties — Local Republicans and Democrats will be holding viewing parties for the first of the 2012 presidential debates tonight. The Arlington Republican viewing party will be held at Mad Rose Tavern in Clarendon (3100 Clarendon Blvd). The Arlington Democratic viewing party will be held at Bailey’s Pub & Grille in Ballston (4238 Wilson Blvd).

Parents Say Bus Changes Are Taking a Toll — Students are not performing as well academically and at least one mom lost her job as a result of changes to the County’s school bus policies, according to a group of parents. Parents of Campbell Elementary students are planning to carpool — to Thursday’s School Board meeting, to voice their concerns. [WTOP]

More Local BRAC Moves Coming — According to one estimate, government agencies with leases expiring between now and 2015 as a result of the Base Realignment and Closure Act occupy more than 4.5 million square feet of office space in Arlington and Alexandria. The BRAC move-outs are impacting the bottom line of some commercial property holders. Vornado, with office space in Arlington and Fairfax County, expects earnings to be down as much as $60 million as a result of BRAC. [Bloomberg]

Church Series on ‘Restoring Political Civility’ — The Rock Spring Congregational United Church of Christ (5010 Little Falls Road) will be holding a four-part series that will “discuss how citizenship is a responsibility rather than a privilege, and how to restore civility to the political process.” [Sun Gazette]

Flickr pool photo by Keithhall

Photos: Arlington Democrats Chili Cook-off and Pie-Eating Contest

By ARLnow.com

The Arlington County Democratic Committee held its annual Labor Day chili cook-off on Monday.

This year’s event, which was attended by dozens of local Democrats and many of Arlington’s elected officials, included a pie-eating contest.

A number of local Democratic notables participated in a eating contest, which challenged competitors to finish a pie as quickly as possible, without using their hands. Rep. Moran’s son, Patrick, won a decisive victory, followed by Paul Holland in second place and Ben Tribbett in third place.

A panel of judges chose Sheriff Beth Arthur’s “Jailhouse Chili” as the best of the 14 chili entries, but a “popular vote” of attendees resulted in Commissioner of Revenue Ingrid Morroy’s “Taxes Chili with a Caribbean Twist” being named the “top of the ticket.” Among the runners-up in the popular vote were Del. Patrick Hope’s “Hope for the Best” chili, the Rep. Jim Moran “Victory 2012” chili, and Arlington School Board candidate Noah Simon’s “School House Rock” chili.

Other attendees at the event included 2013 Virginia lieutenant governor candidate Aneesh Chopra, state Senator Barbara Favola, County Board member Chris Zimmerman, School Board Chair Dr. Emma Violand-Sanchez, Clerk of the Circuit Court Paul Ferguson, and ACDC Chairman Mike Lieberman.

1/18

Robocall Not Meant to Be Misleading, Shuttleworth Camp Says

By ARLnow.com

The campaign of Democratic congressional candidate Bruce Shuttleworth says a recorded “robocall” placed to local voters this week was not intended to be misleading.

Yesterday the Democratic blog Blue Virginia reported that the call claimed Shuttleworth was “doing a conference call… with [Democratic National Committee] Chairwoman [Rep.] Debbie Wasserman Schultz on women’s issues.” In reality, Blue Virginia blogger Lowell Feld wrote, “this call was simply ‘one of several monthly constituency caucus calls the Chair is making this week, with several thousand total participants.'”

In response, the Shuttleworth camp released a statement it sent to to Blue Virginia.

There was no intent to misrepresent the candidate’s status on the call as anything other than a participant.

In light of the ongoing attacks on Women’s rights in this country by the political right wing, Bruce Shuttleworth is encouraged by the DNC Chair’s initiative to energize women in support of the only party which protects their rights — the Democratic Party. That you don’t think it is important to widely share this initiative is a shame.

Bruce Shuttleworth will continue to encourage the citizens of VA-8 to get active and engaged and to fight for social and economic justice for all citizens. In fact, there will be another robocall going out tonight that will encourage Latino voters to participate in the White House Hispanic Community Action Summit this weekend in the District. We think it is important to support the President and get the Latino community engaged.

The campaign also released a transcript of the call (after the jump). Shuttleworth will face incumbent Rep. Jim Moran in the Democratic primary this coming Tuesday, June 12.

