We Have a Congressional Nominee!

Yesterday's CD1 convention in Williamsaburg nominated Fredericksburg's Shawn O'Donnell on the first ballot to defeat Jo Ann Davis in November.

Created by tseaver. Last modified 2006-05-14 13:04:29.

Of the two-hundred possible delegates, one-hundred and eighty-five were present and accredited to vote for the nominee: that turnout is an impressive achievement, and a good sign that we have an interested and motivated group of Democratic activists ready to support our candidate. After hearing from Harris Miller, one of our Senatorial candidates, and Leslie Byrne, speaking for Jim Webb, the convention chair opened the floor for nominations.

Charlie Stanton, a delegate from Newport News, made what Dan Smolen called a "real stem-winder" of a speech nominating Dr. Lorenzo Grant: it was impressive as much as an indictment of Davis as a nomination. Les Grant praised his father in an earnest, well-crafted seconding speech. Stafford's Norma Polley made a pungent second to Grant's nomination. Dr. Grant then spoke passionately about the need to defeat Davis this fall, and asked for the nomination.

Clif Hamilton from Hampton nominated Shawn O'Donnell, whose nomination was seconded by a delegate from Fauquier (the two localities represent the extreme ends, geographically speaking of the district). Shawn showed a video montage, assembled by Stafford's Jason Varga from footage Jason had taken of Shawn meeting and talking with folks throughout the district. Shawn's speech outled the "core democratic values" he is running on, and pointed to the miserable record compiled by Davis during her five years so far in office.

The convention voted to nominate Shawn on the firxt ballot by a decisive 3-1 margin. In his acceptance speech, Shawn thanked Dr. Grant for his willingness to stand up for the district, saying that the debate between the two of them had helped spark interest and clarify the issues for this fall's race. He thanked his family for their support, and the delegates for their nomination.