Author: Albemarle Dems

Candidate Videos!

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RD Huffstetler
Claire Russo
Dr. Cameron Webb

CALL TO CAUCUS

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The time for Virginia to choose the delegates it’ll send to this summer’s Democratic National Convention is fast approaching, and now is your chance to get involved. Here’s the key information, straight from the state Democratic party, about how to participate in the caucuses in April and the District convention slated for early May:

In light of the Governor’s orders regarding social gatherings, the State Party is cancelling all in-person caucuses. This decision applies to both Assembled and Unassembled Caucuses. DPVA Staff will be working with each local chair to administer an online unassembled caucus.

DPVA has released a singular Call to Caucus that will apply to every locality in Virginia and supersedes any Calls to Caucus that have already been released. Please visit vademocrats.org/delegateselection for information on the new process.

Within the call, we will have a singular pre-filing form that all individuals interested in being a State Delegate or Alternate will need to fill out in order to be on the ballot. If your filing isn’t received by DPVA staff, you will not be considered to be on the ballot. FILINGS HAVE TO BE RECEIVED BY 5:00PM ON APRIL 9TH TO BE ACCEPTED.

Additionally, ANY INDIVIDUAL WHO WISHES TO PARTICIPATE IN THE CAUCUS WILL NEED TO PRE-FILE AS WELL. That means that if you’d like to vote in the caucuses, you need to file with the State Party. This must be done in order to conduct the election virtually and is an important step to ensure that anybody who wants to participate in the caucuses has a chance to do so.

As with most caucuses, if there aren’t more candidates than positions to fill, the caucus will be cancelled. DPVA Staff will be available through the Voter Protection Hotline to assist anyone who has difficulty with the online form. The number for the Hotline Number is 844-4VA-VOTE, or 804-482-8683.

In short, the caucuses are going virtual! To take part, you need to sign up online by April 9.

  • Want to vote for the delegates we’ll send to the district and state convention? Fill out this form.
  • Want a chance to actually BE a delegate? Fill out this form.
  • Want more information on the whole process? Find it here.
  • Can’t use the online form, or need help with it? Call 844-4VA-VOTE.

Scholarship Recipients

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James and Nellie Butler Scholarship Recipients

Congratulations to the four students honored with the James and Nellie Butler Scholarship Award this May! This award is given to one student in each of the four Albemarle high schools, demonstrating academic excellence, need, and – especially – commitment to serving the greater good. Each of these students will receive  $1,000 towards their educational expenses.

Rajaah Alagib graduated from Albemarle High School and will enter UVA in the fall. She served on the Principal’s Advisory Council, worked with the Tom Tom Youth Summit, won many awards in Forensics, and worked with Leadership Albemarle to understand the economic foundations of Charlottesville in order to promote high level occupations in our community.  She moved here as a young child from Sudan, and wants to use her perspective to Pursue development in economic and educational policy, helping to give voice to those who have not yet found their voices.

Henry Chin, a graduate of Monticello High School, will also study at UVA this fall. Henry has been involved with science projects, educational projects for young children, and conservation projects. He’s worked to maintain beehives at Monticello, build bat houses, create Bilingual Children’s theater for elementary school students. He wrote a curriculum for young children to prepare them to be environmental stewards, and he presented at the Tom Tom festival on the important role of insects in the ecosystem. Henry will study science at UVA, and wants to teach young children.

Lilliana  “Lilli” Shelton graduated from Murray High School, where she is one of five Peer Mediators. This past year she also took classes at PVCC, and will enroll full time in the fall before moving on to get a four-year degree, where she plans to study Natural Resource Preservation. Lilli has worked with the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation  in fundraisers and education days. She wants to use her interest in science to promote sustainable practices, for businesses and consumers.

Reagan Burton served as Western Albemarle High School’s Executive Council President for the last two years.  She’s gotten Silver and Bronze awards through Girl Scouts  Feeding the Hungry projects. Through her work she did on a Mission trip to Kenya, she has decided to study medicine to help needy communities throughout the world. This fall she will begin those studies at UVA.

In his response to winning the Butler Scholarship, Henry Chin wrote, “I am incredibly honored and grateful to have been chosen as Monticello High School’s James and Nellie Butler Scholarship recipient. Reading about the Butlers, I was very moved by their generosity and all that they did to support education, civic engagement, and the community. They are true role models, and I am grateful to you for carrying on their legacy. I am inspired by the values promoted by your scholarship program, and it means so much to me to have been identified as an individual that can help to bring about the positive change championed by the Butlers and the Albemarle County Democrats.”