I met the candidates running this year. Gerry Connelly, the current Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chariman, a Democrat himself, is running for re-election after a record 2003 election that began a Democratic sweep across the state of Virginia. In addition, Rex Simmons is running for delegate against Tim Hugo and Chuck Caputo is running in the 67th district for re-election after a near-landslide victory in 2005, a Democrat as well. Jane Oleszek is running for State Senator in the 33rd District, and Chap Peterson is running for State Senator in the 34th District. Reorganizing the Young Democrats is very hard for me right now, as I’m in the middle of running for Freshmen Class President, running on my school’s Cross Country team, participating in the Debate/Speech club, and working hard to get good grades in all-honors classes. It’s been nice to check up on you all, and I promise I won’t let you down. I will start up the Young Democrats ASAP.

Students Find Political Passion

By: Layla Wilder

April 11, 2007

 

Most people boasting the political credentials of Shane Grannum of Centreville have lived longer than 13 years.

But youth does not stop the quiet and serious Grannum, who has earned a reputation with local Democrats as someone willing to fight hard on the battlegrounds of local politics.

Grannum worked on his first campaign about four years ago and has helped several local and national candidates, including Del. Chuck Caputo (D-Centreville) and Democratic presidential candidates John Edwards and Howard Dean.

Last year, the Stone Middle School eighth-grader, whose aspirations include becoming a law student at Georgetown University and a U.S. senator, campaigned for Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Jim Webb and Democratic candidates for the House of Representatives Judy Feder and Andrew Hurst.

Until he is old enough to run himself, Grannum said his priority is to help elect others “who believe in freedom, equality and providing health care for everyone.”

“I’ve heard he is a pretty impressive kid,” said Ginny Peters, chair of the county’s Democratic Committee.

As Fairfax County’s June 12 primary nears, Grannum is organizing members of the Young Sully Democrats club, which he founded seven months ago, to get involved. Right now the club has only a handful of members.

“The primaries are important times, and the Young Democrats are gearing up to help,” Grannum posted April 5 on the club’s blog.

 

Grannum’s passion for local politics is not unique among young adults in Fairfax County.

Local party leaders say residents should not surprised to open their doors to young people handing out campaign materials or to hear the voice of an adolescent on the phone during an election year.

As adults in the area have gotten busier, the youth are doing a lot of the legwork on campaigns and have become “important advocates for candidates,” said Mike Thompson, acting chairman of the county Republican Party.

“We are delighted there are so many to recruit,” Peters said, noting that the focus on grassroots-style campaigning has been fueled by media-savvy youngsters learning about their local government through such sources as the Internet.

Grannum said watching the news on television inspired him to get involved in politics.

Dan Scandling, chief of staff and former campaign manager for Republican U.S. Rep. Frank Wolf, said he has recruited campaigners from a wealth of students from several high schools within Wolf’s congressional district, including Westfield and Chantilly high schools.

By campaigning, many youth volunteers fulfill requirements for government classes or service hours. Some students, Scandling said, “really get into it” with enthusiasm that sometimes lands them internships in Wolf’s Washington, D.C., office.

Russell Phipps, the high school social studies specialist for Fairfax County Public Schools, said the service requirements help motivate many youth to get involved politically.

“We give a lot of incentive for students to work on campaigns,” said Walt Addie, a government teacher at Westfield.

Whether they do it because of a course requirement or for other reasons, the hundreds of county students involved in local campaigns have a “greater appreciation of what it means to be a public servant,” Phipps said.

Sully’s Young Democrats are working on increasing their numbers by “getting the word out to young kids that it is OK for them to be involved in politics,” said club member and Centreville resident Daniel Braunstein, 14.

At this point in time, the Young Democrats is hoping to both bolster its member totals and help show up for Democrats. We are hoping to have a meeting sometime around May 2nd or May 8th/9th. I will be contacting members for more information on this. Thanks a lot! I’m looking forward to the primaries!  –yd.

The upcoming off-year election is a very busy one for Virginia. In general, we are running to re-elect many of our own delegates that found luck in 2005 and many of our school board members who pushed for better education in 2003. The Young Sully Democrats Club (YSDC) disappeared after the elections, and I apologize. My schedule has restricted me from doing many things, as has most of our members.

In February, we will be re-organizing. I will be re-contacting most of our members, and I will be continuing to help elect Democrats through instilling the Young Democrats–particularly in the 40th district! This year will be a busy one. If you are between the ages of 13-18 and you want to get politically active, try the Young Sully Democrats Club at ydemocrats@gmail.com where we will assist any young, politically active person in getting acquainted with others who share similar beliefs. The YSDC is a great way to get volunteer hours for college applications & for other school-related assignments.

