JENNIFER BOYSKO; DFA ENDORSES BOYSKO & Former Dranesville Aide Eyes 86th District Delegate Seat 14&3FEB13

HERE is an update from Jennifer Boysko on her campaign for Delegate from the 86th district, and an article about her campaign from the Sun Gazette....

First of all, let me just say a big THANK YOU! Your strong support is the reason we are getting attention from so many people in Virginia. And it is with your support that we will bring change to Richmond in November. You enabled us to surpass our January goal by earning the support of over 240 donors.

Just last week, the Sun Gazette ran an article on our campaign. The article tells my story and lays out why I am running for the House of Delegates seat in the 86th district. Have a look! (click the link or see below)

The national grassroots organization Democracy for America also just contacted me to tell me that I have earned their endorsement! Thank you to everyone who reached out to express your belief in this campaign.

Our strong momentum will only grow. I have several more exciting developments to share with you in the next several weeks. Please keep in touch with me to let me know what you feel is most important. I look forward to working together with you to bring a better tomorrow to the 86th district.

Your support is making a difference and I truly appreciate it!

Kind regards,
Jennifer
http://www.JenniferBoysko.com

Paid for and authorized by Boysko for Delegate

Boysko for Delegate
Post Office Box 247
Herndon, VA 20172

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Former Dranesville Aide Eyes 86th District Delegate Seat

Jennifer Boysko (right), a Democrat who is running for the 86th District House of Delegates seat, poses with her husband, Glenn, and daughters Hannah and Sophie Claire.

by BRIAN TROMPETER, Staff Writer 

Growing up in Arkansas, Jennifer Boysko was unhappy that her school would not allow girls to serve as crossing guards.  

Boysko, then 12, led the charge to change that policy and has been active ever since with dozens of school, political, civic, athletic and church groups.

“I’ve always believed one person’s voice can make a difference,” she said. “I feel like it’s a responsibility. I feel I have to do whatever I can do to make the community a better place.”

Boysko, a former aide to Supervisor John Foust (D-Dranesville), has jumped into the race to challenge Del. Thomas Rust (R) in the 86th District.

Boysko criticized Rust for what she said was his failure last year to obtain transportation moneys to pay for a pair of new Metrorail stations planned for the Herndon area and reduce fee increases on the Dulles Toll Road.

Rust also voted for legislation that allowed adoption agencies to discriminate against gays and lesbians, she said.

“He’s not putting the residents of this community first,” Boysko said. “He’s doing what his party tells him to do, and I don’t think that’s acceptable.”

The Democratic challenger said she also was displeased with the overall tenor of the commonwealth’s Republican leadership.

“The state government makes so many decisions on our behalf,” she said. “The games played in Richmond are sickening. They have the power to really affect people’s daily lives, and we have to do better.”

Boysko said she would like to see Medicaid coverage expanded, more transportation moneys obtained for Northern Virginia and protections provided for human-services and affordable-housing programs. 

She also favors finding a dedicated source of transportation funding, and opposes Gov. McDonnell’s initiative to use general-fund moneys for transportation projects, saying that doing so would deprive other state programs of needed moneys. 

Boysko served in the office of U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby (D-Ala.) before he became a Republican, then in the early 1990s became a legislative assistant for the government-relations firm of Bayless, Boland, Madigan and Barrett Inc.

Boysko handled federal regulatory and legislative issues and reported on Congressional hearings concerning the North American Free Trade Agreement, aviation, alternative fuels, financial derivatives, telecommunications deregulation and Superfund cleanup sites.

She left the workplace for several years to raise her two daughters and spent that time volunteering with Democratic political campaigns in the Herndon area, as well as some statewide and national races.

Boysko was Virginia director for the 2004 presidential campaign of former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean (D), whom she first met the previous year. Dean’s record of balancing budgets and lowering taxes impressed her, she said.

She also admired the late U.S. Sen. Paul Wellstone (D-Minn.), calling him a “real hero.”

Wellstone “was always speaking up for the underdog and the little guy,” she said. “He didn’t look at this as an ego game. He tried to make a difference for his constituents and for the American people at large.”

Boysko served as Foust’s aide for five years, until she stepped down Jan. 11 to campaign for state delegate. While working for Foust, she handled Herndon, human-services, utilities, senior-citizen and public-school issues.

Boskyo also was involved in land-use planning for the new Herndon Fire Station, which is going through the town’s approval process. 

“She’s extremely talented, very passionate about public service and is very focused on helping people,” Foust said.

Boysko and her husband, software engineer Glenn Boysko, have lived in Herndon since 1996. Their daughters are Hannah, a freshman at Barnard College in New York City, and Sophie Claire, a 10th-grader at Herndon High School.

Boysko does not have the field all to herself. She will square off against Herbert Kemp in the June 11 Democratic primary; the winner will face Rust on Nov. 5.

According to financial reports listed at the Virginia Public Access Project, Boysko had significantly more campaign funds available than Kemp as of Dec. 31.

