On May 16, the
8th Congressional District Democratic committee will
hold a convention (at 10 am at Edison High School in Alexandria) to select representatives to the State Central Committee (SCC) - the governing body of the party. Within the 8th CD, the number of seats are apportioned as follows: Fairfax (8), Arlington (7), Alexandria (4), Falls Church (1). In addition, the seats are further divided by gender. In Arlington, this means an allocation of 4 men and 3 women to fill the 7 slots. Currently, there are 6 men and 3 women running for those slots, which means that, as of now (filing deadline is tomorrow), the only competition is in the men's category. Today, I am endorsing three of those candidates. Here they are, with my rationale:
1.
Brian Straw: I've spoken with Brian, read his materials and have been very impressed. Brian is a strong believer that the grassroots activists of Arlington need a representative on the SCC. Brian also believes that involving more grassroots activists in the decisions of the party is a good thing, and that the best ideas often come from volunteers. I couldn't agree more. Brian's background includes two years working for Students for Barack Obama and the Campaign for Change, as well as active involvement in the Arlington Young Democrats. He'll make an excellent addition to the SCC. [Note: See Brian's
Facebook page for more information]
2.
Alfonso Lopez: A strong progressive on a wide variety of issues, Alfonso is about as well connected and experienced as anyone around, heading up the Virginia liaison office in Washington, DC for Governor Kaine and serving as Vice Chair of the Arlington County Democratic Committee (among other things). Alfonso asked me for my support, and I am happy to give it.
3.
Peter Rousselot: Last but most definitely NOT least, ACDC chair Peter Rousselot is one of the best Democratic committee chairs in Virginia, part of the reason for this is that Peter "gets" the new media, the netroots and the grassroots. Over the past few years, Peter and I have worked closely together on many projects, including helping to elect Jim Webb and Barack Obama, and I'm proud to call him my friend. I couldn't endorse Peter more strongly for the SCC.