Thanks so much for helping us out and we look forward to a very busy next year with all the off-year elections. –yd.

What: Young Sully Democrats Club (YSDC) Meeting

When: 6:30-7:10P (please be prepared to be picked up at 7:20 and no later!)

Where: Sully Government Center on Stonecroft Blvd.

Agenda: I have a written one for people who come;  otherwise, we will be mainly doing introductory stuff.

The Sully meeting will follow, by the way…

He’s Youthful, Smart and Political
Shane Grannum, 13, begins the Young Sully Democrats.
By Bonnie Hobbs
October 6, 2006

Shane Grannum is just 13, but he’s already hobnobbed with some pretty heavy hitters in the Democratic Party, such as Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine and past vice-presidential candidate John Edwards.
It’s no wonder then that these encounters only whet his appetite for more and made him want to share his love of politics and Democrats with others where he lives, the Sully District.
So Shane, an eighth-grader at Stone Middle School, has just started the Young Sully Democrats. Members will help the Sully District Democratic Committee, debate current events and discuss ways to get involved in the community.
The first meeting is next Wednesday, Oct. 11, from 6:30-7:10 p.m., at the Sully District Governmental Center, 4900 Stonecroft Blvd., in Chantilly. To join, e-mail ydemocrats@gmail.com; for more information, see www.ydemocrats.wordpress.com.
“I got the idea for the Young Sully Democrats in August 2005,” said Shane. “I always wanted to do something for my age group because I felt like a loner [in my love of politics]. But I figured there were others out there like me — I just had to round them up.”

