ACDP Home Page

Fair Use Policy email Webmaster DPVA's Platform ACDC Bylaws US Postal Rules Candidate Requirements Focus2007 - How it Works Tour 5th Congressional District Gov Kaine's Cabinet	Chairman's Message News Calendar Officer Descriptions General Assembly UNITY PICNIC and volunteer sign-up Saturday, 6/28, noon-2 p.m. Forest Hills Park, 1000 Forest Hills Ave. Free food, drinks, music Contact 987-3321 or 987-1042 MESSAGE FROM FRED HUDSON, Chair, Albemarle County Democratic Committee 5th Congressional District and US Senate Candidates Tom Perriello, of Albemarle County, 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 United States 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, so let’s pitch in to give him the opportunity to provide that representation again. Call for Unity 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 the war in Iraq . We just can’t have four more years of that! But if you really want to worry, 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 one 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. Pitch in and help June begins the process of ensuring that we as Democrats make our voice heard. We have accomplished that in the past, but it has taken effort on the part of us all to make the county a place of a strong Democratic voice. We can continue that progress, 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 any way 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! Check the schedule of events that will be happening in the month of June, and come on out and participate! 5th CD Dinner The 5th Congressional District Annual Dinner is coming up very soon. And what an event it will be! The date is Friday, June 20, 2008. The place is the James River Conference Center, 5th and Court, Lynchburg. The time is 6:30 for registration and wine and beer reception (cash bar). Dinner will be served at 7:30 and a great array of speakers will follow. Tom Perriello, the 5th District Congressional candidate will speak along with Delegate David Toscano, Del. Shannon Valentine from Lynchburg, House Caucus chair Brian Moran, and House Minority Leader Ward Armstrong. It should be a terrific night, and I hope you can come. We have had a lot of interest, so please let me know as soon as possible how many tickets you would like. The tickets are $45, and that price includes your dinner and a very entertaining night with a greater than average mix of good political discussion. Clearly, if I can answer any questions, I would like to! We have confirmation that there is a bus. This is not your normal bus that you used to take to school. This is a very nice bus, well fitted out with very comfortable seats, that is really a first class way to make the trip to Lynchburg. In addition, there will be wine available at not cost to the riders. And you get all of this for $20. Last year, the stories that have come out of the 5th Dinner experience have come as much from the bus ride as from the dinner, so I hope those of you interested will let me know as soon as possible. There are only 42 seats, and it will be on a "first come-first served" basis. Please let me know of your reservation as soon as you can. Please send both your dinner check and your payment for the bus to 5th District Dem. Comm., P.O. Box 5698, Charlottesville, VA 22905. This is shaping up to be a very nice evening. I know you won't want to miss it. See you there! Fred Summer Canvassing Starts Saturday, June 28 The Albemarle County Democratic Committee kicks off their summer canvassing season on Saturday, June 28. It should be a good year as the public is certainly aware of what is going on in the Presidential elections. I hope you will come out and join us. As you may know, we see the voters and talk to them about voter registration and ask if they plan to vote Democratic in the fall election. Pretty easy, and you meet a lot of nice people. On this weekend, we are bringing the locations of the meetings to a place close to you! Just pick a place that you would like to meet and come on over. Please let the contact person know so that we can be prepared for you, but other than that . . . just wear a pair of comfortable shoes and hat. We will be meeting at 9:30 at all locations. We will be finished by noon. For the Rivanna Magisterial District, the meeting place will be at the Starbuck's next to Harris Teeter off 29 at Towncenter Drive. That is where the Target Store is, and Towncenter Drive is the first left into the shopping center going north on Hwy 29. Contact Cynthia Neff: cynthianeff@gmail.com. For Scottsville Magisterial District, the meeting place is the Market at Mill Creek, which is also an Exxon station, at Mill Creek. Contact: Cheryl Oliver: caodem@embarqmail.com. For Jack Jouett Magisterial District, the meeting place is in the parking lot of the Barrack's Road Shopping Center between the Kroger's and Bank of America. Contact: Nick Lang: doolang@comcast.net. For White Hall Magisterial District, the meeting place will be the Dairy Queen at the intersection of Railroad and Crozet Avenue. Contact: Fred Hudson: fredwhudson@yahoo.com. Following the voter id event, there will be a picnic at Forest Hills Park, in Charlottesville for anyone who would like to attend. . . but certainly those who have been out in the morning. It will be an Obama Public Picnic, and all are invited. I hope you will come out and spend a couple of hours with the County party, and then