McLean Resident Terry McAuliffe Announces Bid for Governor

Politico reports that McAuliffe announced his intentions to his supporters in an email Thursday.

Just days after the presidential campaign season ended, another campaign is about to gear up. McLean resident Terry McAuliffe announced Thursday he intends to run for governor of Virginia in 2013, when Gov. Bob McDonnell's term ends, Politico reports.  McAuliffe, the former DNC chairman and co-chair of Bill Clinton's 1996 re-election campaign, wrote in an email to supporters on Thursday: "I realize that after any election some people’s immediate question is about the next campaign. I want to be straightforward with you: I plan on running for Governor of Virginia in 2013. Over the past four years, I’ve traveled to every corner of Virginia for over 2,400 meetings and events. It is absolutely clear to me that Virginians want their next …

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Obama Campaign Opens New McLean Office

Romney supporters campaigned for their candidate outside the new Obama office in McLean on Monday night.

Nearly 250 Obama supporters from McLean and Great Falls turned out Monday night to the now-shuttered Blockbuster store on Chain Bridge Road to mark the grand opening of President Obama's new campaign office in McLean. The space will be used to organize phone banks, neighborhood canvassing efforts and other field operations to boost chances for the president's reelection in Virginia, where Obama is just slightly ahead of former Gov. Mitt Romney, the GOP presidential nominee, in recent polls. The event was headlined by Democratic heavyweights, including Dranesville Supervisor John Foust, state Sen. Barbara Favola, former DNC chair Terry McAuliffe and Congressman Jim Moran.  "When you walk out that door, you stop every person you see," said …

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McLean Donors Making Large Campaign Contributions to Obama, Romney

Well-known McLean residents support presidential candidates.

The national finance co-chair of John McCain's 2008 presidential campaign, a new member of the Airports Authority board, and a well-known Tysons Corner developer are among McLean's major contributors to the Mitt Romney campaign. A "father of the Internet," the former chair of the Democratic National Committee and a former U.S. Secretary of Labor are among McLean's major contributors to the Barack Obama campaign. Romney, the Republican presumptive presidential candidate has raised nearly $675,000 from large donors with McLean addresses. He has raised a total of $3.8 million from large and small donors in Virginia, according to recent reports from two nonpartisan groups that track campaign finance, the Virginia Public Access Project (VPAP) …

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Romney Outpaces Obama in McLean Large Donor Funds

Both candidates raise nearly $2 million from donations greater than $200, but Romney has $100,000 lead

President Barack Obama and the presumptive Republican candidate Mitt Romney have each raised nearly $2 million from Virginia residents who have given at least $200, but the former Massachusetts governor has a $100,000 edge, according to a new report by a nonpartisan group tracking campaign funds. More than half of the funds raised by each candidate between January and May have come from Northern Virginia, particularly McLean, according to VPAP. McLean is among the nation's top communities for political donations.   Romney has raised $1.9 million — 78 percent of it from Northern Virginia, according to VPAP. Thirty-six percent of his contributions came from McLean. President Obama has raised $1.8 million, 70 percent of which is from Northern…

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The McLean Ear Hears. . .

The McLean Ear: Governor Appointments, Pam Danner Honored, Bill Clinton Appears with McLean Friend

We Hear to Tell

  Former Supervisor Named to GMU Board of Visitors. Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell has appointed former Dranesville Supervisor Stuart Mendelsohn to the George Mason University Board of Visitors. Mendelsohn, of Great Falls, is executive partner of the Tysons Corner office of Holland & Knight LLP, a law firm. Kimberly O. Dennis, of McLean, president and CEO of The Searle Freedom Trust, was reappointed to the GMU board. Award for Pam Danner. Danner was honored with the “Friend in Deed” from the Friends of the McLean Community Center “for outstanding leadership and support of the McLean Community Center.” Danner, a McLean attorney, was elected to the McLean Community Center Governing Board in 1986, and served until 1992. Then she served on the …

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Bobbi Bowman

8:13 am on Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Dear Daniel, We love eagle-eyed readers. Thank you so much. We've given the governor his correct name. Thank you again.   more ›

Virginia Democrats Prepare to 'Guard the Change'

State party convention drew more than 2,000 to the city of Fairfax this weekend.

FAIRFAX — Perhaps U.S. Sen. Mark Warner put it best: "In 2008, we changed the guard. In 2012, we need to guard the change." More than 2,000 Democrats from across the commonwealth descended on George Mason University this weekend for the Democratic Party of Virginia's State Convention. The gathering served as part pep rally, part organizational meeting as activists mobilize for November. Party leaders had similar messages, previewing what they will try to hammer home while Virginia is in the national spotlight as a battleground state for the U.S. presidency. That message, they say, is that the right-wing takeover of the Republican Party has made this country, and this state, unrecognizable and infringes on the rights of gays, women and …

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Obama, Clinton Joint Appearance in McLean Brings in $3 million

First of four fundraising appearances

The inaugural dual campaign appearance by President Barack Obama and former President Bill Clinton in McLean garnered $3 million for the president's reelection campaign. Cesar del Aguila, chairman of the Fairfax County Democratic Committee announced the fundraising total Sunday night at the party's major fundraising event. President Obama spent nearly four hours in McLean April 29 with Clinton as they met and mingled at their first joint fundraiser at the home of their mutual friend Terry McAuliffe, his wife Dorothy and four of their five children. Guests paid between $1,000 and $25,000 to see two presidents together in the McAuliffe’s backyard. The evening included a reception plus dinner. "That's huge for President Obama. . . Only Terry …

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The McLean Ear: Inside the Joint Presidential Visit to McLean

We Hear to Tell

President Barack Obama and former President Bill Clinton paid an historic visit to McLean Sunday afternoon but they came and went with little fuss and fanfare. They came to mingle at a fundraiser with an estimated 600 supporters who had paid anywhere from $1,000 to $25,000 to meet them in the backyard of the McLean home Terry McAuliffe, one of Clinton's good friends. Driving by the McAuliffe home Sunday, there was little indication that two presidents were visiting. There was a large van across the driveway and several large men. About a half dozen Fairfax County police officers gathered about a half a mile up the street. Here's what McLean neighbors who attended the party said they saw and heard: First, they saw few McLean neighbors. (See…

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President Obama, Former President Clinton Wow McLean Fundraiser

First joint fundraiser appearance by the two presidents

President Barack Obama spent nearly four hours in McLean Sunday evening with Bill Clinton as they met and mingled at their first joint fundraiser at the home of their mutual friend Terry McAuliffe, former chair of the Democratic National Committee. About 600 guests paid from $1,000 to $20,000 or $25,000 for the rare treat of seeing two presidents together in Dorothy and Terry McAuliffes' backyard. The evening included a reception plus dinner. "Well, you guys get two Presidents for one out of this event, which is a pretty good deal," President Obama told the guests to laughter. The two presidents spoke from a stage set up beneath a white tent and the crowd about 10 feet from stage. The president shared the stage with President Clinton and …

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PJ Buckley

8:38 pm on Monday, April 30, 2012

I wish I could be nice like you. I have not been lectured by an old school marm in years. Why are your opinions the only ones that matter?   more ›