Category: Campaigns

Posts about local, state and national Democratic campaigns.

General Assembly candidates to appear

Post author By admin
Post date April 11, 2017

Two candidates for the Democratic n0mination to the House of Delegates from the 30th District will be guests of the Lake of the Woods Democratic Club on Wednesday, April 12.

The meeting time for the LOW Democratic Club has been permanently changed from the third Thursday of each month to the second Wednesday in an effort to accommodate interested members who have not been able to attend the meetings.

Annette Hyde is a yoga teacher who lives in Madison County. She is a native of Fort Worth, Texas, who grew up in suburban Dallas. She holds a bachelor’s degree in communications / journalism with honors from the University of Texas in Arlington, Texas.

She was certified as a group fitness instructor in 1995 and teaches yoga at Powell Wellness Center and Pranapiloga yoga studio in Culpeper.

Hyde said, “I’m running for office because I care. I care about voters choosing their representatives, not politicians choosing their voters. I care about women being able to choose what they can or can’t do with their bodies. I care about health care being a right instead of a luxury. I care about rural communities getting broadband Internet access and better cell phone reception. I care about public school money not being used for private school vouchers. I care about the poor, disabled, elderly, women and children and what tax breaks to the wealthy will do to them.”

Ben Hixon, 34, is a computer programmer born and raised in Louisiana. He and his partner moved to Culpeper from Seattle, Wash., in 2016.

Hixon is the first openly gay candidate to seek office in District 30. He said he decided to run when his current delegate, Nick Freitas, sponsored a discriminatory anti-LGBT bill, HB 2025, that guarantees tax money to government contractors and subsidized groups who discriminate against gay married couples.

He describes himself as a progressive libertarian, which means he supports personal and economic liberty coupled with strong social safety nets funded by progressive taxation.

“Healthcare and an affordable education aren’t just good: they’re fundamental freedoms that must be guaranteed to every Virginian,” Hixon said. “How can we be free to live our lives if we’re not safe from disease and terror? If we don’t have an education? If we don’t have clean water to drink and clean air to breathe?”

Campaigns Meetings

Candidates for county offices ask for support

Post author By admin
Post date October 15, 2015

Lee Frame, unopposed candidate for District 5 representative on the Orange County Board of Supervisors, and Tim Murphy, candidate for Orange County sheriff, visited the LOW Democratic Club Oct. 15 seeking the support of voters.

The two candidates made informative presentations and answered members’ questions.

Mr. Frame, who has served as District 5 supervisor since 2007, is a retired Naval officer. He served as the District 5 representative on the county’s planning commission before becoming supervisor.

He presented his views on the role of local government and discussed several current issues before county government, including the Wilderness Gateway Study, which concerns future development along the Rt. 3 corridor.

Mr. Murphy, a former chief deputy in the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, described his vision for community-based policing, special attention to the growing problem of drug abuse in Orange County, and aggressive investigation of unsolved drimes.

He has 32 years of experience in law enforcement. During his last five years in the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, he held the position of chief deputy in which he supervised all divisions of the office and acted as sheriff in the absence of the sheriff. He has trained at the FBI academy, was chosen as Virginia Deputy Sheriff of the year and was Orange County’s first K-9 trainer and officer.

Campaigns

Club to hold reception for Ned Gallaway June 18

Post author By admin
Post date May 31, 2015

The Lake of the Woods Democratic club will sponsor a reception June 18 to allow voters to meet Ned Gallaway, candidate for the 17th District seat in the Virginia Senate.

Gallaway, who serves as chair of the Albemarle County School Board, is seeking the Democratic Party’s nomination to the seat currently held by Bryce Reeves, a first-term Republican.

The event will take place from 5 to 6:30 p.m. June 18 in the LOW Community Center. Hors d’oeuvres and beverages will be served.

The candidate will make brief remarks and will be available for questions. As at all club events, visitors are welcome regardless of political affiliation.

Gallaway grew up in Wheeling, W.Va., where his father was a beer delivery man and his mother worked at a plastics factory. After graduation from Ohio University, he taught high school for six years and earned a doctorate in education from the University of Virginia.