go on over to the picnic. Tell your friends about it also. It should be a great way to finish off the beginning of the voter identification project for the day. Toscano Sponsors Town Meeting Worried that traffic in this area could become as congested as Northern Virginia? Concerned that we are building too few roads? Or too many? That we are not doing enough to promote mass transit or rail? Do you think we need to do more locally? Should the state consider new sources of revenue for transportation? If these issues are important to you, please join Delegate David Toscano and others for a discussion of these important issues. Delegate Toscano has organized a town hall meeting to be held on June 16th beginning at 7pm at the Albemarle County Office Building at 1600 5th St. Extended. Barbara Reese, Deputy Secretary of Transportation, will present Governor Kaine’s proposals for new sources of revenue. Public comment will be taken. Governor Tim Kaine has called the General Assembly to return to Richmond for a Special Session on Transportation on June 23rd. There will be a number of proposals that will be evaluated and amended. “I believe strongly that public input and engagement will help the process of addressing our transportation problems,” Toscano stated. “This forum will serve both to educate citizens about our challenges and potentially generate new ideas for addressing the issues.” If you would like further information about the event, please contact Delegate Toscano at deldtoscano@house.state.va.us or by phone at (434) 220-1660. Mark Warner U.S. Senate Campain Launch Mark Warner's campaign has launched the first television ad of this campaign, a 60-second spot that highlights Mark Warner's track record of bringing together people from all walks of life to find bipartisan, common-sense solutions. The ad features former Republican Senator John H. Chichester, the Virginia Senate president and chairman of its budget-writing Finance Committee until his retirement earlier this year after 30 years in the legislature. It started airing on Monday, June 2. ACDP Office Closed We've moved out of our old office at 223 West Main Street, so your Albemarle County Democratic Party is temporarily homeless. However, you can still write to us at P.O. Box 5698 Charlottesville, VA 22905 We will be announcing a new location as soon as it is available. The phone number is 434-296-1865, which is still available for you, but please feel free to contact Fred Hudson at fredwhudson@yahoo.com or Cheryl Oliver at caodem@embarqmail.com. New Keswick Polling Place Voters in the Keswick precinct have a new place to cast ballots. The new polling location is the Zion Hill Baptist Church at 802 Zion Hill Road in Keswick. Keswick voters used to go the Union Grove Baptist Church. County spokeswoman Lee Catlin says the change was made following safety issues at the former location. The change is also reflected on new voter ID cards being mailed to Keswick Precinct residents. Obama and Clinton Campaigns Request Volunteers As you know, the Democratic Party cannot endorse any candidate before the nomination. However, I do want you to have the benefit of knowing the local opportunities presented by each of the campaigns. The following are offered to you for your information, by request of the Obama and Clinton campaigns. Obama Supporters. Any folks who are interested in helping the Obama campaign in any way, please contact Kristin Szakos at k.szakos@embarqmail.com or by phone at 434-984-4022. You can also visit the Charlottesville and Albemarle Citizens for Obama web site. Hillary Clinton Supporters. If you are willing to volunteer in support of Hillary Clinton, please contact David Slutzky at dslutzky@e2inc.com or by phone at (434) 989-5888. June 2008 Thursday, June 5. Please join Barack Obama for a Rally at the Nissan Pavilion in Prince William County, where he'll talk about his vision for bringing America together and creating the kind of change we can believe in. Doors Open: 3:00 PM. Program Starts: 6:00 PM. The event is free and open to the public. Tickets are NOT required, but an RSVP is strongly encouraged. Admission is on a first-come, first-served basis. Monday, June 9. Albemarle County Democratic Steering Committee Meeting (5:30 - 7:30 p.m.) at the Albemarle County Office Building, 1600 5th Street, Charlottesville, Room B. Public is invited. Saturday, June 14. State Democratic Convention. Hampton, VA. Albemarle County will be sending a large group of Democrats to the convention. Guests are also invited to attend. Please contact Fred Hudson if you have any interest in participating at the State Convention. Registration 8:00-10:00 AM. Convention convenes at 10:00 AM and is scheduled to end at 3 PM. Monday, June 16. Town Hall Meeting to discuss transportaion issues. Delegate David Toscano has organized a town hall meeting to be held on June 16th beginning at 7pm at the Albemarle County Office Building at 1600 5th St. Extended. Barbara Reese, Deputy Secretary of Transportation, will present Gov. Kaine’s proposals for new sources of revenue. Public comment will be taken. If you would like further information about the event, please contact Delegate Toscano at deldtoscano@house.state.va.us or by phone at (434) 220-1660. Friday, June 20. 