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Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

CivFed Wants Separate Vote on Aquatics Center — The Arlington County Civic Federation would like the County Board to make the $42.5 million Long Bridge Park aquatics center project a standalone bond vote in November. County Manager Barbara Donnellan had proposed that that the project be included in a larger park bond that will go to Arlington voter on Nov. 6. [Sun Gazette]

Arlington Garbage Survey — The Arlington County Solid Waste Bureau is seeking feedback on its trash and recycling collection services. From an email: “The County would like your input on trash and recycling services. We invite you to take this ten minute Trash and Recycling Survey and help us determine the best way to meet the County’s waste management needs. Results will be used to assess our current services and offerings.” [Survey Monkey]

Jefferson-Jackson Dinner Tomorrow — The Arlington County Democratic Committee will hold its annual Jefferson-Jackson Dinner tomorrow (Friday). The keynote speaker at the event is former Virginia First Lady Anne Holton, wife of current U.S. Senate candidate Tim Kaine. Tickets to the event, held at the Westin Arlington Gateway Hotel in Ballston, are $125. [Arlington Democrats]

Candidate Withdraws from School Board Race

By Katie Pyzyk

A little more than two months after announcing he was running, a candidate for Arlington School Board is dropping out. Larry Fishtahler has withdrawn from the race.

In February, Fishtahler announced his interest in receiving an endorsement from the Arlington County Democratic Committee (ACDC). Now that Fishtahler has dropped out, candidate Noah Simon and incumbent Emma Violand-Sanchez are the presumptive Democratic endorsees for the two open positions in November’s election.

(One of the open positions is the School Board seat formerly held by now-County Board member Libby Garvey.)

In a press release, Fishtahler said, “From the time I began I knew that to be successful a number of conditions should be met by the end of March. Over the spring break I determined that a necessary condition had not been achieved. I have been honored by the support I have received during this campaign, and look forward to continuing to work with Emma Violand-Sanchez, Noah Simon, and others to make Arlington’s schools even better than they already are.”

Fishtahler had been the Democratic candidate in the 2003 race, but lost to incumbent Dave Foster, a Republican.

ACDC had planned on holding a caucus on May 9 and 12 to determine which two of the three candidates would receive endorsements. Because only two candidates remain for the open spots, the caucus has been canceled. Instead, there will be a vote at the party’s next general membership meeting, on May 2, to confirm the two endorsements.

Both of the remaining candidates issued statements of their own following Fishtahler’s withdrawal.

“I am honored to have the opportunity to run for School Board with the endorsement of the Arlington Democrats and look forward to closely working with Emma during the remainder of the campaign,” Simon said. “I thank the Arlington Democrats and also commend Larry Fishtahler for his tireless work in support of Arlington’s students.”

Simon is a father of two APS elementary students. He says he’s committed to addressing overcrowding problems at Arlington Public Schools, closing achievement disparities, recruiting and retaining high quality staff, promoting health, fitness and nutrition education, and supplementing instruction with technology.

Violand-Sanchez said, “For the last three years, I have been honored to serve as an Arlington School Board Member, and I am excited to be able to run again with the Democrats’ endorsement to work for Arlington’s students. Though we have our challenges, Arlington’s schools remain one of our greatest community assets. I want to thank Larry Fishtahler for his contributions to our schools and thank the Arlington Democrats and all my supporters for their strong support.”

Voting for the Arlington School Board takes place on November 6, during the general election. Those who wish to run must qualify by June 12.

Obama Headquarters to Open on Columbia Pike

By Katie Pyzyk

Big changes are in store for the old Giant pharmacy in Columbia Heights. The location (2408 Columbia Pike) is being turned into a campaign headquarters for President Obama.

According to a recently created Facebook page and the Arlington Democrats website, the grand opening of the Obama for America office is taking place from 1:00-4:00 p.m. on Sunday. Visitors are encouraged to attend the event to meet staff and other supporters, as well as learning about neighborhood teams throughout the county.

In addition to asking for monetary support for the campaign, the Arlington Democrats are looking for volunteers and donations of supplies for the headquarters.

Moran, Dems Respond to Corruption Allegations

By ARLnow.com

State Democratic officials say an error, not corruption, was the reason why Democratic congressional challenger Bruce Shuttleworth was initially not allowed on the 8th District primary ballot.

