George,

The convention was, for the most part, a very positive experience. Carl Eggleston, Sr., the outgoing chair of the 5th District Committee announced his retirement for the committee at the beginning of the convention, and left the convention to a standing ovation for his service. It was a very nice tribute to him.

Meredith Richards was elected the Permanent Chair of the Convention, and handled the responsibility very well. The meeting went smoothly, which was her objective. Lloyd Snook was the Parliamentarian and the two of them were very effective in conducting the convention in a very fair and open way. I am sure that it made both the Albemarle and the Charlottesville delegations very proud to see how well they accomplished their goal.

Paul "Kip" Newland was appointed Head Teller for the balloting, and that was no easy task. He was assisted by two other Tellers, and they got through the balloting, and the counting quickly, and with no controversy. The vote total for the "Blue Slate" was 105 of 155, so the counting stopped after the slate votes had been tallied as the count was well over a majority of the votes cast.

It was a good day, and most of the people left very positive about the future of the committee. The new committee is determined to improve the communication with the local committees and to work hard to strengthen the structure of the local committees. I am sure that we can make progress on these points. The new committee is a group of very energetic group, and I am very proud of their leadership and desire to work on behalf of the Democratic Party.

Fred Hudson (electronic mail, May 18, 2005)

Editor's Note: Fred Hudson, Albemarle County Democratic Chair, is the new Chair of the Fifth District Democratic Committee.