An earlier version was published on Blue Virginia
Courtney Lynch is running for the Brookland seat on the Henrico Board of Supervisors in Virginia and Democrats everywhere need to pay attention. It's hard, I know. "Board of Supervisors" just does not sound sexy. We get, well, bored (there - I said it!). But we need to wake up and pay attention, because if Courtney wins this race DEMOCRATS WILL BE IN THE MAJORITY ON THE BOARD AND WILL CONTROL THE BELLWETHER COUNTY IN A CRUCIALLY IMPORTANT SWING STATE. (Does THAT get the juices flowing?).
Wait, there's more. This is an OPEN seat and Brookland went blue in the last election (as did every district of Henrico for the first time in living memory). Courtney Lynch is a dynamic and dynamite candidate. She's a highly successful entrepreneur, a Marine, and a lawyer. She's smart, she's practical, she's progressive, and she's got energy and fresh ideas. Her opponent is running on the platform that he's the chosen handmaiden of the guy who came before him (YAWWWWWNNNN).
This is a flippable seat whose win would give Democrats the majority on a body that governs 300,000 people in a state that gets more solidly blue every year — but that’s still a swing state. Winning this race would help us keep the wheels on and the momentum going of our nice blue express train for every year that follows (and there's an election every single year in Virginia!).
But that's not the only reason it's a lynchpin race. Two great candidates are running for flippable state delegate seats: Schuyler VanValkenburg (VA-72) and Debra Rodman (VA-73). These districts are entirely in Henrico and partly in Brookland, and I'm happy to report that all three candidates are working together to support one another's efforts. Stronger Together: that is how we win.
Every voter whom the candidates reach out to and energize is another voter for Ralph Northam, Justin Fairfax, and Mark Herring (the same holds true for the August 29th Fairfax School Board election, where the wonderful Karen Keys-Gamarra is set to flip a set, as I wrote about here. And we will need every vote. I still have nightmares about the 2013 Herring recount (before which, Herring had a 165 vote lead out of 2.2 million votes cast. Contemplate that). Having good strong local candidates gives voters one more reason to make it to the polls and it prevents the other side from being able to characterize our message however they want. Aren't you tired of hearing them do that?
Strategizing aside, Courtney is worth supporting for what she wants to do - and what her election would permit the Democratic majority on the Board to (finally) do: improve public transportation, broaden the tax base by attracting well-paid professionals to Henrico (many of whom can work virtually), revitalize depressed areas, direct educational resources equitably in order to make all the schools in Henrico excellent (instead of only the ones in the wealthy areas), make county-level government more open and transparent, and help to create a safe and inclusive environment for all Henricans. These are among Courtney's positions. You can find out more HERE.
So...is your heart beating faster yet? Do you now think that NOTHING could be racier than a Board of Supervisors race? Or, well, almost nothing? GOOD! because now it's time to:
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