Boysko had $22,767 on hand after spending $1,651, while Kemp had $400 available after spending $2,610.

http://www.sungazette.net/mclean-greatfalls-vienna-oakton/politics/former-dranesville-aide-eyes-th-district-delegate-seat/article_0e2d6d96-6e19-11e2-a03e-0019bb2963f4.html

TELL THE DEPT OF ENERGY YOUR VIEWS ON FRACKING 13JUN11

IF you are concerned about the damage fracking is doing to our water supplies here is your chance to let the Dept of Energy's Natural Gas Subcommittee know how you feel. Click the link to go the department's comment page for this subcommittee to submit your comments and views. The link is provided by DFA Democracy For America but it goes directly to the Dept of Energy, NOT to DFA (for those of you who may not agree with or support DFA's politics), so no worries there....

Have you heard of the Department of Energy's Natural Gas Subcommittee?

It's a public entity established for the sole purpose of providing advice to the Secretary of Energy on how to improve the safety and environmental performance of fracking.

The Natural Gas Subcommittee could be an important ally in our fight to protect America's drinking water from the disastrous effects of fracking -- if we can get them on our side!

 The first step to improving the safety of fracking is to make the oil companies fully disclose the hundreds of toxic chemicals they are using.

Send a comment to the Natural Gas Subcommittee, urging them to support full disclosure.

Nearly 100,000 DFA members like you have joined our campaign to pass the FRAC Act in Congress, a bill that would finally hold the oil companies accountable for their reckless behavior by forcing them to disclose what they are doing.

Getting the Secretary of Energy on board for chemical disclosure would provide tremendous momentum for the FRAC Act.

Tell the Dept. of Energy: safety begins with disclosure!

Working together, we can protect our communities from the disastrous effects of corporate greed.

Let's win.

- Gregg

Gregg Ross, Political Campaign Manager
Democracy for America 

DON'T WAIT, DON'T DELAY 14MAI10

Whoa. Your response has been nothing short of incredible.

Last week, Governor Howard Dean challenged President Obama to honor his pledge to repeal the discriminatory "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy for Americans serving in the United States Military -- and he asked you to join him by adding your name to his open letter.

Over 75,000 members of Democracy for America and Courage Campaign have signed on to the campaign and the number is growing every day, so we extended the deadline and have expanded our goal.

We'll have a huge impact when we deliver your signatures to Senators next week, just days before they decided if the repeal should be included in the Defense Authorization bill this year.

We can reach 100,000 signature by Monday at 9am if we work together to make it happen.

ADD YOUR NAME -- THEN ASK OTHERS TO JOIN YOU

Already, your actions backed up the more than 300 military veterans who converged on Capitol Hill to lobby Congress in an event led by Servicemembers United, the Human Rights Campaign and the Courage Campaign.

Next week, when we deliver the open letter with over 100,000 signers backing up the Governor's message, we'll be sending a message the White House can't miss.

It's not a moment too soon for those of us considered second-class citizens impacted by this horrible policy of discrimination. But don't just take it from me. Hear it from other DFA members who have already added their name.

Bob a DFA member from Texas:

"If they are good enough to put their lives on the line because they love their country, they are surely good enough to be recognized for who they are."

JOIN BOB -- ADD YOUR NAME
Laura a DFA member from Oklahoma:

"Gays and lesbians have served and died honorably for our country for probably before the U.S. was a country. Please let them serve openly, President Obama, so that they can feel proud of serving a country that treats no one as a second-class citizen."

JOIN LAURA -- ADD YOUR NAME

Bonnie a DFA member from Indiana:

"Please, Mr. President, hold to your values, to what you know is right."

JOIN BONNIE AND ADD YOUR NAME NOW

Senators are scheduled to start marking up the Defense Authorization bill as soon as next week. Our best chance to pass the repeal this year is for Senators to include it in the bill.

The time to act is now. That's true for the President and Congress -- and it's true for us too.

We must make sure at least 100,000 Americans add their names by Monday morning to Governor Dean's open letter calling on President Obama to keep his promise and do the right thing.

www.DemocracyforAmerica.com/DontWaitDontDelay

Thank you for everything you do,

-Arshad

Arshad Hasan, Executive Director
Democracy for America

P.S. If you haven't read Governor Dean's open letter yet, you'll read the full text here before you add your name.

DEMAND A VOTE ON A PUBLIC OPTION UNDER BUDGET RECONCILIATION

Click the header to sign the petition to Sen Majority Leader Reid.
MSNBC and Rachael Maddow video below.

LETTER FROM SENATE DEMOCRATS TO LEADER REID

Dear Leader Reid:

We respectfully ask that you bring for a vote before the full Senate a public health insurance option under budget reconciliation rules.

There are four fundamental reasons why we support this approach – its potential for billions of dollars in cost savings; the growing need to increase competition and lower costs for the consumer; the history of using reconciliation for significant pieces of health care legislation; and the continued public support for a public option.