5th District Dinner in Lynchburg at the James River Conference Center, 5th and Court Streets. $45 per person. The dinner will be an exciting event. We have a good list of speakers who will be very entertaining, to be sure. This event has been one not to miss for the 5th District, and I hope you will join many other Albemarle Democrats and others from the 5th in the celebration of the beginning of the 2008 campaign season. Saturday, June 21. 9:30 AM. Charlottesville-Albemarle Democratic Breakfast at JABA, 674 Hillsdale Drive, behind Fashion Square Mall and adjacent to the Marriott Courtyard. The guest for the morning's discussion is Gary F. Henry, who will be speaking on Austin vs. Aspen, a look at two potential paths for the Charlottesville regional economy. Saturday, June 21. 10:30 AM. Charlottesville Area Obama Volunteers are officially launching the Summer canvass season on Saturday at 10:30 with a *MEGA-CANVASS* in the greater Charlottesville area. We want to get lots of people involved this weekend to register at least 300 new voters and a sign up a bunch of new volunteers. There will be training, materials and refreshments to keep you going during the day. We will continue to canvass every weekend and many evenings through the summer. Even if you've never canvassed before, give it a try. It's a lot more fun than you might think. A couple hours of your time can make a huge difference to the campaign! Please email email Kristin Szakos at k.szakos@embarqmail.com or call 434-984-4022. Saturday, June 28. The Albemarle County Democratic Committee kicks off their summer canvassing season on Saturday, June 28. It should be a good year as the public is certainly aware of what is going on in the Presidential elections. I hope you will come out and join us. As you may know, we see the voters and talk to them about voter registration and ask if they plan to vote Democratic in the fall election. Pretty easy, and you meet a lot of nice people. On this weekend, we are bringing the locations of the meetings to a place close to you! Just pick a place that you would like to meet and come on over. Please let the contact person know so that we can be prepared for you, but other than that . . . just wear a pair of comfortable shoes and hat. We will be meeting at 9:30 at all locations. We will be finished by noon. For the Rivanna Magisterial District, the meeting place will be at the Starbuck's next to Harris Teeter off 29 at Towncenter Drive. That is where the Target Store is, and Towncenter Drive is the first left into the shopping center going north on Hwy 29. Contact Cynthia Neff: cynthianeff@gmail.com. For Scottsville Magisterial District, the meeting place is the Market at Mill Creek, which is also an Exxon station, at Mill Creek. Contact: Cheryl Oliver: caodem@embarqmail.com. For Jack Jouett Magisterial District, the meeting place is in the parking lot of the Barrack's Road Shopping Center between the Kroger's and Bank of America. Contact: Nick Lang: doolang@comcast.net. For White Hall Magisterial District, the meeting place will be the Dairy Queen at the intersection of Railroad and Crozet Avenue. Contact: Fred Hudson: fredwhudson@yahoo.com. Following the voter id event, there will be a picnic at Forest Hills Park, in Charlottesville for anyone who would like to attend. . . but certainly those who have been out in the morning. It will be an Obama Public Picnic, and all are invited. I hope you will come out and spend a couple of hours with the County party, and then go on over to the picnic. Tell your friends about it also. It should be a great way to finish off the beginning of the voter identification project for the day. Saturday, June 28, noon - 2:00 PM. UNITY PICNIC and volunteer sign-up Saturday, 6/28, noon-2 p.m. Forest Hills Park, 1000 Forest Hills Ave. Free food, drinks, music Contact 987-3321 or 987-1042 September 2008 Sunday, September 21. Mark your calendars for the annual BBQ! We'll be at beautiful Ash-Lawn-Highland again, but a little later in the year to avoid the sweltering summer heat. Details will be provided as the date draws closer, but you can count on good food, entertaining speakers, and great politics! Recurring Events Every Saturday morning at 9 AM: Listen to the Albemarle Political Corner that focuses on local issues that affect the lives of each of us. WVAX, 1450 (AM). Every Thursday evening at 6 PM: Drinking Liberally, an informal, inclusive progressive social group, meets every Thursday at 6:00 PM at South Street Brewery, 106 South Street, Charlottesville. Come join us for a couple of rounds or just to hang out with like-minded folks. Visit www.drinkingliberally.org for more information or to sign up for the mailing list. DESCRIPTIONS OF ELECTED OFFICES OF THE ALBEMARLE COUNTY DEMOCRATIC PARTY (The following descriptions are meant to set forth the main functions of the offices but are not intended to reflect every possible assignment during the course of the term.) All Committee officers and District Chairs must be residents of Albemarle County and registered to vote. It is not required that the District Chairs be a resident of the Magisterial District of their chairmanship. They should agree to promote the Democratic Party at all levels, and to participate locally in the projects that the party sets out. They agree to support all Democratic Candidates in all elections during their respective terms. CHAIR To recruit interested people to the Democratic Party, and to promote the Democratic Party in every possible way. Responsible for providing the strategy and executing the method