In less than two weeks, on Tuesday, June 11 there will be a Democratic primary election for which all Democratic registered voters in the City of Falls Church, Arlington and surrounding areas are eligible and encouraged to vote. There has been a lot of money poured into two Democratic primary races on the ballot, most of it from outside sources going to the challengers of the two incumbents. Most households in the area have been inundated with so many slick campaign mailings.

Overall, this is a critical election year in Virginia, being about the only state in the union with an important election this fall. For Virginians, every State Senate and House of Delegate seat is on the line this November, and with the margins in both houses so hair thin by now, with Republicans barely holding the edge in both, it is being viewed as a vital opportunity for Democrats to flip both houses and, with a Democratic governor in place, take control of the reigns of state government.

It couldn’t come at a more important time, given the egregious excesses of bad government coming from Republicans out of Washington, D.C. and their counterparts in state governments in places like Alabama, where the most alarming anti-abortion legislation has been passed aimed at forcing an eventual reversal of Roe vs. Wade by the U.S. Supreme Court. Already, we have heard from Republican legislators in Virginia saying they hope that Virginia can be the next to follow the lead of Alabama to make abortion of any type under any circumstances illegal here, as well.

This poisonous overarching environment makes the June 11 Democratic primary here significantly more important than it might otherwise be. To us, nothing is more important than that strong, proven Democratic leaders be strengthened in their posts everywhere possible as Democrats push to gain the majorities they’ll need to keep Virginia moving forward toward a more progressive, inclusive and economically-viable future, and not backwards.

For us, this clearly means that our strong, veteran State Senator Dick Saslaw, who stands to become the Senate Majority Leader if his party gains the majority this fall, and our proven-qualified Commonwealth Attorney Theo Stamos be reaffirmed by voters in the upcoming primary. We staunchly and emphatically urge voters to return both to the good work they’ve been doing in the June 11 primary.

With so much at stake for Democrats these days, two clearly effective Democratic leaders on the ballot this June are coming under heavy challenges, bankrolled by outside money, from candidates who’ve never held public office before and with campaigns rooted in promises and some questionable allegations instead of results.

Clearly, some Democrats in Arlington have issues with Stamos on local partisan matters. But they don’t apply in Falls Church, where all three constitutional officers here strongly support her for her proven competence.