Young Americans for Warner in NC

SATURDAY, MARCH 25, 2006
DMW Volunteers participate in convention called “largest turnout in over a decade”
Nicole Sikora Heschong

More than 300 attendees participated in the Young Democrats of North Carolina’s (YDNC) Spring 2006 State Convention in Charlotte, N.C., today — and the Draft Mark Warner team was there.

DMW was a premier sponsor of the event. Volunteers Andrew Bates, Marc Beard, Zach Finley, Nicole Sikora Heschong, Max Long and Rachel Rich staffed the booth on behalf of the Draft Mark Warner Committee and Young Americans for Warner.

The volunteers were the only group formally promoting a presidential candidate at the convention. Together, they distributed some 200 flyers, along with approximately 160 buttons and bumper stickers. Additionally, their presence gained the attention of local Talk Radio WBT and Fox Charlotte, who covered DMW’s activities.
YDNC organizers noted the convention exceeded their expectations.

“This is the largest turnout of Young Democrats in North Carolina in over a decade,” said Tony McEwen, president of the YDNC and a District Liaison for 12th District Congressman Mel Watt, during the keynote luncheon. “We’re working very hard to make this a statewide Young Democrats organization, with a chapter in every county. And I’m proud to report that more than 60 counties chartered with Young Democrats groups [were] represented here today.”

“This year may be an ‘off year’ election, but if we continue to have this many Young Democrats and as diverse and from as many counties as we see here today … We will make a difference,” McEwan said.

YDNC’s convention events included Women’s and Minority Caucus meetings; an issues discussion forum, covering education, the death penalty and the Israel/Palestinian conflict; a young candidates round table discussion; a keynote luncheon and various breakout sessions.

Other Photos:

The crowd assembles at the YDNC luncheon keynote









Rachel Rich hands out flyers and invites people to visit the booth in Charlotte's Hilton University Place, the site of the convention.

Andrew Bates places Mark Warner information at tables before the keynote luncheon.














Nicole Sikora Heschong mugs with Tony McEwen, president of the Young Democrats of North Carolina.

This event was covered by WBT Talk Radio and FOX TV

Next week, YAFW heads to the WV Young Democrats Convention in Morgantown!

New Chair of Veterans for Warner

Draft Mark Warner Appoints New Chair of Veterans for Warner

Please join Thom in building support among American Veterans in advance of what we hope will be a Warner Campaign. We welcome Mr. Beres!

The Draft Team

COLONEL THOMAS M. BERES (RET)

Colonel Thomas M. Beres (Ret) last duty assignment was as the Chief of the Special Operations for the Director of Operations and Training in the Air and Space Operations DCS on the HQ Air Force Staff, Pentagon, Washington, D.C. As such, he was responsible for all operations oversight of AF Special Operations assets. He chaired the Special Operations Forces (SOF) IPT and sat on the Global Mobility Panel as part of the AF corporate board structure. Residing within the division were the Pararescue and Combat Control Team career field managers.

On retirement he remained in the Pentagon until Sept 2001 as the Pentagon representative for the Joint Personnel Recovery Agency (JPRA).

On leaving the Pentagon he accepted the JPRA J-8, Director of Requirements, Budgeting and Resources position at Ft Belvoir. As the J-8 he oversaw the agency’s $35M+ budget and orchestrated the entire JPRA PPBE cycle from the generation of requirements through the awarding and execution of contracts. He left JPRA in Oct 2003 to start his own defense consulting business.

He accepted his current position with Lockheed Martin Systems Integration at Owego as the Senior Manager for SOF programs in Jan 2004. His principle responsibility is to develop and implement a strategic business plan for the Special Operations market for Lockheed Martin Systems Integration. He presently is based in the Washington DC area.

He is a graduate of the National War College, Class of 93. The colonel was an on scene participant in the efforts to rescue the U.S. Embassy personnel held hostage by the Iranians in 1980 that ended at Desert One. He has held a variety of positions to include navigator, instructor navigator, flight examiner, staff officer, and squadron and group command of special operations units.

He was the primary action officer for the 1987 AF/Army SOF Requirements Study and AF SOF Master Plan that culminated in OSD approval of a $3.2B force build of AF and Army aviation assets. The current force structure still reflects this plan. Colonel Beres is a master navigator with more than 4,000 flying hours. He commanded the 8th SOS and flew 14 combat missions during DESERT STORM including dropping the largest conventional bomb in the world at that time, the 13,000 lb. BLU-82.

News Story on Charlotte's WBT Talk-Radio

Tune in tomorrow (Mar. 25) online--or on the radio if you live in Charlotte--to a DMW news story. On Saturday, Young Americans for Warner, a group aligned with DraftMarkWarner.com, will kick off its North Carolina grassroots campaign. They will be encouraging Young Democrats of North Carolina to support Gov. Warner's potential run for President in '08. The alliance will host an information table with literature, campaign buttons, and bumper stickers at the Young Democrats of North Carolina 2006 Spring Convention in Charlotte.

