What a great day
I formally announced my candidacy for the House of Delegates this morning with an old fashioned town hall meeting at Old Town Hall in Fairfax City. What a great way to kickoff the campaign!
So many people turned out, and asked questions about issues that really matter. I am impressed that we have so many people who care enough about our community to show up and ask tough questions--it really says something about the kind of people who live here in Fairfax. And I was honored that so many people were willing to share their concerns.
It was wonderful not just to see old friends, but to meet so many new people from the city and the county who came out to support my candidacy. It was also lovely to meet two prominent Virginia bloggers, Lowell Feld and Maura Kearny. (You can read their great write-ups on the kickoff on their respective blogs, Raising Kaine and Democracy for Virginia.) And I am deeply grateful for the tremendous support from my colleagues on the Fairfax City School Board and the Fairfax County School Board.
Another highlight of an already great day for me, on a personal note, was that our son Eric drove home all the way from Virginia Tech for the weekend so he could be there for me at the kickoff. I was so pleased to have him there. That's a picture of Eric and Walter and me on the steps of the Old Town Hall.
Listening to the concerns of my neighbors at our town hall meeting reaffirmed for me once again how much we share the same values. We all care about protecing choice and liberty, standing up for quality human services, and fighting for the best possible education for all our children. We also agree that transportation is broken and needs to be fixed. One of the biggest challenges we face at the core of every issue boils down to the state passing on financial burdens to local governments through unfunded mandates and the restrictions of the Dillon Rule. We need a delegate who will fight fight for these issues, and who has the experience and legislative know-how to win. I am running because after more than 20 years of education advocacy and lobbying in Fairfax County and in Richmond on these very issues, I am that delegate.
Thank you to everyone who made the day such a success. I know that together we can win.
P.S. For all the details on the event, check out the Kickoff News Roundup in our newsroom.
So many people turned out, and asked questions about issues that really matter. I am impressed that we have so many people who care enough about our community to show up and ask tough questions--it really says something about the kind of people who live here in Fairfax. And I was honored that so many people were willing to share their concerns.
It was wonderful not just to see old friends, but to meet so many new people from the city and the county who came out to support my candidacy. It was also lovely to meet two prominent Virginia bloggers, Lowell Feld and Maura Kearny. (You can read their great write-ups on the kickoff on their respective blogs, Raising Kaine and Democracy for Virginia.) And I am deeply grateful for the tremendous support from my colleagues on the Fairfax City School Board and the Fairfax County School Board.
Another highlight of an already great day for me, on a personal note, was that our son Eric drove home all the way from Virginia Tech for the weekend so he could be there for me at the kickoff. I was so pleased to have him there. That's a picture of Eric and Walter and me on the steps of the Old Town Hall.Listening to the concerns of my neighbors at our town hall meeting reaffirmed for me once again how much we share the same values. We all care about protecing choice and liberty, standing up for quality human services, and fighting for the best possible education for all our children. We also agree that transportation is broken and needs to be fixed. One of the biggest challenges we face at the core of every issue boils down to the state passing on financial burdens to local governments through unfunded mandates and the restrictions of the Dillon Rule. We need a delegate who will fight fight for these issues, and who has the experience and legislative know-how to win. I am running because after more than 20 years of education advocacy and lobbying in Fairfax County and in Richmond on these very issues, I am that delegate.
Thank you to everyone who made the day such a success. I know that together we can win.
P.S. For all the details on the event, check out the Kickoff News Roundup in our newsroom.
posted by Janet Oleszek at 11:58 PM
1 Comments:
Congratulations on what sounds like a great kick-off for your campaign! I love the enthusiasm being generated by your campaign and can't wait to help you out and be a part of it this summer when I am back from school. I was also surprised to hear that you answered issue questions at the kick-off. It's great that you used the event to create a dialogue with constituents as a town hall meeting instead of just a press and photo-op.
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