to accomplish the main mission of the Albemarle County Democratic Party which is to win elections. To execute the duties as assigned by the Party Plan of the Democratic Party of Virginia, and to be responsible for the communication with the VADP and the Congressional District Committee. To call meetings as required to manage the affairs of the Albemarle County Democratic Committee and to communicate effectively with the members of the Albemarle County Democratic Committee. To be the spokesperson for the Albemarle County Democratic Party. Recruitment of candidates for all County offices as well as the legislative district candidates that fall within the boundaries of Albemarle County. Ultimate responsibility for the growth and management of all functions of the Albemarle County Democratic Committee. VICE-CHAIR, DEVELOPMENT Responsible for observing and reporting on the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors. Responsible for fundraising efforts of the ACDP, including the annual fundraising event. VICE-CHAIR, ADMINISTRATION County wide volunteer coordinator for the ACDP. Responsible for setting agenda for the Democratic Saturday Breakfast. Responsible for observing and reporting on the Albemarle County School Board meetings. As volunteer coordinator, responsible for the recruitment and assignment of volunteers for mailings, meetings and other administration events of the ACDP including the assignment and coordination of volunteers with the Magisterial District Chairs during campaigns, including Election Day. VICE CHAIR, SPECIAL PROJECTS Responsible for all projects assigned by the Chair of the ACDP. Included in the responsibilities is the communication with the many varieties of the Press and the Absentee Voter Program as provided by the VADP. VICE CHAIR, OUTREACH Responsibility is to increase the membership of the Albemarle County Democratic Party including but not limited to groups regardless of race, gender, religion, or sexual preference. VICE-CHAIR, WOMEN’S ISSUES Responsibility is to bring women’s issues to the Albemarle County Democratic Committee and to be the local committee liaison with the Women’s section of the Virginia Democratic Party and to increase women’s membership of the ACDP. VICE-CHAIR, YOUNG PROFESSIONALS Responsibility is to represent young professionals for the ACDP and to be the spokesman of the ACDP to groups whose membership is made up of young people and young professionals. The overall responsibility is to increase the membership of young people in the ACDP. VICE-CHAIR, VETERANS Responsibility is to organize with Veterans groups in the area, be the spokesman for the ACDP to Veteran’s groups in the area, and to increase the veteran membership in the ACDP. VICE-CHAIR, LABOR Responsibility is to be the spokesman of the ACDP to labor organizations in Albemarle County and to increase the membership of the ACDP with members of organized labor. TREASURER/FINANCE DIRECTOR Responsible for maintaining the financial records of the ACDP, processing the receipts and payables of the ACDP, keeping adequate financial records of all transactions of the ACDP, preparing monthly financial statements to the Steering Committee of the ACDP and preparing and submitting the required quarterly reports to the State Board of Elections. CORRESPONDING SECRETARY Responsible for the correspondence to various other political organizations and the preparation of the monthly “News Clips” (the informational communication with the members of the ACDP Committee). RECORDING SECRETARY Responsible for the preparation and submission of the Minutes of each meeting of the ACDP, including but not limited to the meetings of the Steering Committee. WEBMASTER AND VICE CHAIR- DATA Responsible for maintaining the ACDP web site and for the management of the voter database of the ACDP which would include producing canvassing materials and updating the database with new information provided from any source. MAGISTERIAL DISTRICT CHAIRS Responsible for the recruiting and training of the Precinct Chairs in the Magisterial District. Responsible for the recruiting and managing the volunteers of their particular Magisterial District, as well as the utilization of volunteers assigned by the volunteer coordinator of the ACDP. Supporting activities such as campaign and Election Day organization, canvassing, and any other volunteer activities that occur either within the District or at the direction of the Steering Committee or the Chair of the ACDP. [click topic to view or hide] Sen Deeds: Session Newsletter February 19, 2007 Session Newsletter Senator R. Creigh Deeds February 19, 2007 The 2007 session of the General Assembly is winding down. With just a few days left, many of the controversial issues have been resolved and many remain to be worked out. In 2002, the General Assembly regulated the payday loan industry. Since that time the industry has had a significant presence in Virginia. Last year alone, over 470,000 Virginians took out payday loans. This year there were numerous efforts to rein in this short-term, low-dollar, but high-interest type of service. The compromise bill, which is backed by the industry, imposes modest limits on the number of loans that can be made to an individual each year and establishes a statewide database of the names of people who take out payday loans. Attempts to cap the interest rates on these loans have failed in both the House