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Campaigns Meetings

Lieutenant governor candidate to visit

The next meeting of the LOW Democratic Club will feature a conversation with Delegate Elizabeth Guzman, candidate for Virginia’s lieutenant governor.

The meeting, via the online meeting app Zoom, will begin at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 9.

Del. Elizabeth Guzman

Del. Guzman currently represents the 31st District, covering parts of Fauquier and Prince William counties. She was elected in 2017 and has been a champion of progressive legislation including holding corporate polluters accountable, providing raises for teachers, and the expansion of Medicaid to more than 400,000 Virginians. She serves as vice-chair of the House Education Committee and chair of the Sub-Committee on Social Services.

Del. Guzman holds master’s degrees in both public administration and in social work and is raising four children with her husband Carlos.

We look forward to hearing about the upcoming legislative session and the platform for her candidacy.

The meeting will also include volunteer appreciation as we recognize the many volunteers who helped during the fall campaigns that re-elected Rep. Abigail Spanberger and Sen. Mark Warner, and elected Joe Biden President and Kamala Harris Vice President.

We’ll also thank outgoing chair Shirley Pfile for her eight years of leadership of the club, and Chris Carr for serving for 13 years as historian and chair of the Special Events Committee. Their contributions to the success of the club over the years cannot be overstated, and we hope their many friends and fans will join us on Zoom to express their appreciation.

As we look ahead to 2021, we’ll also elect officers for the upcoming calendar year at this meeting. The slate of officers proposed by the Nominating Committee is:
— Chair – Valerie Smallwood
— Vice-Chair – Paul Conrad
— Treasurer – Howard Newman
— Secretary – William Wemmerus

Please join us for an informative and celebratory meeting!

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Meetings

Dr. Farnsworth to analyze election results

Stephen Farnsworth, Ph.D., professor and director of the Center for Leadership and Media Studies at the University of Mary Washington, will speak to the Lake of the Woods Democratic Club at 1 p.m. Nov. 11 via the Zoom online meeting app.

Dr. Stephen J. Farnsworth

Farnsworth, a political scientist, author, and political commentator, will share his perspective on this unique election season and on the state and federal election results.

Many thanks to all our friends and supporters who planted a yard sign, donated, or gave their time through the year to help our Democratic slate of candidates. As this is written the election results are unknown, but there can be no doubt that these efforts have made a difference, both locally and nationally.

While our November meeting will focus on an election debriefing, we hope that all of our club members and campaign volunteers will mark their calendars for our Dec. 9 meeting, during which we will hold our own club officer elections and celebrate the many contributions of our volunteers. Please plan to join us!

New club members are always welcome. Our annual dues are just $30. Click on this link to download a membership form and return it to join for 2021.

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Meetings

Club to celebrate youth activism

The next meeting of the Lake of the Woods Democratic Club will be held at 1 p.m. Wednesday, October 14 via the Zoom online meeting application. All are welcome.

The meeting will feature a discussion with dedicated youth activists who have been working hard this year to both encourage voter registration and to support their peers in becoming more engaged with the civic life of our community as volunteers and leaders. Their goal is to work to create the world they want to live in and address important issues that impact our county, state and nation.

The discussion will include a participant in the Blue Ridge Governor’s School who is focusing her senior project on the impact of COVID-19 on the electoral process. Please join us as we celebrate “The Youth” who are striving to make a positive difference in our county – and beyond. We’ll also be hearing from field organizers from Rep. Abigail Spanberger’s re-election campaign about volunteer opportunities as we head into the final weeks of the election.

Early voting at the Orange County Registrar’s office in Orange has been busy. Many LOW residents were present September 18 outside the Registrar’s office when Rep. Abigail Spanberger and Sen. Tim Kaine stopped by to help kick-off the early voting period.

Those voting absentee can place their ballots in a collection box inside the building vestibule as an alternative to placing it in the mail. Absentee ballots can also be delivered directly to the Registrar’s office.

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Meetings

New election laws topic of September meeting

JoAnne Speiden, secretary of the Orange County Electoral Board, will be guest speaker at an online meeting of the Lake of the Woods Democratic Club at 1 p.m. Sept. 9. She will update members on the steps the board and the staff of the County Office of Voter Registration and Elections are taking to implement Virginia’s new election laws — particularly those allowing absentee voting without excuse and a 45-day period of early in-person voting.

JoAnne Speiden


With the election season now in full swing, club members are actively engaged in supporting the campaigns of the Democratic presidential ticket of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris and the re-election of Sen. Mark Warner and U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger.

Club activities during the pandemic shutdown, including active campaigning, have continued through the Zoom meeting app and other electronic means.

Many thanks to County Supervisor Lee Frame for providing our Club members with a comprehensive update on variety of county issues at our Zoom meeting on Wednesday, Aug. 12. Members were particularly interested in hearing about the Orange County response to the pandemic.


Frame explained how CARES Act monies have been allocated to provide, among other things, family assistance, support for county businesses and community organizations, election preparations, COVID testing, and meeting school reopening needs. Beyond that, he provided a wealth of information on broadband expansion and local economic development projects.

Categories
Meetings

Club to conduct virtual meeting on August 12

The Lake of the Woods Democrats will resume its monthly meetings via the online meeting app Zoom, starting on Wednesday, August 12.

Lee Frame

The meeting will feature a presentation by Orange County Supervisor Lee Frame, who will address a variety of topics, including an update on the county’s response to the pandemic, use of CARES Act, broadband expansion, local business development and more.

Following our guest speaker, we’ll have a brief business meeting to provide campaign updates.

You can participate in this meeting using Zoom video or by calling in by telephone – either option is fine. If you have not used Zoom video and would like assistance in advance of the meeting, just let us know and we’ll be happy to assist.

Contact Jennifer Heinz at jenheinz6103@gmail.com or by calling 703-508-1104 to request credentials to the Zoom session.

COVID-19 pandemic or no COVID-19 pandemic, there’s a very important election coming on November 3 and we must get to work to elect Joe Biden president, Mark Warner U.S. senator and Abigail Spanberger U.S. congresswoman.