Listen online at: http://www.wbt.com/ The story will be running intermittantly all day.

DMW Spokesperson and Roanoke Delegate Onzlee Ware was also interviewed on Richmond's WRVA News-Talk Radio this past Wednesday, March 22.

Iowa for Warner Site

John Zimmerman has started an Iowa for Warner Blog. Thanks to John for helping us get the Warner vision for America out to Iowa voters!

The purpose of this site is to advance the presidential candidacy of Mark Warner, with a focus on the 2008 Iowa caucuses.

I write as a concerned Democrat in southeast Iowa -- concerned because I hate how Republican administrations affect the world and because I'm afraid we Democrats will in 2008 nominate another candidate who will have a very hard time connecting with enough swing voters to win the general election.Of all the Democrats considering a run in 2008, Mark Warner seems to me far and away the candidate most likely to win the general election and actually become president.

Among other things, I hope to use this site as an early organizing tool for Warner-supporting Democrats in Iowa. I also hope to make the case for Warner's candidacy. I look forward to this journey, and to victory -- not primarily victory over the other Democratic candidates in the Iowa caucuses (which is just a means to the end) but victory over the Republicans in November 2008 and eight years of a progressive Democratic presidential administration governing the world's only superpower.

The site URL is http://iowa4warner.blogspot.com/

Draft on WINA-Charlottesville Radio

Virginia Delegate Onzlee Ware (D-Roanoke), spokesperson for Draft Mark Warner, was on the 'Charlottesville Right Now' radio program, Wedneday, March 15th at 4:30 PM. The station is WINA.

The show's host Coy Barefoot is also the Communications Director at the University of Virginia's Sorenson Institute for Political Leadership. That made for an engaging interview.

We received some outstanding feedback about the program and Delegate Ware's knowledge of the Draft , Gov. Warner's record and the Virginia General Assembly. Great Work Onzlee!

Young Americans for Warner-First Event

Young Americans for Warner, headed by Marshall Spevak, kicks off their first event on Saturday, March 25th at the North Carolina Young Democrats State Convention in Charlotte.

Young people are expected to be the real force in a future Warner Campaign. We all saw how Howard Dean was able to rally the younger crowd. Mark Warner will have even greater appeal! His story is one every young person will be interested in.....self-made, from a middle class family, worked crappy jobs to pay his way through college, slept on friends couches while he tried and failed at business before becoming a success.

Gov. Warner will be the first real high-tech president. What young person can live without a cell phone? How many of them could get along without the internet, chat rooms, and MySpace? Gov. Warner didn't get in on the high-tech revolution. He helped shape it.

We have a great group of young people lined up to work the NC event and we're looking forward to their report. Click on the photo to see a larger version of the ad we've purchased in the program.

Roanoke MeetUp

Tuesday night, March 14th, we started the Roanoke Valley (VA) Warner MeetUp. We had 8 members and they were pretty excited about getting involved and building the group. A number of the members had some great suggestions for getting the Valley-Metro region pumped up and ready for a Warner White House run in 08.

We're looking forward to a larger crowd in April!

Iowa Team Begins Iowa Effort

What better place to get an Iowa grassroots Warner operation off the ground than in the Capitol City of Des Moines?

Matthew Moore, the DMW Iowa Coordinator took a Draft Team to the Polk County Democratic Party Convention the weekend of March 4th and hit the ground running. (Left to Right-Matt Moorem & Alexa Christiansen)

Kirk Tofte and other Warner supporters helped pass out about 400 Meet Mark fliers.

The Iowa Team is already planning an event this summer. They will be riding in the Ragbrai Bike Ride Across Iowa wearing Warner Gear and introducing Gov. Mark Warner to Iowa voters.

Great Job Iowa Team!

Richmond JJ Dinner

On Saturday night, February 11th, Draft supporters gathered in Richmond to promote a Mark Warner 08 candidacy at the Democratic Party's annual JJ Dinner. We booked two tables in the dining room and had an information booth in the lobby.

Bumper stickers, buttons, and fliers went about as fast as we could put them out. We found Virginians anticipating a Warner candidacy and willing to jump right in and help in a future campaign.

We didn't make a big public splash in Richmond because it was Tim Kaine's first statewide meeting of Democrats since his election in November and we didn't want to distract from his night to shine.

We made a lot of new friends, handed out hundreds of pieces of Warner Gear & signed up a bunch of new supporters for the Draft effort.

Photos:
Draft Table
Dinner Table 1
WV Director Dama Nestor & Caroline Martin Prepping the Table
Draft Chairman Eddie Ratliff with Roanoke Organizer Becky Clark & VA Director Elizabeth Nathanson
Young Americans for Warner Chairman Marshall Spevak with Former Gov. Douglas Wilder


Thanks to all including DMW Southern Regional Director Steve Deak who flew in from Atlanta to be present at the Virginia JJ Dinner. Thanks to all 15 Draft supporters who attended the dinner and/or worked the information table!

