Our Man in Arlington

Traditionally, serious politics around here doesn’t start until after Labor Day. (I am talking here about general election politics, not our ubiquitous primary seasons.) In Arlington, the official beginning of the campaign season is usually marked by the candidates’ night sponsored by the Arlington Civic Federation. This year it is the Tuesday immediately after Labor Day.

Three local Democratic events in the last week of August, however, are a sign of the intensity of the current election campaigns, national, state and local.

Last Thursday, there was a stirring rally at Arlington’s Courthouse Plaza to celebrate the anniversary of the constitutional amendment granting voting rights for women. At least 200 people of all ages and sexes attended the rally.

The master of ceremonies was Kate Hanley, former chair of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. The speakers included Arlington’s Sheriff Beth Arthur, Fairfax County Supervisor Cathy Hudgin, registered nurse Sheila Rait, Fairfax County School Board Member Janet Oleszek, and Kris Amundson, former chair of the Fairfax County School Board and currently a member of the House of Delegates. (Why there were so many Fairfax County women there, I really don’t know, particularly since women head both Arlington’s county government and its school board. We were very kind hosts, however.)

The subjects covered health, public safety, education, economic, and small business issues. And they all stressed that the Kerry-Edwards ticket was far more sympathetic to women’s issues than their opponents. Of course!

Sunday there were two significant events in Arlington. The first was in Bluemont Park, billed as the Turn Virginia Blue Barbecue in support of Virginia’s Congressional Candidates. Unfortunately, I was not able to attend this gala event, but apparently it was a big success.

This was immediately followed by a fundraiser for Fifth Congressional District candidate Al Weed at the home of David North and Ruth Blau in North Arlington.

Weed is running against incumbent Virgil Goode, who is a major flip-flopper, to use the rhetoric from another campaign. Goode was elected as a Democrat, later switched to independent, and is now a Republican. No one knows where his next stop will be.

Weed is almost a perfect candidate for the job. He served both in Vietnam and Bosnia and retired from the Army Reserve as a Command Sergeant Major, which according to my friends in the army actually outranks a four-star general. At least four-star generals do what their Sergeant Majors tell them to do.

He has been a major business executive and CEO and is the founder of Virginia’s oldest family winery, Mountain Cove Vineyards. He has been president of the Virginia Wineries Association and president of the Nelson County Chamber of Commerce, to name just a few of his local leadership posts. He is even a cum laude graduate of Yale University, the alma mater of another major political figure (or two or three). How can he lose?

The event was a great success, with about sixty in attendance enjoying the fine food and a great selection of Mountain Cove Wines. Several thousand dollars were raised, an unusually good amount for an out-of-district candidate.

On Labor Day, the Democrats will hold their Annual Chili Cookoff, where the candidates and officials produce great pots of their secret chili recipes. I always head for Congressman Jim Moran’s pot, which is the spiciest, while my wife prefers Senator Mary Margaret Whipple’s, which is flavorful without blistering your tongue – both much like their cooks

My only fear about all of this early campaign activity is that come November 2, many will be totally bored. Not us campaign junkies, of course! But there is a great danger of turning off many voters by the brutal repetition of it all.

Be that as it may, it will be a very intense campaign season. I’m one junkie who is looking forward to it.