Officials announced yesterday that Shuttleworth had, in fact, submitted the necessary number of signatures to quality for the ballot, after they determined last week that he was 18 signatures short. At a press conference today, Shuttleworth charged that his opponent, Rep. Jim Moran, was somehow behind the snafu.

In a statement, a Moran spokesman didn’t respond directly to the allegations, but said the campaign hoped that officials would “get to the bottom of the situation.” The campaign also took a shot at one of Shuttleworth’s political backers.

The Moran campaign submitted their petitions well ahead of the deadline to avoid any last minute problems. It’s a deep concern that petitions appear to have been misplaced by the Fairfax County Registrar’s Office. We urge local officials to get to the bottom of the situation to find out what really happened, to ensure the Democratic process is protected.

For our campaign, nothing has changed. We were fully preparing for a primary, and the coming attacks from the conservative, Texas oil money fueled Super PAC that has stated their intent to try defeat the congressman, who has been a champion of the environment throughout his time in Congress.

Later this afternoon, Democratic Party of Virginia spokesman Brian Coy explained what had happened.

Democratic 8th Congressional District Committee chairwoman Margo Horner, who was named in Shuttleworth’s federal lawsuit challenging the initial petition decision, had passed off the petition signatures to impartial local election officials in Fairfax, Alexandria and Arlington, in an effort to avoid the certification process becoming too “politicized,” according to Coy.

Somehow, Coy said, the Fairfax County registrar lost a number of petitions during the process. They only discovered that the petitions had been lost after Arlington County registrar Linda Lindberg notified them that there were Fairfax County signatures within her office’s stack of petitions, according to Coy.

After the error was discovered — which was after Shuttleworth had initially been denied a spot on the ballot — the lost petitions were found, counted, and yesterday afternoon it was determined that Shuttleworth had, in fact, qualified for the ballot. Coy said that correct procedures were followed and denied that there was any intentional effort to leave Shuttleworth off the ballot.

“The results of this process had nothing to do with anything other than whether or not Mr. Shuttleworth had enough signatures,” Coy said. “Any insinuation that the party lost the signatures, that they did anything other than… go above and beyond the procedures that are laid out… is inaccurate.”

Coy added that “the responsibility to certify petitions lies with our congressional district committees” — not centrally with the Democratic Party of Virginia, whose chairman is Brian Moran, the congressman’s brother.

Radle Drops Out of Primary, Endorses Shuttleworth

By ARLnow.com

Will Radle has dropped out of the Eight Congressional District Democratic primary and has endorsed Bruce Shuttleworth against incumbent Rep. Jim Moran.

Radle announced his candidacy for the seat in January. Previously, the Fairfax County resident had run for public office as both an independent and a Republican. Since last year, Radle’s runs for public office have been dogged by media mentions of his guilty plea on an assault charge out of Arlington in 2010.

Radle’s LinkedIn page says he’s currently unemployed. A recent long-form profile of the candidate suggests he left his job as an insurance agent last year to focus on his campaign.

In his endorsement, Radle made no mention of Moran, but instead lauded Shuttleworth as “a true gentleman who will represent the Democratic Party well in fighting for those who can’t fight for themselves; battling for those who too often battle for us in faraway lands and governing as an honest broker.”

Radle’s full press release, after the jump.

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Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

St. Paddy’s Day Is Almost Here — Tomorrow is St. Patrick’s Day, so expect some crowded bars and some intoxicated individuals along the R-B corridor. See our 2012 St. Patrick’s Day Guide for a list of some of the local watering holes that are holding special St. Paddy’s Day events.

Groundbreaking on New Courthouse Apartments — Construction is now underway on Grayson Flats, a 67-unit luxury apartment building located at 1200 N. Rolfe Street. The developer, Tysons-based Insight Property Group, say the building will be convenient to the Courthouse Metro station. Construction is expected to wrap up this fall. [Washington Business Journal]

Arlington Dems Get New Website — The Arlington County Democratic Committee launched a redesigned website earlier this week. In a blog post, the organization acknowledged that their old website was “lame.” [Arlington Democrats]

T.A. Sullivan Starts Removing Gravestones — Gravestones are apparently starting to be moved off the old T.A. Sullivan & Son property in Clarendon. The cemetery monument business, and every other business on the block, has closed or is closing to make way for a new office complex. [Clarendon Culture]

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