Ann. F. Ridgeway, candidate for the Virginia House of Delegates, received an enthusiastic welcome from a large crowd attending the LOW Democratic Club’s annual Flag Day Picnic on June 12.
The event, which took place in Marion Pronk Hall at the LOW Community Center, featured full fried chicken dinners, door prizes and even a song from the fabled “Demettes” songstresses.
But the highlight of the event was an appearance by Ann Ridgeway, whose “We the People” campaign is working to represent the 30th state senate district in the November election. The Madison County, wife, mother, teacher and community activist explained her reasons for becoming a political candidate and answered questions on the issues from voters.
In support of her campaign, the LOW Democratic Club presented Ridgeway with a check for $500.
More information about Ann and her candidacy is available at her Web site at Ridgeway for Delegate.
Stephen
J. Farnsworth, professor of political science and international affairs and
director of the Center for Leadership and Media Studies at the University of
Mary Washington, will speak on the topic of his latest book, “Presidential
Communication and Character,” at the Lake of the Woods Community Center on
Sunday, April 28.
Dr. Stephen J. Farnsworth
The event is sponsored by the Lake of the Woods Democratic Club, and is open to all without regard to political affiliation. The program will begin at 1 p.m. in Marion Pronk Hall at the LOW Community Center.
Farnsworth’s book traces the
evolution of White House news management during America’s changing media
environment over the past two decades. Comparing and contrasting the
communication strategies of Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama and
Donald Trump, it demonstrates the difficulty that all presidents have in
controlling their messages despite a seemingly endless array of new media
outlets and the great advantages of the office.
Dr.
Farnsworth is a recipient of the Outstanding Faculty Award from the State
Council of Higher Education for Virginia and is the author of five books and
many articles in scholarly and popular publications.
One
of the few political scientists who focus on Virginia politics, Dr.
Farnsworth’s research has direct policy implications for both politicians and
the news media. He handles hundreds of media contacts a year on local, state
and international matters, and appears in or on such outlets as C-SPAN, The New
York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, National Public Radio
and PBS News Hour.
He holds a Ph.D. degree and a master’s degree from Georgetown University and bachelor’s degrees from both the University of Missouri and Dartmouth College.
Pete Brown, a member of the Lake of the Woods Association’s Board of Directors, visited the club at its March 13 meeting to talk about the association’s $10 million budget.
Pete Brown, LOW Director
Brown said that a priority of board members is to keep the annual assessment as low as possible. Toward that end, he said, the board managed to pare next year’s assessment increase down to $52, down from an initial estimate of about $130.
Brown said the board’s priority for the coming year is successful completion of the Clubhouse Area Recreation Project, which is expected to open this summer.
Brown is a retired executive of radio and television stations who was elected to the seven-member governing body of the association in 2018.
The proposed Equal Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which would guarantee American women the full benefits of citizenship, will be the subject of the May 9 meeting of the Lake of the Woods Democratic Club.
The guest speaker will be Diana Egozcue of Fredericksburg, executive vice president of the Virginia Chapter of the National Organization for Women.
The meeting, which is open to all without regard to political affiliation, will begin at 1 p.m. Wednesday, May 9, with a meet-and-greet session in the Lake of the Woods Community Center. The program will commence at 1:30.
The ERA states that the rights guaranteed by the Constitution apply equally to all persons regardless of their sex. After the 19th Amendment affirming women’s right to vote was ratified in 1920, suffragist leader Alice Paul introduced the ERA in 1923 as the next step in bringing “equal justice under law” to all citizens.
In 1972, the ERA was finally passed by Congress and sent to the states for ratification. The original seven-year time limit was extended by Congress to June 30, 1982, but at that deadline, the ERA had been ratified by only 35 states, three states short of the 38 required to put it into the Constitution. In March 2017, Nevada became the 36th state to ratify the amendment.
The ERA has been introduced into every Congress since the deadline.
Egozcue has long been involved in the effort to bring the ERA back before the Virginia General Assembly for ratification, resulting in getting sponsors in both the House of Delegates and the state Senate.
Egozcue has a Bachelor of Science in Education from the University of Texas at El Paso and a Master’s degree in Geography from the University of South Florida.
Her earlier life was spent as a teacher and Army wife. She has been married to Joe Egozcue for over 30 years. They have one son and two grandchildren.
Find more information about the ERA at the links below:
