Wear Your “I Voted” Sticker and …

Chick-Fil-A has a sign up that says if you bring your “I voted” sticker in today between 10:30 am and 8 pm, you get a free sandwich. You must have a sticker and turn it in to get the free sandwich.

Krispy Kreme Doughnuts: One free star-shaped doughnut with red, white and blue sprinkles.  Some stores may offer standard circle shapes.

Starbucks (at least those stores that are company-owned) will give you a free tall brewed coffee all day long.  If you don’t have a sticker just show your voter registration card.

Ben and Jerry’s is giving out free scoops of ice cream from 5 to 8 p.m. today. The free scoops, one scoop per customer, are to celebrate democracy.

Books-A-Million is also running a “wear your “I Voted” sticker promotion to get free stuff.  If you wear your sticker in there, you receive a free cup of joe.

California Tortilla is giving a FREE taco coupon to Voters wearing an “I Voted” sticker.  Also, if you sign up to receive their Taco Talk Newsletter, they will email you a coupon for a Free Taco!

The University of Richmond will host a debate among the five candidates for mayor of Richmond Oct. 22 at 7 p.m. in Tyler Haynes Commons, Alice Haynes Room. The debate is free and open to the public, and a reception will follow.

Questioners will represent local media, including the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Centro, Style Weekly, WWBT TV-12 and the university’s student newspaper, The Collegian. Audience members may submit questions, which moderator Dan Palazzolo, professor of political science, will ask as time permits.

All five candidates for Richmond mayor—Paul Goldman, Robert J. Grey Jr., Dwight C. Jones, William J. Pantele and Lawrence Williams—have agreed to participate.

University sponsors of the debate include the Office of the President, Jepson School of Leadership Studies, Richmond School of Law, Bonner Center for Civic Engagement and the Center for Government and Policy.

For more information, call (804) 289-8056.

 With the presidential election on everyone’s mind, maybe now is a good time to remind folks to  register to vote. Monday is the last day to register and still vote in the presidential election.  So, if you are not registered, get on it. And, if you’ve moved since the last time you voted, you better update your address!

Deadline to Register: The last day to register to vote to be eligible for the November 4, 2008 General Election is Close of Business October 6, 2008. Applications must be in the voter registration office or posted marked by that date. Normal processing time is about thirty (30) days.

Contact the State Election Board for more details.

Today, Wednesday October 1st, Barack Obama and John McCain’s top energy advisors will be debating at the University of Richmond Law School. What better way to get your questions answered about what Obama and McCain plan on doing! There is no better way to show what we want from a clean energy future than to speak directly to the people who write the policies during your lunchbreak!!

WHEN: Wednesday October 1st, 12:15 PM
WHERE: University of Richmond School of Law, Moot Court Room
Directions: http://www.richmond.edu/visit/directions
Map of campus: http://www.richmond.edu/visit/directions/campusmap.pdf

University of Richmond grad and local state delegate (71st District) Jennifer McClennlan has been featured in Newsweek this week as a Superdelegate at the Democratic National Convention.  In addition to video from the convention, the article also contains her first person account.

In 1992, I worked as a volunteer for my first presidential campaign. I was president of the University of Richmond Young Democrats, which was hosting the second presidential debate. Bill Clinton had won the mock election at this traditionally conservative school, which made national news, and, as a result, I was invited to sit with Hillary Clinton at the debate. That night, I not only met Bill and Hillary Clinton, but everyone who was anyone in Virginia Democratic politics. And it was the beginning of my own political career.

Fifteen years later, as the youngest woman and youngest African-American member of the Virginia General Assembly, vice chair of the Democratic Party of Virginia, a member of the Democratic National Committee and a superdelegate to the 2008 Democratic National Convention, I found myself courted by a stellar field of presidential candidates. For me, it was a choice between Hillary Clinton, who had opened the door that led to where I was today, while providing a role model for a strong woman politician, and Barack Obama, who was appealing to a new generation of Democrats. It was a difficult choice. But in December 2007, after meeting with both candidates and talking to their campaigns for months, I decided to go with Hillary.

After Obama won the Virginia primary and it became clear that superdelegates could decide the nomination, the pressure was on. For the next three months, I was called, e-mailed and stopped in the grocery store, the mall and out to dinner by people asking me to switch to Obama or stick with Hillary. I even received calls from Bill and Hillary directly. It was the most stressful decision of my life, between the candidate I had admired for years and the candidate who excited me in a way I had never been excited politically before. I felt as if I had to choose between my mother and my brother. And I had to do it with the media asking practically every day what I was going to do.

For the rest of the story click here.

This Thursday at 8 p.m. Barak Obama will accept the Democratic nomination at the national convention. Locally, Barak supports are gathering to watch it together.

Make sure you RSVP if you plan to attend either of these events:

Stratford Crescent

Henri Road

We received the following video the City of Richmond government regarding the new Supercan and recycling ordinance for Richmond residents.

What does it say about me and the state of our country that I was invited to meet President Bush on Monday, and I absolutely decline. And, maybe that is all I should say. A silent protest….to the man himself and all he does.

Bush is going to ….”talk about what we as a nation can be thankful for during Thanksgiving,” the Richmond Times-Dispatch quotes White House Spokesman Blair Jones as saying.

This should be interesting…..

At least, I should mention, that I’m glad Bush got it right. Berkeley Plantation was the site of the first Thanksgiving. Unlike what my daughter’s kindergarten teacher and likely the majority of the kindergarten teachers in America teach these days. …Why is it that the first Thanksgiving was less than 30 miles from here, and our children are still taught that the Pilgrims invented Thanksgiving?

6:30 to 9:30pm - Henrico County candidates forum including board of supervisors and school board candidates for all magisterial districts. J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College, The Gallery, Basement Room 1, Maggie and Dimitri Georgiadis Hall, 1651 E. Parham Road. Sponsor: The Henrico Business Council. [via]

Just when all seemed to be looking up, the Mayor and City Council continues to feud over the Mayor’s suspected (by City Council) withholding of school funds as reported by the Times-Dispatch:

Council members accused Black, the mayor’s top finance officer, of defying the law by continuing to withhold money appropriated for schools, despite budget provisions that make the action a misdemeanor offense…

…Further, the audit found that the school system does little to manage its cash flow. As a result, the school administration wastes the opportunity to earn interest on its money by waiting to pay bills until they are due, it said. In one case, the city earned about $3,000 in interest by waiting to pay a bill 11 days longer than the school system had planned.

I like this paragraph, especially since it was mentioned by our 1st District Councilman Bruce Tyler:

Initially, council members urged Black to sit down and talk to school finance officials to resolve the dispute. The Finance Committee promised to schedule a special meeting to settle the dispute. “I would like to see a meeting of the minds on this,” said Councilman Bruce W. Tyler, 1st District.

Only question I have is, after all of this idiotic immaturity, are there any “minds” left for an effective meeting?

In addition, WTVR has more info.