The Next Rapp Dems Meeting

The Next Rapp Dems meeting will be held on Saturday, February 10, 2024, at the Little Washington Winery (72 Christmas Tree Lane, Washington, VA).

Special guests will be three candidates from the CD 10:
Atif Qarni, Dan Helmer, and Eileen Filler-Corn.

Atif Qarni, former Virginia Sec of Education and veteran. https://www.qarniforcongress.com/
Delegate Dan Helmer, current district, VA House 10. https://danhelmer.com/
Eileen Filler-Corn, former speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates, https://eileenforcongress.com/

Coffee and Conversation at 12:30 p.m. Meeting starts at 1 p.m.

Everyone is welcome!

Share

RCDC Virtual Caucus 1-8-2022

According to Democratic Party of Virginia Party Plan, city and county Democratic committees are required to renew their membership and elect officers and at-large Executive Committee members at a biennial reorganization. 

The RCDC Reorganization is scheduled for Saturday, January 8, 2022 at 10 A.M. We’ll meet via Zoom.  

Candidates for the 2022-2024 RCDC Board are:

Chair: Mary-Sherman Willis

Co-Chair: Ross O’Donoghue

Secretary: Ken Edwards

Treasurer: Bruce Sloane

At-Large Executive Committee members: Ron Goodman, Casey Eitner

You must be a member of the committee to vote for the RCDC Executive Board. Please take a minute to renew your membership using one of our TWO convenient methods: 

1) online in the membership Google form, or 

2) by printing out the membership form PDF and mailing it to Ken Edwards, PO Box 718 / Flint Hill, VA 22627. 

We must receive your application by noon on Friday, January 7, 2022, so that we may send you instructions for joining the meeting.

NOTE: If you would like to join the At-Large Executive Committee, please contact Chair Mary-Sherman Willis.

Don’t miss out! Submit your application and JOIN US!

Contact us for the ZOOM link.

Share

RCDC Meeting September 11

As much as we loved seeing your faces in person at our last monthly General Meeting, due to the spike in Covid cases in Rappahannock, we’re returning to Zoomworld.


Please join us online this Saturday September 11 at 10 AM at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87970931349?pwd=djErQTVCRi90aE5sTHlsbFdMVE1idz09


We’ll send a reminder the night before with the meeting agenda and the minutes from last month. If you’re not on our email list, please sign up using the tab on the upper right hand corner of this website.


Take care, stay safe, and we’ll get through this together!

Share

This week’s pre-election events

Canvassing: Meet on Saturday at 9:30 am and 1 pm and on Sunday at 11 am and 3 pm at the Democratic Office, 1047 Zachary Taylor Hwy, Huntly VA. Bring a cellphone if possible. Questions? Contact Bob Burney at burneyrg@me.com or ‭(202) 342-0134‬; or Cathy Zimmerman at cpzimmerman@verizon.net.

Candidates forums this week:  Wednesday 10/9 at 6:30pm. April Moore will appear at the Charterhouse School, 508 Piccadilly St, Edinburg VA 22824. Carpooling available, MS Willis 540/987-8912 or maryswillis@me.com
RCDC General meeting:

The RAPPAHANNOCK COUNTY DEMOCRATIC COMMITTEE monthly meeting will be on Saturday, October 12 at the Washington Town Hall, 485 Gay Street, Washington VA. Doors open at 9:30 a.m. for coffee and conversation. Meeting starts at 10 a.m. Amissville BoS candidate Ron Makella will be there. All are welcome!

Share

AN END-OF-YEAR LETTER FROM THE COMMITTEE

AS 2018 DRAWS TO A CLOSE,

We want to begin by saying thank you! Thank you to the many, many Rappahannock County Democrats who stepped up over the weeks and months to turn out support for Leslie Cockburn for Congress and Tim Kaine for Senate. Because of your determination, hard work, and boundless enthusiasm, our field operations and approach to outreach have forever been transformed, with radical improvements and growth in all aspects of organizing.

