Moran named DPVA chair
Brian Moran will succeed Dick Cranwell as chairman of the Democratic Party of Virginia.
Moran, a former state delegate and 2009 Democratic Party gubernatorial-nomination candidate, bested former Arlington County Democratic chair Peter Rousselot in voting by the party’s State Central Committee.
“I want to thank Peter Rousselot for running a great campaign and raising a lot of issues that are important to the success of our party in the future. I also want to thank Dick Cranwell for his outstanding record of service to our party and this Commonwealth, both as a member of the House of Delegates and as Chairman of the DPVA. I am humbled to be asked to follow such a distinguished and effective leader. While I’m sure we will continue to benefit from his participation in our party for years to come, he will be sorely missed as DPVA chair,” Moran said.
Edited by Chris Graham. Chris can be reached at freepress2@ntelos.net.
Dem leader pushes McDonnell on interest in WH run
Virginia Democrats are seizing upon an apparent attempt at hedging by Gov. Bob McDonnell in an interview with The Washington Post about whatever interest he might have in running for president in 2012.
“Either he intends to serve his full term as Governor or he doesn’t,” Democratic Party of Virginia Chairman Dick Cranwell said, citing a blog post from Post writer Jennifer Rubin, who wrote today that she asked McDonnell, a Republican, if he would make a promise not to run for president.
“He didn’t bite. He merely said that he has ‘many new initiatives’ he wants to see through and that ‘there are any number of good candidates, including some former and current’ governors, he would look forward to supporting. Yes, he sure left some wiggle room there,” Rubin wrote.
“If he is so interested in being governor of Virginia until his term ends in 2014, it shouldn’t be difficult for him to come out and say he is not, and will not be a candidate for higher office before then. If he can’t make a firm declaration about his own future, how can the people of Virginia count on him to make the tough decisions about theirs?” Cranwell said.
Story by Chris Graham. Chris can be reached at freepress2@ntelos.net.
Cranwell to step down as chair of state party
Democratic Party of Virginia chairman Dick Cranwell announced Tuesday that he will retire from the position in December.
“After 39 years in public life as a member of the House of Delegates and as Chair of the DPVA, and after much reflection and discussion with my family, I have decided that 2010 will be my last year as Chair of the Democratic Party of Virginia,” Cranwell said in a statement released today.
Cranwell has served as party chair for five years – a time of both growth and some recent retraction. Cranwell was at the head of the Democratic Party for the U.S. Senate victories of Jim Webb in 2006 and Mark Warner in 2008 as well as the historic victory of Barack Obama in ‘08 that saw a Democrat get Virginia’s presidential electoral votes for the first time since the 1960s.
The 2009 state elections were a stunning reversal of that trend, with Republicans Bob McDonnell, Bill Bolling and Ken Cuccinelli sweeping the statewide races in landslide fashion. And in the 2010 congressional midterms two seats picked up by Democrats in 2008, in the Second District with Glenn Nye and in the Fifth District with Tom Perriello, could be heading back to the Republican column.
Cranwell acknowledged the highs and lows in his statement to the press today.
“I would be less than candid if I did not say we have had our struggles as well, but, throughout my tenure as chair, I have never questioned that our party leaders, our staff and our supporters spend every day trying to make life better for the people of Virginia,” Cranwell said. “I am confident that under the leadership of a new chair, the Democratic Party of Virginia is going to continue to grow and help elect candidates who will continue the fight for good jobs and working families across our state.”
Story courtesy WhenVirginiaWasBlue.com.
WhenVirginiaWasBlue.com: Dems-Virginia taxpayers ‘real victims’ of Cuccinelli activism
Democratic Party of Virginia chair Dick Cranwell spoke out on Tuesday on the ruling by an Albemarle County judge on a request for information made by Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli related to climate-change research by a former University of Virginia professor.
“I was glad to see this ideological crusade by Mr. Cuccinelli dismissed by Judge Peatross, but the real victims are Virginia’s tax payers,” Cranwell said in a news release issued by the Democratic Party of Virginia. “The attorney general is using his taxpayer-funded office as his own personal piggy bank, at a time when Virginians need help. These ideological crusades do nothing to protect Virginians from predatory lending. They do nothing to protect consumers from unsafe products or fraudulent services. In short they do nothing but advance the attorney general’s reputation as an extremist who cares more about his ideology than he does about Virginia. Taxpayers beware, Mr. Cuccinelli is wasting your money.”
Democratic Party of Virginia chair Dick Cranwell spoke out on Tuesday on the ruling by an Albemarle County judge on a request for information made by Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli related to climate-change research by a former University of Virginia professor.
“I was glad to see this ideological crusade by Mr. Cuccinelli dismissed by Judge Peatross, but the real victims are Virginia’s tax payers,” Cranwell said in a news release issued by the Democratic Party of Virginia. “The attorney general is using his taxpayer-funded office as his own personal piggy bank, at a time when Virginians need help. These ideological crusades do nothing to protect Virginians from predatory lending. They do nothing to protect consumers from unsafe products or fraudulent services. In short they do nothing but advance the attorney general’s reputation as an extremist who cares more about his ideology than he does about Virginia. Taxpayers beware, Mr. Cuccinelli is wasting your money.”
Link to news brief on WhenVirginiaWasBlue.com.
Focus | Cranwell to Dems: ‘Keep plugging’
Story by Chris Graham
The word from Dick Cranwell: “caution.”
“This time last year everybody was saying the Republicans were bordering on extinction, they’re almost irrelevant, we’re in for 15 or 20 years of Democratic rule. When people were telling me that a year ago, I was saying, Hey, not so fast, I’ve been around a long time, and political winds can shift and change, and they can change rather quickly in today’s world,” said Cranwell, the chairman of the Democratic Party of Virginia, in an interview today with VirginiaPoliticsToday.com, in the aftermath of the GOP sweep of the three statewide races and the six-seat Republican pickup in the House of Delegates. Read more
Money, money, money
How can you tell that we’re near a supposedly critical political fundraising deadline? By checking your e-mail.
“May I have just five minutes of your time?” one in my in-box yesterday from Republican guberatorial nominee Bob McDonnell asked, then got to the point. “In just 36 hours, I reach one of the last critical benchmarks before the November election – the June 30th fundraising deadline. This deadline is important as it will help set the tone for the remaining four months of the campaign.” Read more
Multimedia | Be careful what your surrogate says on your behalf
It wasn’t exactly Macaca. “You have two jobs,” former Republican Party presidential-nomination candidate Mike Huckabee told a gathering of GOP faithful in Tazewell County while campaigning for Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob McDonnell this week. “One, get all those people who are going to vote for Bob out to the polls and vote. If they’re not going to vote for Bob, you have another job. Let the air out of their tires and do not let them out of their driveway on Election Day. Keep ‘em home. Do the Lord’s work, my friend. I’m giving you an opportunity…yes, do the right thing.” Read more