He first became interested in politics at age 10. It was during Howard Dean’s campaign for president, and he had a small cameo in CNN’s documentary about it, “True Believers.” He began volunteering at the Dean headquarters in Falls Church, several hours each night.
“This lady made a video for the Dean campaign, and she interviewed me about what I thought about Dean,” said Shane. “Then I was in the Washington Post’s ‘Kids Post’ and also in the Washington Times and that led to CNN.”
Then in 2004, after Dean dropped out of the race, Shane started campaigning for James Socas. During the Kerry/Edwards presidential campaign, he handed out political literature on election day at Deer Park Elementary and Stone Middle School.
But he got involved locally, the previous year, when he worked on Georgette Kohler’s campaign for Sully District supervisor. He became a Democrat initially because his parents, Denise and Roger Grannum of Sully Station II, are Democrats. But even moreso, he said, “After I got into it, I learned more about the party and what it valued.”
For Kohler’s campaign, he did phone banking — “calling people and asking them whether they’re voting for person A or person B,” explained Shane. “If it’s not your candidate, or they’re undecided, you try to persuade them otherwise. Sometimes, they get mad and hang up. But it doesn’t bother me because, at school, you see how people react to things, so I understand how adults do, too.”
He also likes the fact that a political contest is a race, and he enjoys the anticipation and being anxious about something. Every year since fourth grade, he ran for student government in school, but didn’t win until seventh grade. And he’s now running for student body president at Stone.
Since he’s so bright, his slogan is “Shane the Brain,” and the election is in the middle of this month. As for a campaign issue, he said, “I’d like to change their water policy. A lot of times, people put their mouths on the water fountains and do lots of disgusting things, so I want water bottles allowed outside of the cafeteria, around the school and in the classrooms.”
Shane says it’s “not only a dehydration thing, but a health thing.” He also wants to increase the number of SCA-sponsored activities and have the organization sponsor things in addition to dances. “I know people would come to other functions, if we had any,” he said.
Since his experience on the Kohler campaign, he’s attended the monthly meetings of the Sully District Democratic Committee. When he learned that Tim Gaine was running for governor and Chuck Caputo was running for 67th District delegate, he plunged into their campaigns with gusto.
“Since I knew Caputo personally, it was a big campaign for me,” said Shane. “I did a lot of phone banking for him because his headquarters were just a mile from my house.”
He met Kaine when the now Virginia governor came to Centreville during his campaign. “It was just a handshake and a hello, but he told me to keep doing what I was doing,” said Shane.” Although he conceived of the idea for the Young Sully Democrats more than a year ago, the rigors of seventh grade kept him pretty busy.
But this August, he decided to follow through with his plan and start a group. “I spoke about it at the August and September meetings of the Sully Democrats and to the Democratic Women of Clifton, on Sept. 17,” he said. “They applauded me and agreed that my idea was good.”
Shane said Jane Barker and Jane Blechman, co-chairs of the Democratic Women of Clifton, gave him some useful ideas about how to begin. “But the real person who helped me is Georgette Kohler,” he said. “She gave me a lot of ideas that I’ve followed through with.”
For example, she suggested that he create a big poster to display at Centreville Day at the Sully District Democratic Committee booth. And she also advised the energetic and enthusiastic teen to advertise the new group at back-to-school nights — mainly at Stone Middle and Westfield High. Shane also passed out flyers about the Young Sully Democrats — 100-150 at the schools and another 200 at Centreville Day.
He says the young Dems could help the Sully District Democratic Committee by volunteering, helping to make signs, canvassing and sharing some of the work of the local elections. “They’re very busy and have a lot to do, and we can help them out,” he explained. “We’d also help any other Democrats in Fairfax County that need help.”
And to clarify, Shane said he told the Democratic Women of Clifton — who are in the Springfield District — that the name “Sully” in his organization is just to identify where the group originated and where it will meet every month.
Potential members may download the new group’s registration form at its Web site and then bring it to a Young Sully Democrats meeting. Shane also set up a Google group “where people can join the mailing list so I can send potential members information about the meeting dates and ways to volunteer.” And there’s a link to it on the Web site.
“Ultimately, I’d like to have 10-20 really devoted members,” he said. “And I’d like to help Democrats win and stay in office.”
Shane has one sister, Chanelle, 17, a Westfield senior. Because of his interest in politics, his favorite subjects in school are history and American history. In his spare time, he likes being on the computer and watching football and basketball on TV. His favorite football team is the Miami Dolphins because he was born in Florida.
“He’s just a really awesome kid,” said his mom, Denise. “I’m just as proud as a mother can be. He’s got the drive and motivation, and he pulled straight A’s in honors classes last year. He’s also an avid reader and a kind and caring person.”
She said his talents made themselves known early. In fourth grade, he won a bike-helmet safety award from the Epileptic Foundation; and in fifth grade, he received an award from the Robinson Secondary DECA organization for writing about Internet safety for children.
As for Shane’s newest endeavor, she said his family supports him 100 percent. She also noted her son’s personal political aspirations: “He wants to be a senator from Florida someday. He’s been going to Sully Democratic Committee meetings for two years — and he’s the only child there.”
Sully Democratic Committee Chairman Mary Lee Cerillo also has high praise for Shane. “This is not a new thing for this kid,” she said. “He’s been doing it for a couple years. He volunteered on the Kerry campaign and made phone calls for Chuck Caputo and was pretty, darn good at it. And last week, he met John Edwards. He’s pretty well-known around the state because he’s been so active.”
So what’s her opinion of Shane? “I think he’s a great young man,” said Cerillo. “He’s very bright and he wants to be in politics. He’s been an asset for us — and he’s not doing it for credit for school. He’s doing it because he really loves the Democratic Party and wants to help out. We’re just happy that he’s in Sully — we feel very blessed.” 

The race is closing in between Jim Webb and George Allen. The former governor of Virginia, who waltzed into the Senate, supporting the President 90% of the time, was accused of being racist after calling an American-born student with Indian-heritage “macaca”. The outrage that erupted has neared the race. Furthermore, George Allen’s support of the president has been revealed to the public. Virginia voters are now more likely to vote Webb than any other time in this heated election. Additionally, voters will most likely check off Judy Feder and Andrew Hurst with that this November.

But, the election is not only close here in Virginia. In Tennessee, a state that voted against Al Gore (a former representative from the state) in 2000, Harold Ford, Jr., a popular representative is running against Bob Corker. Always considered an underdog, Ford is catching up with nearly 30 days to go. In Missouri, a state that voted Republican in 2002 (senate) and 2004 (presidential), Jim Talent is in for the fight of his life. Opponent Claire McCaskill has tied him. In Rhode Island, we’re tied with Lincoln Chafee (R). In Montana, a Republican state, we have a strong lead against longtime respected senator Conrad Burns (R). We’re winning!

That’s why it is important for everyone–mothers, children, fathers, brothers, and sisters–to get involved. In a busy election year like this one, it is crucial for Democrats to win both the Senate and House. We can only do it with your help. Please attend the Young Sully Democrats Club (YSDC) meeting October 11th, 2006 6:30-7:10P and then re-join us on October 15th, 2006 when we’ll be volunteering for Judy Feder. Please volunteer at a polling place near you on November 7th, 2006 to help Webb-Hurst-Feder win! Thank you so much.