FULL TEXT CONTINUED BELOW


Senator Michael Bennet (CO), Kirsten Gillibrand (NY), Jeff Merkley (OR), and Sherrod Brown (OH) are the orginal Healthcare Heroes who co-sponsored the Senate letter.

Now you can join them and add your name to the growing list of co-signers which already includes 119 House Democrats with more Senators signing on every day.
The current list of Senate signers includes:

Michael Bennet (CO)
Kirsten Gillibrand (NY)
Jeff Merkley (OR)
Sherrod Brown (OH)
Patrick Leahy (VT)
John Kerry (MA)
Sheldon Whitehouse (RI)
Al Franken (MN)
Roland Burris (IL)
Bernie Sanders (VT)
Dianne Feinstein (CA)
Frank Lautenberg (NJ)
Barbara Mikulski (MD)
Tom Udall (NM)
Jack Reed (RI)
Barbara Boxer (CA)
Chuck Schumer (NY)
Jeanne Shaheen (NH)


Show these Healthcare Heroes you have their backs -- join them as a citizen signer today.

The full text of Senator Bennet's Public Option Letter:

LETTER FROM SENATE DEMOCRATS TO LEADER REID

Dear Leader Reid:

We respectfully ask that you bring for a vote before the full Senate a public health insurance option under budget reconciliation rules.

There are four fundamental reasons why we support this approach – its potential for billions of dollars in cost savings; the growing need to increase competition and lower costs for the consumer; the history of using reconciliation for significant pieces of health care legislation; and the continued public support for a public option.

A Public Option Is an Important Tool for Restoring Fiscal Discipline.

As Democrats, we pledged that the Senate health care reform package would address skyrocketing health care costs and relieve overburdened American families and small businesses from annual double-digit health care cost increases. And that it would do so without adding a dime to the national debt.

The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) determined that the Senate health reform bill is actually better than deficit neutral. It would reduce the deficit by over $130 billion in the first ten years and up to $1 trillion in the first 20 years.

These cost savings are an important start. But a strong public option can be the centerpiece of an even better package of cost saving measures. CBO estimated that various public option proposals in the House save at least $25 billion. Even $1 billion in savings would qualify it for consideration under reconciliation.

Put simply, including a strong public option is one of the best, most fiscally responsible ways to reform our health insurance system.

A Public Option Would Provide Americans with a Low-Cost Alternative and Improve Market Competitiveness.

A strong public option would create better competition in our health insurance markets. Many Americans have no or little real choice of health insurance provider. Far too often, it’s “take it or leave it” for families and small businesses. This lack of competition drives up costs and leaves private health insurance companies with little incentive to provide quality customer service.

A recent Health Care for America Now report on private insurance companies found that the largest five for-profit health insurance providers made $12 billion in profits last year, yet they actually dropped 2.7 million people from coverage. Private insurance – by gouging the public even during a severe economic recession – has shown it cannot function in the public’s interest without a public alternative. Americans have nowhere to turn. That is not healthy market competition, and it is not good for the public.

If families or individuals like their current coverage through a private insurance company, then they can keep that coverage. And in some markets where consumers have many alternatives, a public option may be less necessary. But many local markets have broken down, with only one or two insurance providers available to consumers. Each and every health insurance market should have real choices for consumers.

There is a history of using reconciliation for significant pieces of health care legislation.

There is substantial Senate precedent for using reconciliation to enact important health care policies. The Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), Medicare Advantage, and the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 (COBRA), which actually contains the term ‘reconciliation’ in its title, were all enacted under reconciliation.

The American Enterprise Institute’s Norman Ornstein and Brookings’ Thomas Mann and Molly Reynolds jointly wrote, “Are Democrats making an egregious power grab by sidestepping the filibuster? Hardly.” They continued that the precedent for using reconciliation to enact major policy changes is “much more extensive . . . than Senate Republicans are willing to admit these days.”

There is strong public support for a public option, across party lines.

The overwhelming majority of Americans want a public option. The latest New York Times poll on this issue, in December, shows that despite the attacks of recent months Americans support the public option 59% to 29%. Support includes 80% of Democrats, 59% of Independents, and even 33% of Republicans.

Much of the public identifies a public option as the key component of health care reform -- and as the best thing we can do to stand up for regular people against big insurance companies. In fact, overall support for health care reform declined steadily as the public option was removed from reform legislation.

Although we strongly support the important reforms made by the Senate-passed health reform package, including a strong public option would improve both its substance and the public’s perception of it. The Senate has an obligation to reform our unworkable health insurance market -- both to reduce costs and to give consumers more choices. A strong public option is the best way to deliver on both of these goals, and we urge its consideration under reconciliation rules.

Respectfully,

Michael Bennet (D-CO), U.S. Senator
Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), U.S. Senator
Jeff Merkley (D-OR), U.S. Senator
Sherrod Brown (D-OH), U.S. Senator