and Senate. The Governor has voiced some concern for payday loans, and his office has been involved in the final negotiation of the bill. After meeting with final approval by the legislature, the bill will now go to the Governor’s desk. I am uncertain whether he will attempt to put forth amendments to further restrict the availability of this service in Virginia. Bills were introduced this year to dramatically change the way natural resources are managed in the Commonwealth. Bills to combine the air, water, and waste boards into one Board of Environmental Quality with a great centralization of authority with the director of DEQ, have now passed both houses, with a significant amendment. The bills now include a reenactment clause that will require the introduction and passage of an identical bill during the 2008 session of the General Assembly before it goes into effect. Like most legislation, this will go to the Governor, who has supported the bill, and he can offer further amendments. However, it is my hope that he will leave the reenactment clause in place. Combining the boards may indeed be the best way to manage Virginia’s natural resources; however, because of the broad nature of this change, and because so few stakeholders have been involved in this legislation, I firmly believe we should allow for a year to study the issue. The biggest issues for this year’s session of the General Assembly remain outstanding. There has been considerable news coverage with respect to the Dominion Resources bills. Roughly twelve years ago, Virginia charted a course toward deregulation of electric power. Because a market place never developed under the legislative scheme adopted in Virginia, there has been growing pressure to re-regulate the industry. Bills have advanced in both the House and the Senate, and work on those bills continues. I expect this legislation to be resolved, one way or the other, in the last minute of the 2007 session. The overreaching issue, as I have pointed out before, is transportation. Transportation remains unresolved as we head down the stretch of this year’s session. Different approaches have been adopted by the House and the Senate, neither of which will provide an adequate new source of funding for transportation, but either of which would be a start in the direction of pumping more money into transportation. The approach adopted in the House is one that takes General Fund dollars for the first time in a dedicated, continuing fashion and puts them to transportation. I have opposed this approach in the past and will continue to do so. Use of General Fund money on a continuing basis for transportation has been rejected by the Virginia legislature for many years. The time has not come to put highways in competition with schools, public safety, and public health for state dollars. For this reason, we have had a dedicated source of funding for transportation since the 1920s, a tradition we should continue. Both the House and the Senate approaches rely on debt, too much debt in my view, but it appears to be one of the few areas around which consensus can be built. Politics is about compromise, and it is important that we stop delaying action on this critical issue. The transportation proposals remain in conference committee and, as with the electric re-regulation bill, will ultimately be settled in the closing hours of the session. In past years, I have spent a great deal of time using this column to discuss the budget and the budgetary process in the General Assembly. My focus this year has been on transportation and efforts to redirect General Fund dollars to transportation. However, the budget is also an issue that is in conference committee and because of the transportation debate, will likely not be resolved until the last minute. The economy continues to do well in Virginia, and we are fortunate, like many other states, to be running a surplus this year. When the General Fund is in the black and there are surplus dollars, it seems to me appropriate to use some of those dollars for transportation. The real contention lies, however, with the notion that there should be a continuing dedication of money from the General Fund. That is a threshold we have never crossed in Virginia. The fate of the bills I introduced has been settled, for the most part. The redistricting reform bill that I have been working on for six years has been killed in the House of Delegates. In general, my efforts to strengthen public safety in our parks have been embraced. My bills on behalf of the State Faculty Senate did not fare well. My bill to update our welfare to work laws has passed, as has my bill to modernize the office of the State Fire Marshall. While much work remains, many of my goals have been advanced. In these last critical days of the session, legislators are tired and eager to return home. In my experience, mistakes are often made in circumstances like this. I urge all of you to pay close attention to the work of the Assembly in the next few days, and if issues arise which you do not think are getting proper attention, please contact me as soon as possible at (804) 698-7525 or district25@sov.state.va.us. As you know, session is scheduled to adjourn on Saturday, February 24. After that, I can be reached in Hot Springs at (540) 839-2473 or (800) 545-5899. Or, you can reach me in my Charlottesville office at (434) 296-5491 or P. O. Box 