Together, we made significant strides over past elections. Our achievements included:

  • Organizing and hosting a successful caucus on April 14, with over 180 participants
  • Attendance at the 5th District convention in Farmville on May 5 by the Rappahannock delegation, with several other Rappahannock Democrats in attendance
  • Regular monthly meetings with a host of speakers, including Tristan Shields, April Moore, and Leslie Cockburn, and regular updates from campaign representatives
  • Largest turnout in recent history (or as far back as we remember!) at the Amissville Fireman’s Parade on June 28, with many energetic walkers and sign-carriers in blue RCDC polo shirts accompanying our “float”
  • Four postcard parties coordinated by Cathy Zimmerman at her home and the Headmaster’s Pub, with more than 1000 postcards mailed to Rappahannock voters
  • 200+ yard signs and several dozen highway signs distributed by Ross O’Donoghue and Hank Gorfein
  • Terrific turnout at the first Candidates’ Forum at the Theatre in Little Washington on August 8, with a crowd overwhelmingly supportive of Leslie Cockburn. Many Madison and Fauquier Dems also attended
  • Multiple fund-raising parties and campaign events, including a birthday reception for Leslie Cockburn on September 8 at Little Eldon Farm that raised more than $15,000; a lunch for Tim Kaine on September 14 at the Headmaster’s Pub; and a Rally in the Valley on September 29 at Mountainview Farm, featuring music from Smiggy and Friends and the Cockburn campaign band, After Jack
  • Many letters appearing week after week in the Rappahannock News in support of Democratic candidates and policies, coordinated by Eve Brooks
  • A vast increase in our get-out-the-vote efforts. We started knocking on doors in July. More than 1,000 homes visited by canvassers, with many new canvassers joining the action.
  • Massive data entry efforts to update voter records, based on our extensive canvassing, using the miniVAN app, overseen by Bob Burney
  • Set up of a campaign office at Clark Surveying in Huntly to coordinate with the Cockburn and Kaine campaigns. At the height of GOTV weekend, over 200 volunteers came through the office from as far away as Maryland and DC
  • Diligent phone banking efforts using the Vote Builder app
  • A robust social media effort. We added scores of new followers on Facebook over the past several months, built up our MailChimp list, and updated and improved our website, www.RappDems.org.
  • Full-day staffing at all the six polling stations in Rappahannock County, with signs, sample ballots, and literature.

Did we move the needle? Decidedly, yes. With 1,837 votes for Leslie Cockburn in Rappahannock County, we increased our voter turnout 20 percent from the 2014 mid-term election. The point spread between Leslie and her opponent was the smallest in decades. Leslie outperformed Democratic Senate incumbent Tim Kaine in Rappahannock and the 5th District over his Republican opponent, Corey Stewart, an outspoken Trump supporter and white nationalist. We solidified our Democratic hold in key areas: Flint Hill, Sperryville and the absentee votes.

This is just the beginning. We’ve established a strong foundation for future Get Out the Vote efforts. We’ve developed strong working relationships with neighboring Democratic committees, and with increasingly effective Indivisible and resistance groups, including our own Rapp Resist, and those in Fauquier, Madison, Culpeper and Greene counties. We have big plans not only to continue increasing Democratic turnout, but also to win over independent voters and even conservative hearts and minds!

In 2019, Rappahannock will be involved in two races for State Legislature: the 18th District of the House of Delegates to unseat Republican Michael Webert, and the 26th Senate District to unseat Mark Obenshain.

  • In the 18th, two candidates have announced: Laura Galante of Marshall VA, and Tristan Shields of Rixeyville. In January or February the district committee will vote on whether to hold a caucus or a primary to pick a nominee. You can find out more about both candidates at:
    https://galantefordelegate.com and https://tristanshields.com/
  • In the 26th, April Moore is stepping up as the Democratic challenger. She ran against Obenshain in 2015, so she will be a seasoned opponent.

We’re looking forward to working with you to flip the House of Delegates and the Senate! This is a crucial effort. With control of the House, we’ll be in a position, after the 2020 Census, to re-draw gerrymandered districts like the 5th in 2021.

Have a wonderful holiday, enjoy your family and friends, and let’s get together again on January 12 for the first RCDC meeting of 2019!

Mary-Sherman Willis, Chair

Ross O’Donoghue, Vice Chair

Bob Burney, Secretary

Bruce Sloane, Treasurer

Share