DC for Democracy is a leading unaligned progressive group of activists, community leaders and everyday voters in the District of Columbia working for positive change in our local & federal government and recognition in America’s legislature. We are the Democracy for America (DFA) affiliate in Washington, DC.

TO JOIN US OR RE-REGISTER AT OUR NEW DFA SITE:
Click here for detailed instructions.

UPCOMING EVENTS (click here for our full Event calendar)

WEDNESDAY, FEB 10, 7PM: Monthly Meetup & Officer elections
Irish Channel Pub, 500 H St, NW (5th & H St). Gallery Place metro.
Recent actions by DC for Democracy:

Endorsed a policy on housing & homelessness (click here to view)
Endorsed select 2009 VA state candidates (click here for details)
Phonebanking for national health care reform with Organizing for America (OFA)
Endorsed statehood
Endorsed a slate of local election reforms (click here to view)
Endorsed the Anacostia River Cleanup & Protection Act of 2009. The City Council voted unanimously for this on June 2.
Joined the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence (CSGV)
Joined the Streetcar Alliance
Endorsed same-sex marriage in the District of Columbia; learn more here.
Supporting the “Stand with Gov. Dean” campaign to protect the public option in national healthcare reform. Learn more here.

Dr. Howard Dean with DC for Democracy members at Health Care for America Now (HCAN) rally for health care reform on Capitol Hill, June 25th. Check out more of Keith Ivey’s pics here.

Thank you, Tim Durning, Susan Pfeifer, Tom Brown, and all SFFD members for your understanding that injustice in the District of Columbia is a threat to justice everywhere in America. Karen Rose, our Chair of Voting Rights & Democracy, hand-delivered the letter to the Speaker’s office yesterday, and received a very warm reception.

We are so grateful to SFFD and other Democracy for America (DFA) allies around the country for all the help they have given for DC voting rights. With their help, we will get a vote in the House today, and full citizenship rights, through statehood, in our lifetime!

We’ll start off with Dave Power’s story from the Fox Mill precinct on Sunday, October 19th:

“Around 5 PM I reached my 20th house. Halfway through my turf list of 40 houses. The voter was clipping the grass with hand clippers on her side lawn next to the driveway. From the foot of the driveway I apologized for interrupting her, and she said “you can talk to me while I’m clipping.” So I walked up the driveway and introduced myself. She’s a white woman in her 50’s, wearing gardening clothes and gloves, kneeling on the grass, clipping. As soon as I mentioned Barack Obama, she said “I’m retired Navy, and I was very impressed by Colin Powell’s endorsement today.” I said, “far out.” Then she stood and took off one of her gardening gloves to accept the lit from me. I told her Barack asked us to come by her neighborhood to remind everyone that he needs a lot more Democrats in Congress this year, to get his healthcare plan through. I asked her if she had decided who she would be voting for. She said she was definitely supporting Barack. I said I was glad to hear that. Then, I said “so should I put you down as undecided about Mark Warner for Senate and Judy Feder for Congress?” She said, “Oh, I’m voting for all three.”

Got a NoVA campaigning story? Post it in a comment here!

Michael A. Brown for at-large council (endorsed with 90.0%)
Jack Evans for Ward 2 council (endorsed with 66.7%)
Muriel Bowser for Ward 4 council (endorsed with 84.2%)
Paul Strauss for US Shadow Senator (endorsed with 73.7%, with second-choice votes included)
Ward 7 and Ward 8 council races: no endorsement

Our endorsements from the DC Primary still hold for the General Election:

Eleanor Holmes Norton for DC Delegate
Kwame Brown for at-large council
Mike Panetta for US Shadow Representative

With Patrick Mara’s apparent victory on Tuesday, we are very gratified that DC4D has endorsed Michael A. Brown, since he has the best chance of defeating Mara. While DC has very few Republicans, we face two dangers in this race: 1) many DC residents don’t know that they can cast votes for two at-large councilmembers, and usually cast just one vote, and 2) Democrats may split their vote among the Independents. DC4D will focus our campaign on educating voters that they have two votes in this race, and we will urge voters to vote for “Brown & Brown:” Kwame Brown and Michael A. Brown, our two endorsed at-large council candidates.

We are now fully engaged on both the DC and Northern Virginia fronts this Fall, in a full-throated Potomac Uprising. If you would like to participate in the DC General Election or canvass with us in northern Virginia, please email us at dcfordemocracy@gmail.com.

