Well, we’re doing all of the things that you do when you campaign: call, mail, visit. Sign letters until you can’t hold a pen…:) If you’re interested in the most up to date about what’s going on with the campaign, the best place to visit is our facebook page!
January 18, 2012 at 9:39 pm
Vote if you want to make a difference. Stay home if you don’t.
January 18, 2012 at 10:36 pm
Already “liked” your page :). Will be voting for you on the 28th and hope to vote for you again in May.
January 18, 2012 at 10:44 pm
@ It’s time
By chance are you “Be a Delegate on January 28” from BVBL? Both messages seem kinda similar… Also, it’s a shame there’s no absentee voting for those who really can’t make to the convention. Like two people I know, one who has to work that morning, and one at vet school in Blacksburg, neither of which can vote on the 28th ’cause you physically have to be there on the 28th.
January 19, 2012 at 7:15 am
@A
Urging people to show up is not exactly an original idea so a similarly inclined copy cat or family member is mucho possible. More important than that is not getting distracted with collateral questions. Keep your eyes on the ball. The ball here is the convention and the importance of showing up, not who is who or who is not who. Even more so when the post is benign and urges what we all want which is maximum engagement by delegates.
Absentee voting sounds neat. But not sure how to handle convention run offs. Vote by absentee for the first ballot but then how to handle second rounds? Also tougher to challenge credentials. Your idea is good and deserves more attention. But not between today and the 28th. Today and tomorrow must be devoted to ensuring delegate forms are submitted. The rest of the days up to the 28th need to be spent on getting those delegates to show up rain or shine.
January 19, 2012 at 8:16 am
NBC news:
Political party registration could be coming to Virginia. A General Assembly subcommittee just gave the first round of approval to a bill that would set up a voluntary party registration system.
http://www.nbcwashington.com/blogs/first-read-dmv/Party-Affiliation-Could-be-Coming-to-Virginia-137659823.html?gop
January 19, 2012 at 9:24 am
Never been to a convention before. What should I expect – other than be there early?
January 19, 2012 at 1:48 pm
FourKids,
“Never been to a convention before. What should I expect – other than be there early?”
You will come in, check-in, and receive your delegate credentials, and your ballots. The various campaigns will have tables set up, so you can meet and speak with them. Most will have coffee, donuts and such as well. Then the delegates will be officially “seated”, and the convention called to order. There will be some procedural “Roberts Rules of Order” type stuff, where the convention chairman is elected, there will be reports by the committees (credentials, nominations, resolutions, etc.), reading of the rules, etc., and then the speeches begin. Each candidate for office can give a short speech, followed by a round of “seconding” speeches, where 1 person can give a speech in support of each candidate. Next, instructions on the voting process are announced. Then the voting begins. You vote by paper ballot, and bring your vote forward. A little strip of the vote is snipped off by a convention volunteer, and you place your ballot in the box. Once the votes are collected, they are taken to the count room and tallied. 1 Rep from each campaign is present when the votes are counted and tallied. The convention adjourns during this time. You can stay seated, or go get some more free donuts. The convention reconvenes when there are results. The results are announced to the convention. While the mayor’s race will be decided on a single round of voting, City Council might take a few rounds to determine three nominees. The process for voting will be the same each time, except the number of folks you can vote for may change, as nominees are selected. At the end of the process, we will have our Mayoral nominee, and three council nominees. For political junkies, a convention is very exciting. I guess it’s a matter of taste.
January 19, 2012 at 5:37 pm
re: FourKidsnaDog article
Anybody have any ideas what that would do to independents like me and Steve Randolph? Would the rules for primaries and conventions so that we could no longer participate since we would not be registered as Republicans or Democrats for that matter?
re: convention experience
Steve Thomas sums it up nicely. I went to the 2008 convention and that sounds like what I experienced tho if I remember correctly there was only one ballot that year. (I still have my credentials badge and extra ballots from that convention.) There is definitely some time to kill between the ballot being taken and the results being announced. I might bring my new copy of Leo Tolstoy’s epic War and Peace to read while waiting…
January 19, 2012 at 9:08 pm
Convention sounds painful, but I’m going anyway.
January 19, 2012 at 9:29 pm
The Golden Rule of Convention: Back the canditate with the best doughnuts!
January 19, 2012 at 11:28 pm
It sounds interesting and I’m looking forward to it. Dropped off my delegate registration today.
Donuts just might be my favorite food…
Steve, any thoughts how long this might take? Are we looking at a couple hours, most of the day, or ???
January 20, 2012 at 10:08 am
If I had to guess, I’d say 4 hours, not including the pre-convention consumption of complimentary donuts. It really depends on the number of balloting rounds it will take. Actual voting will take about 20 minutes per round. Figure another 20 minutes to tally. Depends on how the votes break, and that’s all up to the voters. This could be settled in one round, or it might take 4. This is the exciting part.