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Tuesday, April 4, 2023
The weather is warming, the days are lengthening and election season is ramping up as candidates are emerging and angling for public office.
In Charlottesville and Albemarle County, last year’s redistricting means that this election year will be a little different than years prior. For the first time in a long time, everyone in Charlottesville and Albemarle County will be voting for their State Senate representative together. (Save for a small sliver of Albemarle County that is now in the 7th Congressional District.)
Virginia has new district maps — and some could spell good news for area Democrats
New districts create new relationships, turning former allies into rivals for office. Running for the Democrat’s nomination, incumbent State Sen. Creigh Deeds (of what is now Senate District 25) is campaigning against Del. Sally Hudson (of what is now House District 57) for the chance to represent constituents in the newly created Senate District 11.
Have questions for your Democratic state senate candidates? We’re co-hosting a public conversation with them April 10
To kick off a season of important conversations about who represents us locally, Charlottesville Tomorrow is collaborating with students at UVA’s Center for Politics to host the first local, public conversation between candidates Deeds and Hudson.
Democratic Candidate Forum: April 10 at 6:30 p.m.
Next Monday, April 10, from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. on UVA’s campus, at Minor Hall, room 125, campus, Deeds and Hudson will exchange ideas on the future of the Commonwealth and how they hope to steer it. We’ll come with questions in hand, our UVA student partners will bring some questions, and then the candidates will turn themselves over for questions from the community directly.
Here’s how to attend in person.
Minor Hall is located on Central Grounds at UVA on McCormick Rd. and adjacent to the amphitheater. If you’re taking CAT, use the Free Trolley and get off at stop 11908 / McCormick Rd. at UVA Chapel. If you’re driving, parking is available at the UVA Bookstore/Central Grounds Parking Garage, located at 400 Emmet Street, for $1 per hour via Park Mobile. Here’s more from UVA about accessibility to the venue.
We’ll also live stream the conversation on our YouTube channel.
It’s a bit of a debate, a bit of a town hall and it’s open to anyone looking for a chance to get to know the people who want to represent them. As always, our goal is to empower you, so stop by on April 10 or send me questions you want to be sure the candidates get asked using the form at this link.
Our goal at Charlottesville Tomorrow is to make sure everyone goes in with their eyes open to the choice, and can make their voices and questions heard. In the coming months, we’ll be building our central Virginia voter guide with your input and questions — be sure to keep opening up these emails to keep up!
In-person voting in primaries takes place Tuesday, June 20. Voters who wish to vote by mail can request a ballot and have until June 9 to submit it. Virginia is an open primary election state, so voters do not have to be registered with a party in advance in order to participate in its primary.
The general election is Nov. 11, where either Hudson or Deeds will be on the ballot, running against the sole Republican candidate, Philip Hamilton. (You can read more about Hamilton in this profile that ran in our 2021 Voter Guide.)
If you receive food assistance, here’s where you can get free reusable bags
In other news, Albemarle County is distributing reusable bags to people who receive food assistance through SNAP and WIC. The program will offset the cost associated with the plastic bag tax.
See you again for Monday’s forum!
Eileen Goode, democracy reporter
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