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Charlottesville Democrats, Soon you will be getting notice of a series of opportunities to hear from the candidates for nomination to be the Democratic candidates for City Council. The three fora that have been planned represent much of what makes us strong and potentially one of our weak points. We have six strong candidates representing variations on the themes that make us strong: justice, openness, fairness, inclusiveness. We have organized for a public debate on the views of these candidates because we believe that you (and the rest of the community) want to know where they stand. The energy to organize these fora comes from many dedicated people throughout the party. Much of the impetus behind the fora comes from Dave Norris and his colleagues at the Democrats for Change. As they began to gear up for the nomination process, they had started to plan for this sort of public debate. With the departure of David Toscano from the race, the field widened overnight and the need for these public sessions began to be discussed more broadly throughout the party. Rather than set up a competitive situation, we, the Executive Committee of the City Party, looked for ways to encourage, promote and add to these on-going efforts. At the same time, we have been sensitive to lingering doubts among some party members of the wisdom of having a group like the DFC around at all, much less encouraging their activities. It is no secret that I was active in the DFC during the last election cycle and Lloyd, Erin and Shirley were not. We have felt over the past year that this is one of our strengths. We have concluded that the best interests of the party are served by promoting the two fora already in planning by the DFC and join in co-sponsoring a third. Deliberating on the future of our great community is something that we all can share. Thanks to all who have been working hard at organizing and publicizing these public discussions. See you on February 2 at the Political Pasta supper! Russell Perry (electronic mail, January 24, 2002)
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