Hampton Roads

Greeting from Hampton Roads

Posted by susan on Friday, May 18

My name is Susan Mariner, and I’m the Regional Field Organizer for Hampton Roads. This is the first of a series of postings I’ll be making on what’s happening with the Democratic Party in Hampton Roads. I’m the first to admit that the written word doesn’t come naturally to me, so please forgive me in advance if my postings are not as frequent or as lengthy as those of Brian or Joe. I am confident that I’ll be crafting multiple versions of each entry and still won't be satisfied. That said, I am a proud lifelong Democrat with a deep passion for building the party, so I’m extremely pleased to have an opportunity to share with you the progress that Democrats are making here in Hampton Roads.

The focus of my job in 2007 is to help to ensure that our local committees and Democratic activists have the tools to convert the energy in our party into a new Democratic majority in the General Assembly. In these postings I will be sharing as much information as I can about what I’m doing, about how the party is growing, and about what the local campaigns are up to--- without, of course, revealing strategies that necessarily should not and cannot be revealed. As we work together to do the necessary and challenging legwork for 2007, we will be building for 2008 and beyond. In the powerful words of DNC Chairman Howard Dean, “Election by election, state by state, precinct by precinct, door by door… we’re going to take this country back for the people who built it.”

By way of introduction to those of you who aren’t acquainted with the Hampton Roads region, it is urban; it is suburban; and it is rural. It’s one of the most racially and ethnically diverse areas of the country. There are areas where Democratic performance has been strong for years and places where we’ve fought very hard with considerably less success.   The Democratic committees throughout the region vary widely in their makeup and in their histories.  Yet in my dealings with Democratic groups throughout the region, I have observed threads that are common to each. Everywhere I go, I see a determined energy and an understanding that now is our time, that we can and that we must do the hard work of converting the current potential for our party into a reality. Everywhere I go in Hampton Roads people tell me that they are ready to take our organization to the next level. And that’s what we are going to do.

In Hampton Roads, as in the rest of the state, now is a great time to be a Democrat. After years of too many of our fellow Virginians accepting the mantra that the Republican Party was the party of fiscal responsibility and economic prosperity, Governor Mark Warner proved in word and in deed that it is Democrats who are truly the sound fiscal managers. After years of too many of Virginia’s citizens swallowing the talking point that the Republican Party had a corner on values and morality, Governor Tim Kaine has stood as a beacon of goodness and human decency for the state, the nation and beyond. Governor Kaine has not just talked the talk; he has walked the walk. After so many years of the Republicans winning votes on national security, Senator Jim Webb is turning on its head the concept that Democrats are weak on national security and/or don’t work to support our troops and veterans.   No one should doubt that now is a great time to be a Democrat in Virginia.

In the words of President John F. Kennedy, “The two political parties in our history have always been divided… into the party of hope and the party of memory.”   Today as I write to you, we in the Democratic Party of Virginia recognize that there are tremendous challenges ahead of us. Some of the challenges in Virginia are continuing struggles towards social and economic fairness and equal opportunity for all. Some of the challenges are new and unprecedented in our history. Meeting these challenges will require creativity, courage, diligence and tremendous effort. The task ahead is great, but we are hopeful, and we will do the hard work because we must. Virginia, the country, and the world are counting on us. We, the Democratic Party of Virginia, are the party of a better tomorrow for all.

I will, of course, be in touch via this format and I look forward to working in person with all of you in the months and years to come.

Susan Mariner
Proud Virginia Democrat

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