Eleanor Holmes Norton for Delegate,
Kwame Brown for at-large council,
Mike Panetta for Shadow Representative, and
Obama4UnityBeatsMcCain slate of candidates for the DC Democratic State Committee

Ms. Norton, Mr. Brown, and Mr. Panetta are well-known incumbents who have served admirably in office and deserve our continued support. Not so well-known are the individuals running for the DC Democratic State Committee, under the slate name Obama4UnityBeatsMcCain, a unified slate of grassroots progressive candidates brought together by DC for Obama.

The DC Democratic State Committee is the official governing body of the District of Columbia Democratic Party chartered by the Democratic National Committee (DNC). The primary objective of the DC Democratic Party, as all state parties, is to elect Democrats locally and nationally and to advocate for issues within the Democratic Party platform. In practical terms, they have a great say over who represents us every 4 years at the Democratic National Convention. They set the rules for the Democratic primary and other party elections in DC. They have exceptional access to our elected officials, as well as Democratic party organizations across the county. They control access to the voter file of registered Democrats in DC, and they receive money and resources from the Democratic National Committee. In short, their potential power is great, yet many of us are disappointed that this power is not effectively used in the public interest.

The Obama4UnityBeatsMcCain slate consists of 48 candidates for the DC Democratic State Committee (2 Candidates for DC’s 2 DNC’ seats, 2 alternate candidates for DC’s 2 DNC seats, 12 at-large candidates, and 4 candidates from each ward). We will each vote for 20 candidates, depending on the ward we live in.

The Obama4UnityBeatsMcCain slate is committed to opening the doors of the DC Democratic Party and outlining a mission, vision, and action agenda that empowers Democrats in DC to become a part of the electoral process and support the election of Democrats in the region and across the United States. They are also the most diverse slate of candidates for the DC Democratic State Committee since the advent of home rule. When elected, Obama4UnityBeatsMcCain will automatically increase the representation of Young Democrats, LGBT, organized labor, Asian Pacific Islanders, and Latino’s on the DC Democratic State Committee. The slate includes several long-standing and energetic members of DC4D, as well as several able members of DC for Obama. The members of the slate are as follows (DC4D members in bold):

Democratic National Committee (DNC)
Arrington Dixon, National Committeeman
Miriam Sapiro, National Committeewoman
Douglas Sloan, Alternate National Committeeman
Regan Ford, Alternate National Committeewoman

At-Large: Jeffrey D. Richardson ~ Kemry M. Hughes ~ Alan Bray ~ Jeff Norman ~ Kenneth Ellerbe ~ John Nowicki (former Chair of DC4D) ~Kim Morton ~ Linda Nguyen ~ Kirsten Burgard ~ Robin Kelley ~ Tamela Gordon ~ Gaby L. Fraser

Ward 1: Ian Martinez ~ Jason Berry ~ Dr. E. Gail Anderson Holness ~ Oralia Puente
Ward 2: Dan Wedderburn ~ Jerusa Carl Wilson ~ Courtney Chapin ~ Paige Wedderburn
Ward 3: Shana Mosher ~ Kahlill Palmer ~ Frank Wu ~ Jocelyn Nieva
Ward 4: Tony Towns ~ Dwayne Revis ~ Faith E. Wheeler ~ Ella Gilbert
Ward 5: Carl Thomas ~ Fred Allen ~ Romaine Thomas ~ Grace Lewis
Ward 6: Howard Park ~ Deleon Ware ~ Betty Smalls ~ Rhonda Hamilton
Ward 7: Juan Thompson ~ Phillip Hammond ~ Patricia Malloy ~ Denise Reed
Ward 8: Eugene Dewitt Kinlow ~ Philip Pannell ~ Wanda Lockridge ~ Lauren Fraser

Obama4UnityBeatsMcCain’s agenda is as follows:

Organize DC Residents to volunteer in Virginia to support the election of Barack Obama and the 2008 Democratic ticket.

Develop a plan of action for educating voters both locally and nationally about DC’s lack of voting representation and self-determination (focus pressure on local and national elected officials to make ending DC’s second class status a publicly recognized priority for the city and the national Democratic Party, and join the DC Vote Voting Rights Coalition)

Develop a plan to target Democratic races regionally and nationally by coordinating volunteers from DC and fundraising to help elect DC-friendly Democrats to national and state offices.

