Each week until the Va-10 congressional district Democratic Party primary election on June 12, The Blue View will ask all six candidates to respond to a key question on an important issue in 100 words or less. This week’s question: Under what circumstances should we withdraw from Syria? Answers below from candidates, in alphabetical order: The question needs to be, how should we intervene?…
Category: Politics
New survey lets voters compare N. Va. Congressional candidates
By Chris LeMenestrel and Francesca Costantino: Virginia Democracy Forward (VADF), in partnership with a coalition of grassroots groups, has put together the Cross-Grassroots Survey of Virginia Congressional Candidates to identify Democratic primary candidates to support in the 2018 election cycle who will advance a progressive agenda. Click here to view the survey. The survey provides information on the personal story,…
Fairfax County narrows teacher pay gap in new budget rising 5%
By Stephanie Witt Sedgwick: Public school teachers in Fairfax County will receive pay raises averaging 5% following the Board of Supervisors decision on Tuesday to narrow the gap between Fairfax County and neighboring school systems. The school pay hikes were part of a total county budget of $4.29 billion, rising $192 million, or 4.6%, over last year. The spending increases…
Why should we talk to voters?
By Todd Smyth: What is the best way to reach voters? Although hundreds of millions of dollars are spent on political TV and radio ads and mailers, those have no lasting impact on voters as they only go in one direction. “Research shows that almost half of all political ads are completely ignored,” says marketing consultant Matthew Sheffield, in the…
Candidate Question Time: Healthcare
Each week until the Va-10 congressional district Democratic Party primary election on June 12, The Blue View will ask all six candidates to respond to a key question on an important issue in 100 words or less. This week’s question: How should we reform healthcare in this country? Answers below from candidates, in alphabetical order: I believe we must move to a single…
VA-10 Candidates face off in wide-ranging forum
By Stephanie Witt Sedgwick: The six candidates vying to run for the 10th Congressional District seat met Sunday afternoon in a moderated discussion forum at Colvin Run Elementary School in Vienna, Va. The winner of the June 12th primary will face incumbent Republican Barbara Comstock in November’s Congressional election. The forum was hosted by the Dranesville Democratic Committee and moderated…
The killing field of gun safety bills in the Virginia House
Editor’s Note: Second in a two-part series on gun-related bills in the recently concluded state legislative session. Part 1 dealt with the Senate and was posted on April 2. This Part 2 deals with the House of Delegates By Ben Zuhl: Democrats in the Virginia House of Delegates introduced 80 bills to curb rampant gun violence in the legislative session…
Dogs walk their owners into higher levels of political activism
by Holly Hazard: Wouldn’t it be great to just sit at home and have voters come knocking asking how they might get more actively involved instead of you volunteering with a list and a clip board and going door-to-door? One early morning this winter I realized that many of my neighbors do walk by my door every day, rain or…
How to keep popular vote losers like Trump and Bush out of the White House
By Brad Swanson: Marcus Simon remembers vividly the feelings of despondency and helplessness he saw around him as reality set in – despite winning 2.9 million more votes than Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton had lost the 2016 presidential election. “The person who gets the most votes should win,” Simon remembers thinking. “Why shouldn’t it be that simple? That’s the way…
Connolly and Guzman predict continued victories for Democrats at national and state level
by Brad Swanson: Two prominent Virginia elected officials took turns Saturday night at a fund-raising event to celebrate recent Democratic victories and rally party members to take over the House and Virginia state legislature. Speaking first, Va. Del. Elizabeth Guzman (D- 31) used her story as the first Hispanic female immigrant to win election to the state House of Delegates…
Virginia Senate ignores gun horror, fails to limit use — again
Editor’s Note: First in a two-part series on gun-related bills in the recently concluded state legislative session. Part 1 deals with the Senate; Part 2 deals with the House of Delegates and will appear shortly By Sen. Dick Saslaw: Our push for commonsense gun legislation in the recently concluded session was derailed within days of the first gavel of the…
Barbara Comstock is an extremist hiding in plain sight
By Adam Siegel: Ideas once on the furthest extreme of the American political system have become mainstream in the Republican Party. Yesterday’s “extremist” is today’s “moderate.” Barbara Comstock is a poster child of this problem. For anyone thinking about decades of American politics, Va. Del. Comstock, R-10, can only be called an extremist. She is: –In the pocket of the NRA with…
Virginia Democrats blocked in opposing puppy mills
By Susan Laume: Despite the known dangers, pet stores in Fairfax County and throughout Virginia can still legally sell puppies and kittens from commercial breeders, commonly called puppy mills. Virginia Democratic legislators sponsored anti-puppy mill bills this session, but the Republican-dominated legislature blocked them. Del. Jennifer Boysko, whose 86th district includes parts of Fairfax and Loudon Counties, and Sen. Lynwood…
Five ways to help advance the progressive agenda this spring
By Mary Anne Mulligan: Tired of sitting on the couch, consuming carbs, and fretting about the Mueller investigation? Here are a few ideas for taking action over the next few months. 1. Grassroots groups and Democratic committees in Northern Virginia are united to elect a Democratic candidate to replace Republican Rep. Barbara Comstock in VA-10. Follow BlueWaveVA10 for opportunities to canvass…