Around Town

One room is filled nearly to capacity with envelopes stuffed with t-shirts, bumper stickers and other merchandise. The hallways are minefields of postal and cardboard boxes, and rooms used as both office and storage space. In their space on the fifth floor of Rosslyn Plaza D on N. Kent Street, no square foot goes unused.

The clutter signifies the rapid growth at the office of one of the key political groups preparing for the 2016 presidential election. Ready for Hillary, an independent super PAC raising money to support a potential presidential run by former First Lady and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, has grown from two volunteers in January to 15 current employees, with a handful more starting in January.


News

Looking at Campaign Sign Removal — Arlington County Board members may consider asking state transportation officials for authority to remove improperly placed campaign signs from state roads. Virginia law prohibits campaign signs from being placed on state roads, but it also prohibits anyone besides state officials from removing them unless the jurisdiction has a deal with the state. [Sun Gazette]

McAuliffe Adds to His Cabinet — Virginia Governor-elect Terry McAuliffe (D) made appointments yesterday for several of his key cabinet positions. He named Paul Reagan as chief of staff, Suzette Denslow as deputy chief of staff, Ric Brown as secretary of finance and Levar Stoney as secretary of the commonwealth. Reagan had previously served as chief of staff for Rep. Jim Moran (D) and Sen. Jim Webb (D). [Washington Post]


News

President Barack Obama was at Washington-Lee High School this afternoon (Sunday) campaigning for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe two days before election day.

Obama, Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), Rep. Jim Moran (D-Va.) and actress Kerry Washington, star of the TV show “Scandal,” were among the speakers. Thousands of spectators crowded the Washington-Lee gymnasium to watch the event, and the line to get in curved around N. Stafford Street onto Washington Blvd and N. Quincy Street.


News

The Arlington Falls Church Young Republicans will be outside Washington-Lee High School (1301 N. Stafford Street) Sunday afternoon when Obama plans to campaign with McAuliffe, two days before Election Day (Nov. 5).

The flyer, which has a red, faux-stamp “TERMINATED” at the top, warns that many Americans have had their policies cancelled or made more expensive after the implementation of the Affordable Care Act. It also reminds potential voters that McAuliffe has supported the healthcare law during his campaign.


News

Kaine to Visit Rosslyn Office — Former Virginia governor and current U.S. Senate candidate Tim Kaine (D) will be making a campaign stop at an office building in Rosslyn today. Kaine will participate in a roundtable discussion on the clean energy economy at 3:15 p.m. The event is not open to the public.

School Bus Gets Lost on First Day of School — An Arlington County school bus carrying Glebe Elementary students arrived at school nearly an hour late on Tuesday after the driver made a wrong turn. The driver was new and had to meet up with another driver at Barrett Elementary in order to find his way back to Glebe. The kids on the bus were “a little scared,” according to a parent. [Washington Examiner]


News

Challenges for Crystal City — Vornado Realty Trust, which owns half of the commercial real estate, is struggling to fill 2.4 million square feet of office space in Northern Virginia being vacated by government agencies, largely as a result of the military’s Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Commission. [Washington Post]

Romney Office Opens in Arlington — Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s “Virginia Victory Office” — in Virginia Square — held a grand opening ceremony over the weekend. The special guest for the event was Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R). [Sun Gazette]


News

Chopra, who lives with his wife and two children in the Donaldson Run neighborhood, says he’s running to create “new opportunities” for Virginians and to help solve the state’s “biggest challenges.”

Chopra, who was appointed the  first Chief Technology Officer of the United States by President Obama, said he’s also going to work to support the president’s reelection. Last month he joined actor Kal Penn at two events for Obama supporters in Arlington.


News

In a video message thanking supporters, Gingrich confirmed he’ll suspend his campaign at a press conference on Wednesday. His website shows the announcement will take place at 3:00 p.m., at the Hilton in Ballston (950 N. Stafford Street).

Arlington County Police will be assisting with traffic control outside the hotel, where a number of news networks are expected to be broadcasting live, according to ACPD spokesman Dustin Sternbeck.


News

Among the bold-faced names who spoke at the event were former Democratic National Committee chair and likely 2013 Virginia gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe, Rep. Jim Moran, and Obama campaign deputy political director Yohannes Abraham. Getting out the vote in heavily Democratic Northern Virginia is an important goal for the Obama campaign, which is trying to repeat the president’s 2008 victory in Virginia, a key swing state.

“We know we have to deliver the vote here in Virginia,” Rep. Moran said on Sunday. “The stakes are high this year, but as we can see today, the Obama campaign has an army of grassroots supporters who are ready to go to battle.”


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