Click HERE to indicate the type of dish that you plan to bring to the next monthly Meeting/Potluck
~~~
Click HERE to indicate the type of dish that you plan to bring to the next monthly Meeting/Potluck ~~~
Ken declared that he is running for the futur of his two daughters and his five grandchildren. He is also very concerned about how four of the five candidates possibly running for the 7th District reside in Northern Virginia. Ken took questions from the audience regarding his position on several topics including tariffs, AI, data centers, healthcare, and rebuilding the community
Announcements included:
Guests at the March 20 Membership Meeting/Potluck
Jackson Miller - speaking on the Virginia For Fair Elections redistricting initiative.
Dr, Loriita C. Daniels - candidate for the U.S. Senate.
Mar 3 Roundtable/Coffee
Polly began the meeting with a couple of notes regarding the impact that the redistricting is having on candidate signatures, the current status of the redistricting referendum and early voting. She then introduced our guest speaker, Ken Mitchell - Shenandoah Valley candidated for the 6th or 7th House District depending on the Special Election results.
What’s to know about Ken Mitchell
Ken has had a multi-faceted life that has provided him with a wealth of experiences and knowledge. Well versed on a varieity of topics, Ken describes himself as a “common sense democrat” who would bring all that he knows to Washington, D.C. if elected. Ken’s creditials include:
owning a small farm in Rockingham County that current sits in the 6th District. Should the temporary redistricting succeed, Ken’s farm will become part of the 7th District;
a civil engineer by profession, Ken is already familiar with the water situation in Greene County having been a part of the early process that took place;
a miliary veteran of 24 years, Ken spent seven years working in the White House for presidents from both parties.
Chair Julie called the meeting to order at 6:00 PM at which time she provided an update on the focus of the Virginia General Assembly as it reached the mid-point of this legislative session. Key pieces of legistion center around voting rights to include the protection of election officials, anti-corruption around voter registration, and the redistricting referendum in response to current federal activities and actions.
Julie introduced Liz White who spoke to the group about the impact Rank Choice Voting (RCV) could have on our elections. Described as a small change to ballots that makes a big diffrence for democracy, Liz provided a RCV 101 course on how rank choice voting works, the history and current status of the movement, and the positive effect it would have not only on the election, but also the campaigns running up to the elections. Those benefits include:
disincentivizes the negative campaign - it’s easy to attack one opponent. It’s much harder to attack five or six opponents;
eliminates the spoiler effect - a third party candidate cannot “steal” votes from the major party candidates because the voter casts a vote for all of the candidates;
the most disliked candidate does not stand a chance of winning - instead of picking the lesser of two evils, voters can vote their conscience and know that it will count for something;
a direct correlation has been shown regarding voter turnout for the election and candidates being more inclined to actually knock on doors to speak with the people.
Rank Choice Voting is already used in local elections — Arlington and Charlottesville — with very positive results.
Liz is a founding Executive Director of UpVote Virginia and the former Deputy Director of OneVirginia2021.
STATUS: Redistricting Referendum
The Virginia Supreme Court is allowing the special election to proceed.
Early voting: May 6 - April 18, 2026
Election Day: April 21, 2026
Polly provided information on the redistricting and noted that 17 year olds who will turn 18 by the Nov election day can vote in the special election and the primaries.
The Copelands provided updates on the Board of Supervisors meetings and upcoming votes impacting the county.
FEB 20 Membership Meeting/Potluck
Feb 3 Roundtable/Coffee
Was cancelled due to the lovely artic blast and winter storm that took over the entire county and much of the country.
Jan 16 Reorganization Meeting/Potluck
Our January meeting was all about the required Reorganization of our Greene County Democratic Committee. The Reorganization provides us with the opportunity to renew our dedication to the democratic principles and processes that have been a part of this country for 250 years.
Check out the official results of the caucus and officer elections.
Jan 6 Roundtable Meeting/Coffee
Our meeting started with a round robin discussion about the most recent events and the Jan 6 anniversary. During this discussion, the following sources were noted for personal research:
Project 2025 - to help understand the blueprint of the current administration.
Heritage Foundation - author of Project 2025
Heather Cox Richardson - American historian who does This Week in Politics
Discussion then turned to the upcoming General Assembly session, Virginia Lobby Days, Amendments to appear on the ballots, and how the Greene Dems can help keep the public informed.
An outcome of this discussion was the formation of Task Force to address the impact of Data Centers and current Data Center Reform efforts. Stay tuned for updates on this Task Force as plans develop!