In addition to serving on the school board, Gallaway is also the sales manager at a local business in Charlottesville. Ned and his wife Julie, a pediatric intensive care nurse, have three children who attend Albemarle County Public Schools.

Virginia’s 17th Senate District consists of Orange County; the city of Fredericksburg; and parts of Spotsylvania County, Louisa County, Culpeper County and Albemarle County.

Campaigns

Lake of the Woods, meet Jack Trammell

Post author By admin
Post date September 26, 2014

Jack Trammell, the Democratic candidate for U.S. Congress from Virginia’s 7th District, will be in Lake of the Woods Oct. 27 to meet voters and discuss his plans to help end the partisan gridlock in Washington.

The event, which will begin at 4 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 27, will take place in the LOW Community Center.

Refreshments will be served and everyone, regardless of political affiliation, is welcome to attend.

Jack, who lives on a small farm in adjacent Louisa County, is a faculty member in sociology at Randolph-Macon College in Ashland.

He completed an undergraduate degree at Grove City College in western Pennsylvania, a master’s degree and Ph.D. at Virginia Commonwealth University and a special education certification program at the University of Virginia. He has been teaching at the K12 or university level for more than twenty years.

Jack has a wide variety of interests and an extensive career as a writer. He and his wife, Audrie, a special educator and artist have seven grown children, six of whom will be actively enrolled in post-secondary education this fall.

In May of 2014, Jack declared his candidacy and was subsequently nominated unanimously by the Democratic Party of the 7th District. “It was a long decision-making process for me,” he says. “I had considered running in earlier races, but the situation in the 7th and in Washington finally convinced me that change was absolutely necessary. No matter who I would be running against on the other side of the ticket, I was determined that there would be a dialogue.”

Jack believes first and foremost in serving the constituents of the 7th District of Virginia. With both an undergraduate and graduate education, he has developed a wide range of expertise that will help him to navigate important policy issues in the Seventh District. He firmly believes in hearing from his neighbors about the issues they want addressed in Washington and is committed to ensuring their voices are heard.

Voters in the Seventh District finally have a chance to elect someone who isn’t beholden to ideological extremists or monied special interests.

For more information visit the Jack Trammell for Congress Web site.

Campaigns Club events

LOW embraces Dippert as delegate candidate

Post author By admin
Post date September 19, 2013

Traci Dippert, right, with Shirley Pfile, chair of LOW Democrats

Traci Dippert, our dynamic candidate for the Virginia House of Delegates from the 30th District, was the guest of honor at a meet-and-greet Sept. 19 at the LOW Community Center.

Many of Ms. Dippert’s old friends and some new ones showed up — some with campaign donations in hand — to meet the candidate, ask questions and encourage her in her effort to improve Orange County’s representation in Richmond.

Ms. Dippert said that the current representative of the 30th District had been complicit in the General Assembly’s efforts to erode women’s rights, voter’s rights and civil rights.

“I see a future where Virginia leads in attracting new industries and entrepreneurs and helps existing businesses succeed without sacrificing our environment. A Virginia where farming can again be a sustainable way of life, and a future where there’s a quality job for every Virginian and our families stay strong and independent,” she said.

“I see a future where teachers like myself have all the necessary resources to prepare your children and grandchildren with a well-rounded education to face the challenges of the 21st Century. We must continue to lead the country in the talent pool and we must do so without guns in the classroom.”

Ms. Dippert, who teaches music to elementary school students at Rappahannock Elementary School, said “Every Virginian must have the opportunity to succeed whether a junior citizen in school or a senior citizen in retirement.”

“I need your help to secure that vision for Virginia,” she said. “This region has incredible untapped potential and deserves a representative who has the vision to move District 30 and all of Virginia forward.”

Ms. Dippert appeared on Sept. 25 at a candidates’ forum sponsored by the Lake of the Woods Civic Club.

After a social hour with a cash bar and snacks provided by the Civic Club, each candidate for local and state office had a chance to address the group and Ms. Dippert’s remarks were especially well received.