The current edition of the Arlington Connection includes this story on the race, with the following about David:

David Englin, a former Air Force officer turned political consultant, has raised about $35,000 since the start of his campaign. Englin’s largest individual contributor is Michael English, his younger brother. After marrying his wife, Shayna Wolin, Englin — born David English — chose to combine his moniker with hers.

The money donated by his brother, a local artist, Englin said, carries sentimental attachment dating back to his childhood.

“I was raised by a single mom,” said Englin. “When she found out she was pregnant with me, she started saving away a little bit each week, like $5 at a time. She was the kind of person who saved over many years. That money grew.”

Englin’s mother passed away four years ago, leaving the money with Michael.

“All of the reasons I’m in public service, all of the reasons I’m a Democrat, are tied to the values my mother instilled in us,” said Englin.

Englin raised almost $8,000 via online donations, more than 20 percent of his fundraising total. The Englin campaign’s Web site is drawing much attention.

“There’s a clear contrast in the types of races that are being waged in Virginia,” said Brian Reich, editor of Campaign Web Review, a weblog that explores how political campaigns use the Internet. “One is the traditional, media-driven kind of campaign that uses expensive television advertising. The other kind of campaign, which Englin is running, uses a grassroots effort to create a much larger and more committed group of supporters. The Englin campaign’s use of the Web is above the level of many congressional campaigns,” said Reich. “I’m sure that’s driving their unusually high rate of online donations.”

Many thanks to Stephen Snell for hosting a terrific mixer this evening at the Belle View condominiums in Mount Vernon. Aside from a chance to spend more time getting to know people in Mount Vernon, the event included yet another campaign milestone: The first picture of the candidate kissing a baby!

David went from the mixer to the monthly meeting of the Arlington County Young Democrats, where he shared with them his strong vision for building the Democratic Party for the future.

“Our campaign is focused on building the grassroots for the future,” said David. “We’re running this campaign out of our home, which now has six phone lines that , win or lose in June, we plan to use to help get other Democrats elected.”

“We’re already lining up volunteer phone banks for after June 14th to help elect David Poisson, Greg Werkheiser, Bruce Roemmelt, and Tim Kaine,” said David.“Whomever represents the 45th district has an obligation to help get other Democrats elected so we can change the face of the General Assembly and actually get our progressive legislation passed.”

While David was out on the campaign trail, Campaign Central was abuzz with volunteers — including a number of new faces — culminating another amazing week of grassroots energy.

Earlier in the week, David and Shayna enjoyed the hospitality of Bert and Louise Ransom, who hosted a gathered of their neighbors in their Alexandria home.

“Between all of the events and our amazing volunteers efforts, so far, this has been one of our busiest and most successful weeks yet,” said David.

With just over six weeks to go, now is the time to volunteer and become part of David’s fight for a progressive future!

David is proud to accept the endorsement of civil rights leader and activist the Reverend Dr. Bert Ransom. Rev. Ransom, former assistant pastor of Alexandria’s Alfred Street Baptist Church, was a friend of and served as an aide to the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., during the Montgomery, Alabama, Bus Boycott in 1955-56 and throughout the Civil Rights Movement.

“Bert is an amazing and unique individual who has devoted his life to bringing people together to create change,” said David. “I’m honored to have his endorsement and his friendship, and I look forward to working with him to fight for progressive change from the grassroots up.”

Rev. Ransom is well known in the Alexandria community as an activist, leader, and public servant on a range of civil rights and social justice issues. He has been chair of the Alexandria Criminal Justice Advisory Board, a member of the Alexandria Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court Advisory Council, and and vice president of the Fayette Court Corporation, which is dedicated to preserving affordable homeownership opportunities. He has also been an executive board member of the Alexandria NAACP, and was the founder and coordinator of a mentoring program for at the Alfred Street Baptist Church. Rev. Ransom travels around the world promoting peace and nonviolence as the president of REACH (Racial Equality and Cultural Harmony), Inc. Bert and Louise Ransom live in Alexandria.

Scott Moore and his wife, Karen Growney, have never really been involved in politics before. But Scott, a friend of David’s from way back in his days at the U.S. Air Force Academy, and Karen were inspired by David’s commitment to fighting for a progressive future and have gotten involved with gusto. They have gone door-to-door and called voters on the phones – both firsts for Scott and Karen.

“I met David when we were eighteen-year-olds, just beginning our four years at the Academy. I know him to be an incredibly intelligent, articulate, and honorable person. I’ve seen him fight for progressive values even when it wasn’t easy and he was in the minority. Karen and I are thrilled to be a part of his campaign.”

Join Scott as a Team Englin volunteer! Get in touch with Field Director Mara at gro.nilgnedivadnull@reetnulov or 703-549-3203 to find out how.

I offer a number of fresh, progressive ideas to fight unfair tax policies while still giving us the resources we need to strengthen our communities, defend our values, and invest in our future. Running the state and our cities and counties isn’t free, but it can be more fair, more consistent, and less reliant on homeowner property taxes.