Rebuild the DC party’s infrastructure (by developing a strategic Plan, develop long-term development strategy, supporting the establishment of active standing committees, investing in our ward and constituency caucus organizations)

The Obama4UnityBeatsMcCain slate promises to energize our local Democratic party, so please look for the slate name next to the candidates names on Primary Day (Tuesday, Sept 9th), and vote for all members of this slate! Check out their website here.

Food, fun, sun — and politics, of course!

Sunday, Sept 7th 11AM - 3PM (rescheduled from Saturday due to weather)

Special guests: Councilmember Kwame Brown, and the Obama4UnityBeatsMcCain slate of candidates for the DC Democratic Party
Rock Creek Park, Grove #2 (Pierce Mill/Art Barn off Tilden St, NW)
(Click here for a map of the park)
$20 ticket helps pay for our Fall campaign in DC & NoVA (pay online)
Transportation to/from Van Ness-UDC metro provided upon request by email.
Sign up here.
Questions? Email dcfordemocracy@gmail.com or call Lynda Laughlin at 215-681-9316 or Jesse Lovell at 202-236-2063.

VOTE FOR JUDY FEDER IN THE PROGRESSIVES PATRIOT CONTEST
Last Wednesday, we alse endorsed Judy Feder, Democratic challenger in VA’s 10th district. Help Judy win Russ Feingold’s Progressive Patriots contest. Judy is the only contestant in the DC metro area, and all you need to do is to vote for her online. Click here to vote for Judy in the Progressive Patriots contest, and please forward widely to your friends! Anyone can vote, regardless of where they live.

To comment on this post, click here.

Federal Candidates in the November Election

Judy Feder, Democratic challenger in VA’s 10th district in the November election (97.4%).

Note: Barack Obama was endorsed last October, and that endorsement still holds. Judy’s campaign is working on behalf of Obama and Mark Warner, candidate for US Senate in the 10th district.

Local Candidates in the DC Democratic Primary

Eleanor Holmes Norton, DC delegate (87.2%).
Kwame Brown, At-large councilmember (97.4).
Mike Panetta, US Shadow Representative (97.4%).
Obama4UnityBeatsMcCain slate of candidates for the DC Democratic State Committee (82.5%).

No endorsements were made in the following races, due to the fact that we did not reach the required 2/3 majority vote:

Ward 2 councilmember: Cary Silverman (51.3%), Jack Evans (30.8%), No Endorsement (17.9%).

Ward 4 councilmember: First-choice votes were Muriel Bowser (58.3%), Baruti Jahi (5.6%), Malik Mendenhall-Johnson (2.8%), Paul Montague (2.8%), No Endorsement (30.6%). After second-choice votes* were tabulated, Bowser achieved 63.9%.

Ward 7 councilmember: First-choice votes were Yvette Alexander (54.1%), Villareal “VJ” Johnson (10.8%), Robin Hammond Marlin (5.4%),John Campbell (0%), No Endorsement (29.7%). After second-choice votes* were tabulated, Alexander remained unchanged at 54.1%.

Ward 8 councilmember: Marion Barry (27.8%), Charles Wilson (16.7%), “S.S” Sandra Seegars (13.9%), Ahmad Braxton-Jones (2.8%), Howard Brown (0%), No Endorsement (38.9%). Second-choice votes* were not tabulated, since No Endorsement had more than 1/3 of the vote.

US Shadow Senator: Philip Pannell (64.1%), Paul Strauss (25.6%), No Endorsement (2.6%).

Note: DC4D bylaws require modified Instant Runoff Voting (IRV), where more than 2 candidates are running. Under this system, second-choice votes are taken into account when first-choice votes fail to achieve the endorsement threshold.

A Special Note
DC for Democracy extends profuse apologies to Eleanor Holmes Norton, Paul Strauss, Phil Pannell, and Mike Panetta, who failed to receive our survey forms due to an administrative error. Fortunately, they were not disadvantaged in terms of their challengers. We will ensure that the surveys are sent to them as soon as possible and any that are received will be posted on our website from now through the DC Primary.

SIGN UP FOR OUR POTOMAC UPRISING CAMPAIGN LAUNCH
SUNDAY, AUG 17 2:00 - 4:00PM
CLEVELAND PARK LIBRARY
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Come help perfect our campaign plans in both the DC Democratic Primary and federal elections in Northern Virginia!