Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Anyone see the SB debate last night? That Symone silent protest of Tyrron was something! ? Also sealed the deal on my votes: Sandy Munnell and David Priddy. The rest are bumbling, single-issue, unimpressive, candidates.

As much as I dislike Priddy’s initial motivation for running for SB, he’s the best of the rest.

I plan to vote for Munnell and Priddy in November.

I thought Cristina's opening was really impressive, but her answers were rambling. I thought Munnell was amazing. Krieger lost me with more than one of his answers. Priddy seemed overly arrogant. Sims seemed rattled and rambling, maybe the protest was distracting him. I thought the "protest" was kind of childish and unfair. Without any proof that Sims was the one (and the ONLY one) who reported her violation, I think it's unseemly for her to be targeting him. And I still think the whole situation reflects more poorly on her than for anyone who blew the whistle on her. She certainly has her fair share of detractors.

Bottom line: Munnell is a definite yes in both May and November. Undecided about my second.

Anonymous wrote:Anyone see the SB debate last night? That Symone silent protest of Tyrron was something! ? Also sealed the deal on my votes: Sandy Munnell and David Priddy. The rest are bumbling, single-issue, unimpressive, candidates.

As much as I dislike Priddy’s initial motivation for running for SB, he’s the best of the rest.

I plan to vote for Munnell and Priddy in November.

Anyone see the SB debate last night? That Symone silent protest of Tyrron was something! ? Also sealed the deal on my votes: Sandy Munnell and David Priddy. The rest are bumbling, single-issue, unimpressive, candidates.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Talento endorses Priddy. Interesting. I thought she might go for Diaz Torres.

Talento did endorse Christina--in fact, she practically hand-picked her. Dave is her 2nd endorsement.

Ah. That makes more sense.

Anonymous wrote:Talento endorses Priddy. Interesting. I thought she might go for Diaz Torres.

Talento did endorse Christina--in fact, she practically hand-picked her. Dave is her 2nd endorsement.

Talento endorses Priddy. Interesting. I thought she might go for Diaz Torres.

Anonymous wrote:Right, so basically you have to use your real name and real address, and you have to sign their pledge, but you don't have to like it, and no one will look over your shoulder in November to see what you actually did.

If that makes you lose sleep at night, OK. But I can sign it and move on.

I sign stuff every day that I don't agree with every word of. Every time I take my kids to a trampoline park, every time I go to the doctor's office. You sign a ton of crap in your everyday life.

And I care a lot about who is on our school board, so I won't give up the right to have my vote count just because I'm actually a moderate/independent.

I can respect that, but I’m not comfortable signing it (unaffiliated voter). I wouldn’t be comfortable signing it even if I were a Democrat, because I think that kind of loyalty pledge is really slimy. I don’t want my name on anything like it.

Right, so basically you have to use your real name and real address, and you have to sign their pledge, but you don't have to like it, and no one will look over your shoulder in November to see what you actually did.

If that makes you lose sleep at night, OK. But I can sign it and move on.

I sign stuff every day that I don't agree with every word of. Every time I take my kids to a trampoline park, every time I go to the doctor's office. You sign a ton of crap in your everyday life.

And I care a lot about who is on our school board, so I won't give up the right to have my vote count just because I'm actually a moderate/independent.

I don’t know. There’s more to it that just scribbling a signature on a pledge form:

At the door of the caucus,the participants will receive the Democratic Party declaration form, which will require each participant’s full name and address, and a location for the participant to sign the following pledge:
I certify that I am a resident of and registered to vote in Arlington County, Virginia; I am a Democrat; I believe in the principles of the Democratic Party; and I do not intend to support, endorse or assist any candidate who is opposed to a Democratic nominee or endorsee in the ensuing election.

