The Virginia Young Democrats hired 12 full-time organizers for the critical 2009 Gubernatorial and State Legislative elections. Our organizers had two, simultaneous goals: get large numbers of volunteers incorporated into the campaigns, and identify new members and volunteers as a way to build our membership for future elections.
135,300 Voter Contacts Later, We Have Done Just That
Northern Virginia is central to any Democratic path to victory. This fall, VAYD put organizers onto delegates campaigns and in key parts of NOVA to get volunteers out working for the local and statewide races. This work was critical in many targeted races across the region. Our organizers, our chapters, and our regional invasions accounted for ..... voter contacts across the region.
Arlington
The Arlington Young Democrats continue to be a driving volunteer force in Northern Virginia politics. Sarah Godlewski, Kip Malinosky, Chris Mehrabi, Lauren Hall, Gordon Simonett, Scott Pedowitz, Nate Thomas, Atima Omara-Alwala, the list goes on! Our Senior NOVA Organizer, Jim McBride, worked with the awesome Arlingtonians to get out the volunteers and get out the vote with phonebanking, metro-flyering, door-knocking, and apartment-storming. AYD's visionary mail program helped to insure that 16,000 Arlingtonians who voted for the first time in 2008 knew how important it was for them to vote Democratic again in 2009.
McLean
Delegate Vanderhye has always been a supporter of the Virginia's young citizens. Her focus on environmental issues and education has made her a favorite amongst Young Democrats across the region. Recognizing that Delegate Vanderhye's race would depend on a strong ground game in a district that has many hard-to-reach homes, VAYD staged two regional invasions - including our very first invasion of the cycle in September. VAYD also contributed 5 GOTV organizers to the campaign. Jon Wong - an in-kind contribution to VAYD from the National Stonewall Democrats - was on the ground for the entire final week of the campaign. The remaining organizers were on the ground for the final weekend.
Herndon
Republican Delegate Tom Rust represented the most Democratic district held by the Rs in the state. Because of this, Republican Rust was softly supportive of the Democratic position on some social issues and some issues on government and finance. But this isn't the time for people who are only able to lead some-of-the-time. When we started this campaign cycle, we decided that it was time to show the 86th what their Republican Delegate had been doing in Richmond. VAYD led two campaign invasions into the 86th, including one from Michigan, and one from the YDA Mid-Atlantic Caucus (pictured at the top of the page). We also contributed in-kind one of our organizers, Tom, to the campaign for the critical GOTV weekend.
South Riding
Delegate Bob Marshall is out of touch with the Young People of Virginia. Major John Bell ran an excellent campaign, and VAYD was proud to be a part of that effort. With the kind support of the Virginia Partisans, VAYD was the first outside organization on the ground in this district, contributing in-kind the organizing services of David Levine (pictured at right), who started in September. In addition, VAYD ran three campaign invasions for the statewide slate and Major Bell (one pictured above, the other two here and here).
Springfield
Picture on it's way!
Greg Werkheiser would be an awesome Delegate. As a co-founder of the Sorensen Institute and the Phoenix Project, Greg has dedicated his life to public service. As a Delegate, he will continue to do just that. In early October, VAYD contributed an organizer (Spencer Grey, pictured above) to the campaign. The George Mason Young Democrats also committed hours to the campaign during the critical days of GOTV.
Dumfries
Reverend Dr. Luke Torian would make a great addition to the House of Delegates. His experience as a Reverend gives him a unique perspective into the lives and needs of Young Virginians. During the critical days of GOTV, VAYD was able to run an invasion into the 52nd.
Alexandria
Throughout the campaign, the Alexandria Young Democrats worked on innovative and critical programs for the statewide slate. Through specialized women-to-women phonebanks and a peer-to-peer outreach / GOTV canvass in partnership with the Prince George's County Young Democrats, the Alexandria Young Democrats were able to work on mobilize some of the most important voters for the statewide slate.
Vienna
Mark Keam won a three-way primary for the Democratic nomination to succeed Delegate Steve Shannon. VAYD contributed Antonio Elias' service as a GOTV organizer for the final week of the campaign.
Garrisonville
When Stafford County Young Democrat threw her hat into the ring for Stafford County Board of Supervisor's race, we knew that we had to hav eher back! Laura really motivated our members at Mary Wash, and we love to go out and hit a ton of doors for such an awesome Young Dem!