New Poll Shows Warner Moving Up

The independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University poll asked voters torate leaders from 0 to 100 on a "feeling thermometer," with the highestnumbers reflecting the warmest feelings. The top 10 mean scores are:

(1)..Rudolph Giuliani.........................63.5
(2) Barack Obama.............................59.9
(3) John McCain..............................59.7
(4) Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice......57.1
(5) President Bill Clinton...................56.1
(6) Former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards..50.8
(7) Former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner.........50.7
(8) New York Sen. Hillary Clinton............50.4
(9) Wisconsin Sen. Russ Feingold.............49
(10) Virginia Sen. George Allen...............48.6

President George W. Bush is at 44.1 and Vice President Dick Cheney gets 41.

Not bad considering John Edwards was the 2004 VP candidate on the Democratic ticket!

We have come a long way.

Warner on the rise !

A little over a year ago, Mark Warner was a name only known by the State of Virginia.
Now he is being talked about in all 50 States and is quickly becoming a household name. Mark Warner has walked on the national scene and is a rock star in the making. He is drawing national and local media wherever he goes, and he continues to rise in all polls for 2008. We all know about Mark's amazing record, but why is he getting so much media attention and why is he moving up in the polls so fast? The answer is simple: people want change, they want hope, and they want unity. What they see in Mark is all of these qualities.

Mark Warner gives them hope: he unites our common cause and he offers a message of positive change. Many are still wondering can he beat the giant Hillary? I say yes!
When the race starts and all candidates are on the stage, Mark Warner will stand head and shoulders above, not only Hillary, but all other takers. He has the ability to steal the show in a crowd full of stars. He not only talks like a president, but he looks like one. My prediction in simple: the cream always rises to the top. The cream is Mark Warner. He will rise. He will win. He will be called President Mark Warner! Bank on it!

Events Page

We've added an Events Page to the Draft site http://www.draftmarkwarner.com/html/events.html.

Draft supporters across the country are working their rear ends off getting Mark Warner's name out. Check out some of the upcoming events. Better Yet.....Plan an event in your city or state and let us know about it!

New Warner Sites

There are a number of new Mark Warner sites.

Marshall Spevak has formed a new group called Young Americans for Warner. They have their Yahoo Group up and running at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/YAFW/. They will also have a website soon.

YAFW are planning their first event at the NC Young Democrats Convention on March 25th. They've puchased ad space in the program and a year-long ad in the NCYD's e-newsletter. You can see their program ad at http://www.draftmarkwarner.com/YAFW-B.pdf

John Bruhns has formed a VeteransforWarner Yahoo Group and would appreciate all you veterans helping him spread the message that Amercia can trust Mark Warner when it comes to leading our armed forces. John is a recent Iraqi War Veteran. He's back home now and safe. He's also just enrolled in the Police Acadamy. You can join his group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/VeteransforWarner/

One site has a pretty nice Warner bumper sticker available at http://www.markwarner.net

Robert, a medical student in SC has started a SC Warner site at http://www.warnerforamerica.org/

Someone blogging under the name Texas Populist had an opportunity to see Mark Warner on his recent swing through Texas. The event took place at Bill Clinton's favorite Austin restaurant, Guero's Taco Bar. Anyway, he went away thrilled with what he saw in Gov. Warner.

He has an article called "Get 'er Done "you do not want to miss on Daily KOS. http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/2/24/17590/5069.

Ian Davis has started up a Warner MeetUp in Austin, Texas. Get involved in it!http://democrat.meetup.com/934/

Rebecca Clark is heading up a new Roanoke, Virginia MeetUp. The first one is Tuesday night, March 14th.
http://democrat.meetup.com/935/

Baton Rouge

On January 24th, our Draft Team attended a specially called meeting of the Louisiana Democratic Party Central Committee in Baton Rouge. Party leaders from across the state gathered to elect a replacement for outgoing State Party Chair man Jim Bernhard.

Frank Clark, our State Director has been working hard to put together a great crew. Mike Hinton, one of our Congressional District Coordinators was there. Patrick & Joseph came up from New Orleans. Steve Deak, DMW Southern Regional Director, came over from Atlanta.

The Draft Team networked with a lot of Democrats, passed out a lot of Warner Gear, and got a very warm response to a Mark Warner candidacy in 08. We also got television coverage on the 6 pm and 11 pm news!

Carol Allen of Paris, France has a home in the historic district of New Orleans. Her home survived Katrina quite well but she was back in the city helping others who did not fair so well.

Carol has become a real friend to the Draft and to me personally. Carol's on her way back to Paris and we are going to miss her. She's not abandoning this effort. She's going to start an Americans Abroad for Warner !

There is no doubt the State of Louisiana is in good hands! Our Draft Team down there is off to a great start.

Eddie