June 2023 Next Meeting
JOIN RACHEL LEVY AT OUR JUNE 10 HDC MEETING
Join us at our June Hanover Democratic Committee meeting to hear from Dr. Rachel Levy, our next delegate from the 59th House District. The meeting will be Saturday, June 10 at 10 a.m. at Around the Table, 155 Junction Drive. Ashland VA 23005.
In 2021, during a red-wave election, Rachel and her 55th House of Delegates campaign raised the Democratic vote by 30 percent!
This time, in the new 59th district, which includes the town of Ashland, Western Hanover, 75 percent of Louisa including the towns of Louisa and Mineral, and parts of the Fairfield and Brookland Districts here in Henrico, Rachel is running for the House of Delegates again. Joined again by her campaign manager, Ashley Hall, she plans to win and represent everyone, no matter who they are or how they vote. In case you're new to the area, Rachel, who lives with her family in Ashland, is a mother, educator and community leader with a Ph.D. in educational policy.
Please join us on June 10 to learn about Rachel's 2023 plan, her policies, to ask questions and to come listen to the future delegate of...
June 2023 Two Cents (sl)
BLUE COMMONWEALTH GALA ON TAP
by Liam Watson, Press Secretary, Democratic Part of Virginia
We officially have less than a month until our annual Blue Commonwealth Gala!
This week, we were delighted to announce Congressman Bennie Thompson, who chaired the January 6 committee in the U.S. House, as one of our featured speakers.
Tickets and sponsorships are still on sale, so there's still time to make your plans to visit us in Richmond see you there!
You can purchase tickets here.
Virginia Stands Alone
After South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster signed into law a bill banning most abortions after just six weeks of pregnancy, Virginia now stands alone as the only Southern state without a post-Roe abortion ban.
It's not for lack of trying, though. Governor Youngkin has been relentlessly pursuing a ban on abortion in the Commonwealth. His efforts have been stopped by the Democratic majority in the Virginia Senate, what we affectionately call our "brick wall."
Experts and analysts agree that the election this November is going to be a referendum on Youngkin's pursuit of his abortion ban. Read more
June 2023 Latest News v2 (sl)
Local Candidate Training
DPVA's training director Emily Hamm is hitting the airwaves to bring local chairs and committee members professional training.
She holds VAN office hours every Monday from 6-7 p.m. Sign up here. Also, Emily will also be holding training sessions as follows:
June 8 - Growing your Committee Part 2 - Digital/Social Media Best Practices
Jine 22 - Post-Primary Session - Let's Get to Work
You can sign up for Emily Hamm's essential training using this link.
Take Action Now!
Unhappy with Trump’s destructive agenda? TAKE ACTION NOW!
This new resource from the Hanover Democratic Committee is designed to help citizens take strategic acts that will protect our Democracy. Watch for weekly action items here on the HDC webpage, in your inbox and on Facebook.
Action 1:
Fight Locally:
The Republican Party and its allies are waging a nation-wide war to limit individual freedoms: the freedom to make reproductive healthcare choices; the freedom for parents to help their children get gender affirming healthcare, the freedom of teachers and corporations to exercise their First Amendment rights, the freedom for children to be safe from gun violence, and the freedom to have access to diverse collections in our public and school libraries.
This war is being waged in Hanover, with the current battle being a fight over which books will be allowed in school libraries. The Hanover County School Board proposed a change to its policy that allows an individual to challenge the appropriateness of library or text books for various grades. The current policy already gives ample opportunity for parents to give input and have books reviewed. In fact this policy has been used by parents to remove a book from a school library. Parents always have the option to say their child should not read certain books.
The new policy would make it easier for one person, whether a parent or not, to challenge a book and have it pulled from libraries across the county even as it is being reviewed. This new policy is unnecessary and would be prone to abuse. There is a nation-wide effort to limit the access to books, particularly those by Black or LGBTQ authors.
Please consider attending the next School Board meeting on June 13 at 7 pm at 200 Berkley Street to speak against the policy or attend to support those who are opposing it.
If you want to speak during public comment time, submit a request NOW to sbpubliccomment@hcps.us that includes your magisterial district and the topic of your comments. The guidelines for public comment are: “Public comment is included as part of the school board’s agenda during each regularly scheduled monthly business meeting. Any citizen may address the board on any matter that is within the scope of the board’s authority. The time allotted to each speaker shall be three (3) minutes. Please visit BoardDocs for more information."
In the meantime write or call each of the School Board members to express your opposition to this proposed policy.
John F. Axselle III, Beaverdam District - Chair
Phone: (804) 798-7782; email: SB-jaxselle@hcps.us
Term ends on June 30, 2023
Robert J. (Bob) May, South Anna District - Vice Chair
Phone: (804) 752-4646; email: sb-rmay@hcps.us
Term ends on June 30, 2025
Ola J. Hawkins, Ashland District
Phone: (804) 357-3743; email: SB-ohawkins@hcps.us
Term ends on June 30, 2024
Steven Ikenberry, Cold Harbor District
Phone: (804) 514-2197; email: sb-sikenberry@hcps.us
John E. Redd, Jr., Mechanicsville District
Phone: (804) 746-7112; e-mail: SB-jredd@hcps.us
George E. Sutton, Henry District
Phone: (804) 779-3324; email: SB-gsutton@hcps.us
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Action 1:
Yell at our Congressmen:
Yes, TAN does believe we should always be courteous and respectful when expressing our political positions, but the current refusal of our Congressmen, Rob Wittman (202-225-4261 or 804-730-6595) and Bob Good (202-225-4711 or 434-791-2596), to vote to raise the debt ceiling is trying our patience. It is well-documented how defaulting on the national debt will harm the U.S. economy, possibly throwing us into a recession. It is less obvious that this will also hurt our national security, but President Biden has already cancelled part of his diplomatic trip to Asia so he can come home to negotiate with the Republican hostage takers. Having such uncertainty about whether the U.S. will pay its bills plays into China’s narrative that democracies don’t work.
Tell Wittman and Good that their short-sightedness will be particularly devastating to Virginia because of the large number of federal employees and contractors in the state. Assure them that if things get bad, everyone will blame them, not the Democrats for this fiasco.
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