No participant will be permitted to vote in the Caucus unless he or she completes the declaration form.

h) Use of information. The list of voters who participate in the Caucus is the property of ArlDems, and ArlDems has the right to disclose to any person the fact that a person has participated in the Caucus. However, if a participant specifically asks to limit future communications unrelated to the ensuing election from ArlDems or its affiliates by mail, phone and/or e-mail, ArlDems will take reasonable steps to honor that request.

i. Review of declaration. After each participant has completed and signed the declaration form, he or she will submit the form to a Caucus official who will ensure that the form is completed in full and without alterations, including signature, after which a Caucus official will check the information against the registered voter list (“RVL”). A declaration form identified by a Caucus official as not having been completed accurately and in full, as not including a signature, or as containing any alteration(s) to the pledge, will be rejected, although the participant will be eligible to submit an unaltered or complete declaration form.
j) Monitoring participant validation. The candidate poll watchers may observe, but not interfere with, the validation process. Any question regarding the eligibility of a participant should be taken immediately to the Caucus Database Manager or the Director. On Saturday, May 30, 2020, poll watchers (or other campaign representatives specifically approved by the Director) may have access to that day’s completed registration forms under terms and conditions set by the Director

Anonymous wrote:This. Plus it's paper ballots in a box instead of the scantron thing we did today. Signing the pledge may make you choke because it's so appalling. Many people won't sign it on principle.

That said, I'm guessing we will see 3500 votes in these caucuses. Those voters have huge power, because whoever wins get the coveted sample ballot Dem endorsement in November for this "non-partisan" race and thus will almost certainly win.

So, if you want your vote to count, vote in May. Sign that stupid pledge.

I heard last time that the pledge is a known joke anyhow, as known Republicans have voted before, and no one can stop them because it's open to all voters wiling to sign the thing. No one can stop you from signing with your fingers crossed either.

Again, some people say it's dirty pool, but so is the whole thing.

So what does the paper pledge look like. Do you print your name and then sign? If I sign a really messy “Donald Duck” they won’t know the wiser?

This. Plus it's paper ballots in a box instead of the scantron thing we did today. Signing the pledge may make you choke because it's so appalling. Many people won't sign it on principle.

That said, I'm guessing we will see 3500 votes in these caucuses. Those voters have huge power, because whoever wins get the coveted sample ballot Dem endorsement in November for this "non-partisan" race and thus will almost certainly win.

So, if you want your vote to count, vote in May. Sign that stupid pledge.

I heard last time that the pledge is a known joke anyhow, as known Republicans have voted before, and no one can stop them because it's open to all voters wiling to sign the thing. No one can stop you from signing with your fingers crossed either.

Again, some people say it's dirty pool, but so is the whole thing.

Anonymous wrote:Insane question: can someone tell me is the caucus basically just a primary where I, a registered Democrat in Arlington, go to my polling location and pick my top two?

no its not. You don't need to be a registered Democrat- we don't register by Party in VA so I am not sure what you mean by that.
This year it is 2 days, two separate locations. May 7th at Drew model school and May 9th at Washington Liberty. YOu just show up to one of those days, during this caucus times. They check your name against the voter registration lists. You sign the stupid pledge. Then you rank the school board candidates by preference- 1-5-- you don't have to rank everyone. Once you get their and get past the pledge it will feel very much like normal voting.

Insane question: can someone tell me is the caucus basically just a primary where I, a registered Democrat in Arlington, go to my polling location and pick my top two?

So for caucus purposes, it sounds like Munnell and Priddy, and leave the rest of the ballot blank so as not to inadvertently escalate Christina to one of the top 2 spots?

I'm still worried Christina is going to slip through here if she gets a strong enough showing among the ACDC loyalists. Parents still seem so checked out to the caucus at my elementary school.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:LOL on calling Sims a "chair filler."

I know him too and it's spot on. He doesn't offend me so I guess that's something but we don't need a chair filler on the Board.

I'd take a chair filler over at least 2 of the other candidates.

Oh I agree but he's never going to be my top choice.