On May 17, Delegates and Alternates from Brunswick County to Nelson County, and from Martinsville to Greene County came together in Lovingston for our 2008 convention. We had three elements of business. The first was to nominate our 5th District Congressional candidate, and did we ever succeed! Tom Perriello will be representing the Democratic voters this year, and everyone is just so proud of the representation. More on that in a minute! We also were given the tasks of electing our Elector to represent the 5th Congressional District when the Democrats win Virginia in the Presidential race this fall. And lastly, we got to select four delegates and one alternate to the Democratic National Convention in Denver this August.

Tom Perriello is now our nominee to represent the 5th District Democrats in the contest for the seat in Congress, and what a fine candidate he is. Tom comes to the campaign with life experiences well beyond his years and should bring the type of experience that motivates the voters of the 5th District to bring about change in our representation. It is certainly time.

The incumbent has been in Washington supposedly representing this district for several terms. As our factories have closed, and our unemployment has grown, the incumbent continues to do little to change the situation. So it is time for a change in Congress from the 5th, and Tom Perriello can make that happen.

On the state-wide scene, Mark Warner is our candidate for Senate. He is a great candidate and it is clear that Virginians want more of the thoughtful representation and dynamic leadership that Mark Warner provides. He left the governor’s mansion with a very high approval rating and let’s pitch in to give him the opportunity to provide that representation again.

For the positions of Elector and Delegate to the National Convention, we had a large number of people who wanted to participate, but the bad news was that we had so few positions. The strength of the Democratic Party was clear this year as we had so many wonderful people seeking to participate. I hope that everyone will continue to be active and help in their local committees to continue to make the differences in the campaigns ahead.

The first election that we had was for Elector. There were five candidates and only one position. Marc Finney from Brunswick County was elected on the second ballot. Congratulations, Marc!

Following the election for Elector, we selected our delegates to the Democratic National Convention. Again, there were 22 candidates seeking the 3 delegate positions and 1 alternate to be pledged to Obama, and 3 candidates seeking 1 delegate position pledged to Clinton. Representing the 5th Congressional District for Obama will be Penny Blue from Franklin County, Fred Hudson from Albemarle County, and Kristin Szakos from Charlottesville. Lacy Ward of Prince Edward County was chosen to be the alternate.

The Clinton caucus chose Mike Mayes from Bedford County to represent the 5th District to the national convention. It was an exciting day, and congratulations to all! It is going to be an unusual year. We have been through an extended and often harsh campaign for the Presidential nomination. When it is over, we must all pull together to elect our Presidential nominee and Mark Warner and Tom Perriello. Unity is going to have to be the goal this year.

Just remember, the Republicans are determined to continue favorable tax treatment to the corporations and the very wealthy, and to continue to war in Iraq. We just can’t have four more years of Republicans in the White House. If you really want to get worried, remember that the next President will probably nominate as many as three Supreme Court justices, and that could have an effect on the direction of this country for decades.

If the first two were not enough, the third point should bring us all to our feet, united in our effort to sweep the country for Democrats, and doing all that we can to bring about that victory in our local cities and Counties. June begins the process of ensuring that we as Democrats make our voice heard. We are improving with every election to make the 5th Congressional District a Democratic part of the Commonwealth. It will continue to take an effort on the part of us all to make the District a place of a strong Democratic voice.

We can continue that progression, but it will continue to require all of us, pitching in and doing our part. I do hope that you will come forward and contribute in anyway that you can. With the candidates that we have, this should be a fine year for our Party, but we are going to need the help of all good Democrats to “make it happen”.

This year presents challenges but we have met them in the past, and we can do it again! Participate with your local committee or locally with one of the campaigns. Let’s make this a year to remember!

 

Fred Hudson, Chair
5th Congressional District Democratic Committee