Two Case Studies of How and How NOT to GOTV - Fairfax and Alexandria

We've had two races recently that illustrate starkly how things SHOULD be done and how things should NOT be done.

1. First, here's an example of how it's done -- the Bulova-Herrity race. Part of it was a result of Terry McAuliffe's efforts:

When Sharon Bulova was facing a tough special election for Chair of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors a few weeks ago, we converted our headquarters into a phone banking operation for Sharon's campaign the weekend before the election. I joined the effort, calling voters on her behalf. In total, we filled over 70 volunteer shifts, made over 14,000 calls, and spoke with nearly 5,500 voters. On Election Day, we staffed polling locations all over the county. And I'm happy to say that she pulled out a very narrow victory.

Thank you Terry McAuliffe!

In addition, the Fairfax County Democratic Committee, under the excellent leadership of Scott Surovell, put out calls to the grassroots, the activists, the bloggers, etc. to get involved and help prevent a disastrous defeat on election day. The result? It worked. Sharon Bulova (D) defeated Pat Herrity (R) by 1,206 votes out of 112,000 cast.

2. Now, here's a great example of how it's NOT done - the Alexandria city council elections on Tuesday, in which Democrats lost two seats in a super-blue (72% for Barack Obama in November 2008) district. Here's the Connection Newspapers on the debacle:

The Alexandria Democratic Committee suffered a setback Tuesday when two of its incumbent candidates were ousted by voters on Election Day. Republican Frank Fannon and independent candidate Alicia Hughes each won a place on the City Council. Incumbent Democrats Tim Lovain and Justin Wilson will step down from their seats this summer, when Fannon and Hughes will be installed as the council’s newest members. Some were calling for immediate changes in the party.

"The buck stops with Susan Kellom," said outgoing Councilman Ludwig Gaines, calling for a new party leader. "She took credit for the victories with Democrats won, but she’s also got to take credit for the defeat."

Actually, I'd say it's more than Susan Kellom, but the fact is, there was no serious outreach to Democratic grassroots activists prior to Tuesday's elections (or, for that matter, prior to Charniele Herring's near loss in the snap election to replace Brian Moran back in January following his sudden decision to resign from the House of Delegates). In fact, the only person who contacted me about the Alexandria elections was grassroots activist Brian Devine, the day before the election, urging me to post something because people were worried that low turnout and voter apathy could lead to losses on election day.

Aside from Kellom, you've got to look at who's supposed to be in charge of Democratic GOTV operations in Alexandria, and the finger points right at the "Moran machine." In fact, Jim Moran admits as much in this morning's Washington Post:

There have been a number of signs that we're not getting out the vote, we're taking things for granted," said Rep. James P. Moran Jr. (D-Va.). "And there is a consistent drive for change. The Democrats have got to prove that they still are the party of change."

I agree with Jim Moran, we DO have to prove that, and we also have to get out our vote. And right now, unfortunately, I also have to agree with Jim Moran that it's simply not happening in Alexandria, as solid-blue as blue can get. That's not acceptable, and it's definitely time for a major change.

UPDATE: Josh Chernila has more on this topic at Daily Dogwood.