• Amend Virginia’s constitution to allow localities to exempt a portion of the assessed value of owner-occupied homes from taxation, and pass the homestead exemption amendment so localities can tax residential and commercial properties at different rates. Current state law requires localities to tax residential and commercial property at the same rate, which has created an unfair tax burden on homeowners. For example, even with Arlington’s 8-cent cut in the real estate tax rate, home values have risen faster than commercial property values, so the tax burden for homeowners has risen 13.6 percent, while the tax burden on commercial property has decreased 3.5 percent.
• Kill No Child Left Behind in Virginia. George Bush’s destructive unfunded federal mandate is driving up property taxes by forcing our local governments to waste millions of dollars without improving education. For example, ending No Child Left Behind would save Fairfax County $123 million each year, which is money that could go toward a range of other priorities, including tax relief.
• Keep more of Northern Virginia’s taxes in Northern Virginia through a dedicated regional funding source for Metro. This year’s $850-million transportation package failed to include money for Metro, which has become a massive burden on local governments that is driving up property taxes in Northern Virginia. The Washington Metropolitan Council of Government has proposed a half-penny regional sales tax dedicated to funding Metro.
• Modestly increase taxes on cigarettes and on the incomes of the very wealthy. Virginia has among the lowest cigarette taxes in the country. A modest increase of 30 cent per pack would raise more than $200 million per year in revenue, create more than a billion dollars in long-term health savings, and result in tens of thousands fewer smokers in Virginia, all while keeping Virginia’s cigarette tax below the national median. (Source: Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids) A slight increase in income taxes on individuals making more than $200,000 per year would help give Virginia more resources to fund critical long-term investments.

While David participated in the Arlington County Democratic Committee’s candidate’s forum, Campaign Central was full to brimming with volunteers reaching out on the phones to the voters in the 45th.

At the candidate’s forum, the candidates discussed their positions on issues ranging from traffic to No Child Left Behind. Several differences among the candidates became clear, particularly on the question of whether No Child Left Behind is good for Virginia. David stood firm in his conviction that No Child Left Behind doesn’t make sense for Virginia because it is bad for teachers, bad for students, and is a massive federal unfunded mandate that is driving up our property taxes. The candidates also discussed their commitment to building the Democratic party, and David had an opportunity to acknowledge the legions of Team Englin volunteers, including the dozen who were at Campaign Central at that very moment.

“It was great to share my strong progressive message with my neighbors in the Arlington parts of the 45th at the candidate’s forum, and then come home to a house full of volunteers,” said David. “We’re going to win this race on the strength of the grassroots organization we’re building, and I can’t thank our Team Englin volunteers enough.”

Team Englin spent a busy weekend at the doors of the voters in the 45th and at a terrific coffee in the Douglas MacArthur precinct in Alexandria.

Many thanks to Andrew Scott and Cindy Scott-Johnson for bringing together a terrific group of people throughout the afternoon. The policy discussions were interesting and illuminating – and David picked up solid support from the attendees. Thanks again, Andrew and Cindy!

On Saturday and Sunday afternoon two of the largest contingents of volunteers so far braved the rain (and almost beat it!) to talk to the voters of the 45th on their doorsteps. THANK YOU GMU Dems, in particular, for hanging in there until the rain really started to come down!

Don’t miss out on the fun (or the cookies) – join us this weekend at the doors. Check the Calendar of Events for details, and let Mara know you can make it – gro.nilgnedivadnull@reetnulov or 703-549-3203.

The current edition of the Arlington Connection includes this article, in which Brian Reich, editor of Campaign Web Review, notes the following about our grassroots campaign:

“There’s a clear contrast in the types of races that are being waged in Virginia,” said Brian Reich, editor of Campaign Web Review. “One is the traditional, media-driven kind of campaign that uses expensive television advertising. The other kind of campaign, which Englin is running, uses a grassroots effort to create a much larger and more committed group of supporters.”

More than 20 percent of Englin’s fundraising total was collected on-line, an accomplishment that puts his candidacy at the vanguard of using technology for political purposes.

“The Englin campaign’s use of the web is above the level of many congressional campaigns,” said Reich. “I’m sure that’s driving their unusually high rate of on-line donations.”

Click here to help David keep up that online fundraising momentum, and be sure to sign up for our email newsletter here.

In the current edition of the Mount Vernon Voice, David argues that Virginia should pull out of No Child Left Behind because it is a massive unfunded federal mandate that forces local school systems to spend millions on a redundant system of testing that degrades teachers and students without improving education. Click here to read David’s statement on opting out of No Child Left Behind, and click here for more discussion and to let David know what you think.

File: Englin NCLB

The April 13th edition of the Arlington Connection newspaper includes this letter to the editor:

Voting for David Englin

To the Editor,

David Englin, who is running for the House of Delegates in Virginia’s 45th District, is that rare kind of person with the courage to stand up for others even when it means putting himself in difficult, uncomfortable situations.

We were stationed together at the Pentagon for four years — he a straight, married military officer with a young child, me an openly gay, civilian government employee.

During that time I personally witnessed David speaking out against the ban on openly gay service members, for marriage equality, and against discriminatory policies and behavior, even when it meant standing up to peers or superiors. Even though he was inside the Pentagon when it was attacked on Sept. 11, 2001, Englin publicly implored his colleagues afterwards to stand against anti-Muslim discrimination.

As a gay man living in what is quickly becoming America’s most anti-gay state, I want David Englin fighting for my rights in the Virginia House of Delegates.

Lou Timmons
Arlington