Last night I was able to attend the Tim Kaine fundraiser at the Jefferson Hotel for his Moving Virginia Forward PAC I had hoped to post this last night but caught in an horrendous traffic jam coming North through the mixing bowl. Also I have misplaced my notes so I will be doing this from memory. I think the even was something like the Tastes and Sounds of Virginia. There were hundreds of people. And there are more pictures. So keep reading for a sense of what it was like.
There were of course a lot of familiar faces around. I was not going to the high-roller event - I don' have $1,000 to spare. I ran into Jim Turpin as I arrived, and when a bi later I was leaving the bar he waved me over and I met one of our Delegate candidates, Connie Brennan, running in the 59th district, which includes the counties of Nelson, Buckingham, Appomattox, Cumberland, and parts of Albemarle, Fluvanna, and Prince Edward. Connie, the wife of a Foreign Service officer, was one of first nurse-practitioners in the Commonwealth, and has served on her local school board. This is a race about which I will write more later. Kudoes to Him Tuprin for helping me make the connection.
I also met Marty Martinez, who is running in the 33rd district centered on Leesburg, where he has served on the Council. Marty and Carlos del Toro would be the first Hispanics in the House of Delegates. As it happens, I had connection with Marty, who is on the left in this photo: 
the guy on the right is his campaign manager, Jeremiah Levine, who ran the campaign of Peter Goldmark in the 5th CD in Washington state last year - Peter is my college classmate. What I am hearing about this race makes me believe that this is very doable.
For those of us in the low-dollar category, the event started at 7. The room had a stage upfront, on which was the first of two performers, an African-American women (remember, I lost my notes) dressed like Cab Calloway and doing a superb job on blues and jazz. We could graze on a vraiety of Virginia products, including cheeses, pulled pork barbecue, ham sandwiches, produce, and desserts. There were also several open bars (although I'm not sure that a Japanese beer qualifies as a Virginia product!). The remarks were in the middle, around 8 PM, to which I will return in a moment. Afterwords we were treated to a performance of superb mountain music by the Locust Mountain Boys: 
Some of the other with whom I was able to talk included Sharon Pandak, running for Prince William County Chairman, and Janet Oleszek running for State Senate in the 37th District in Fairfax: 
The formal part of the program began with remarks from State Senator Henry Marsh: 
. sen. Marsh remarked how Tim Kiane was his 7th governor, and no one had been better, that it had been hard to believe that after Mark Warner we could still stee the state advancing.
When Tim Kaine came on stage, he was accompanied by his wife, Anne, daughter of former Republican governor Linwood Holton. He did not speak long. He thanked the people for coming, and acknowledged the presence of many who were candidates for the General Assembly. He noted that he had been governor fo 17th months, and hoped to accomplish much more. He was not there to raise money for himself for his campaign, but rather to help elect more Democrats to the General Assembly. He did discuss some of the accomplishments since he took office, but as i noted, I lost my notebook so I cannot offer the specifics.
On a personal level, it is nice to be greeted personally by your governor. Right after I took this picture: , he looked up saw me, beamed, and reached out his hand, saying "teacherken!! So good to see you here!" So a shout-out to our very personable and accessible governor.
I wish more of my pictures had turned out. And I wish I had not lost my notebook, so that Ic ould offer more details of what was said. My sense was that it was a positive, almost enthusiastic event. Spirits (other than those being imbibed) were quite high - people feel very good about our prospects this November.
Peace.
Otherwise, a great evening with great people.
The jefferson is one great hotel. the architecture is amazing.
but in that case I did NOT meet the candidate - in all the cases about which I blogged I met the candidate.
and glad to hear how successful the fundraising was.
Again, my sense from talking to people from various parts of the Commonwealth is people are very upbeat about our chances this November.
upon entering the Jefferson Hotel we heard the lush sound of
Virginia State University Gospel Chorale:
Inside the main room we were serenaded by the the bluesy (and sassy) vocals of Gaye Abegbalola (wearing the white tux) and was accompanied by pianist Roddy Barnes. Roddy is also a talented composer and vocalist. Both reside in Fredericksburg.
And wrapping up the evening was the down home kickin' bluegrass band Locust Mountain Boys.
I did not hear gospel choir because I was already upstairs. Gaye was terrific, as I told her afterwards (and I am a musician by background).
Helping Move Virginia Forward
Roddy Barnes, Gaye Adegbalola, Governor Tim Kaine, Ann Holton, Suzanne Moe together as "Moving Virginia Forward celebrated "The Sounds and Tastes of Virginia" on June 27th, 2007