Hampton Roads

Portsmouth is for Lovers… of Democratic Politics

Posted by susan on Wednesday, June 13

Portsmouth is a strongly Democratic city, one that consistently delivers for our party.  Without a doubt Portsmouth was a hotspot for lovers of Democratic politics last night.  I was fortunate to meet with and speak to Democrats at three post-election parties in the city, where supporters of Delegate Joannou, Steve Heretick, and Henry Light gathered to hear election results.  Each of the locations were filled to capacity with droopy-eyed but hopeful Democratic activists.  Many had been up since 4:30 in the morning working to get their candidate elected. 

When the results were in, Portsmouth voters returned Delegate Joannou to his seat by a large margin.  Many of the folks at Delegate Joannou's victory party had strong ties to the man they fondly call "Johnny."  A number reminscinced with me about how Johnny had gone out of his way to help them when they were struggling.  They shared stories of kindness and concern he had shown them over the years. 

Because Delegate Joannou will not face opposition in the general election, he won't be tied up with defending his seat in November.  He is very excited by our party's prospects and will be actively supporting our Democratic challengers in the months to come. 

Henry Light's many supporters were obviously disappointed by the outcome of the race, but, like Henry Light, their commitment to the party remains as strong as ever.  Clara Van Eck felt good about having supported Mr. Light and said that in spite of the loss she would sleep soundly.  "I followed my heart and supported the candidate that I thought was right."  Clara has worked on winning and losing campaigns and understands that "you can't take it personally" when you lose.  She will be definitely be working to support our party's general election candidates.  Abby Williams expressed a similar feeling and commented that, "Our work doesn't stop today."  Everyone who had been in the Light camp recognized the need to move forward from here as a unified party because, at the end of the day, we're Democrats and we care about the party.  

Kudos to all the Democratic activists who worked so hard to do what they thought was best.  I look forward to both Mr. Light's and Delegate Joannou's volunteers and financial supporters taking a VERY brief time to recover and then quickly switching their focus to the other races in the region.  The numbers that matter now are 21 and 51.  Let's get on board.... the sooner the better. 

Speaking of other races in the region that we should support, there was a great feeling at Steve Heretick's headquarters last night.  Tom Hall, Executive Vice President of IFPTE, Local 1, said in no uncertain terms, "Fred's next!"  Of course he was talking about Fred Quayle, who currently holds the senate seat in the 13th district, where Steve Heretick tied up the Democratic nomination yesterday. 

Councilman Heretick was all smiles after yesterday's election and said, "I'm happy to see that when you do the grassroots work, it really works."  Heretick has been knocking on doors at a furious pace, which puts a win in that district within reach. 

The Heretick campaign is happy with the progress they've made, but they know they've got to pick up the pace even more to unseat an incumbent.   So why don't you contact the campaign today and find out how you can get involved?  The Volunteer Coordinator for the Heretick for Senate campaign is a great lady, Esther Agbaje.  Give her a call at (757) 397-9923 to find out how you can help. 

View all Hampton Roads posts.

0 Comments

There are no comments for this entry yet. Get the discussion started and post below.