5462, Charlottesville, VA 22905. Del Toscano: Report of February 14, 2007 THERE ARE ISSUES OTHER THAN TRANSPORTATION—2 WEEKS TO GO TOSCANO’ S REPORT ON THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY- 2/14/07 HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY. The spectacle is worth a visit to the General Assembly. The tradition down here is for each floor in the building to compete as to who has the most distinctive Valentine’s Day decorations. So there is lots of red, pink, and lavender and no shortage of hearts and cupids. See what fun we can have around here? The session ends on February 24 and many wonder about whether we will have a genuine transportation plan that works for all Virginia.. We will know more this week but in the meantime, here is some of what has and has not been done. First, we passed a bill designed to permit the vaccination of all young women in the state against a virus that can lead to cervical cancer. Of all the things we have done this session, this is one of the most significant. There are thousands of women who die of cervical cancer each year, and we now have a vaccine that can help prevent it. The legislation has an “opt out” provision that permits parents to decide against vaccination if they so choose. Second, we have failed (at least temporarily) to reform payday lending in Virginia. The House initially passed a cap on Payday Loans. I had signed onto a bill that would cap the interest rate on these exorbitant loans at 36%, but all we could muster on the house floor was an amendment that would cap them at 72%. Sad but true. Upon the passage of this amendment, the patron of the bill removed the bill from the calendar, with the result that Payday Lending reform is dead, at least temporarily. Third, we passed the Community College Transfer Act, a bill that will permit students who maintain a 3.0 GPA and intend to study in the fields of math, science, teaching, or nursing, to obtain a $2,000 yearly transfer grant to study at our universities and colleges. I am hopeful that this program will encourage students to both to obtain a four year degree and to enter important fields for which we have a great demand. Fourth, we continue to battle over social issues, winning some and losing others. We were able to defeat a bill that defined life as beginning at the moment of fertilization, a measure that would have outlawed some types of contraception while potentially creating legal rights for embryos. We failed to pass a measure I supported which stated that contraception was not abortion. And we were unable to prevent language from finding its way into the state budget that denies funding to entities doing embryonic stem cell research. Hopefully, the Senate will strike this language because the promise of stem cell research to address critical diseases likes Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s should not be denied. Fifth, House Republicans, not wanting to give Governor Kaine a victory in his efforts to expand pre-K education, voted down his modest efforts to establish several pilot pre-K programs statewide and denied his request to establish a voluntary rating system for child care programs, largely on party line votes. They also cut Kaine’s proposal to fund water treatment initiatives for Lynchburg to limit sewage from flowing into the James and ultimately through Albemarle and Fluvanna to the Chesapeake Bay, as well as aid to the community college system and $4.1 million that was targeted to the Early Reading Initiative. We hope the Senate can restore some of these cuts, and will know in the next week or so. Finally, we adopted a photo red bill designed to deter and catch drivers who are putting fellow citizens at risk by running red lights at dangerous intersections. One or several intersections on Rt 29 may qualify for the installation of these cameras because of their accident history. Please feel free to pass this along to others who might find this interesting. As always, I appreciate your commentary, insight, and support. You may contact us at deldtoscano@house.state.va.us or by calling (804) 698-1057 during the session or (434) 220-1660 during the rest of the year. Also, please visit our web site at http://www.davidtoscano.com. Virginia Bill Tracking Web Sites Richmond Sunlight . This site sheds much needed day light on the doings in Virginia government. Assembly Access: The Virginia Democratic Caucus new "Webb cam" web site:	Contact Us We've moved out of our old office on West Main Street, so your Albemarle County Democratic Party is temporarily homeless. However, you can still write to us at P.O. Box 5698 Charlottesville, VA 22905 You can also call Cheryl Oliver at 434-286-9941. Precinct Map 5th Congressional District News Links Charlottesville Podcasting Network RichmondSunlight C-Ville Weekly The Hook Crystal Ball Waldo Membership Fill out the application and join the Albemarle County Democratic Committee! Volunteer! Click HERE to jump to the Volunteer Sign Up form. Meet great people, have fun, help your community and make your country a better place! Email Signup Click HERE to jump to our announcement list. Joining this email list will keep you in the know about all our events!
	©2008 Albemarle County Democratic Party Paid for by the Albemarle County Democratic Party P.O. Box 5698, Charlottesville, Virginia 22905 This communication is not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee