Meet Ken Mitchell, Democrat for VA 6th District US Congress

“The current narrative of chaos and uncertainty that is dominating our politics is a threat to our democracy. Americans face daily, real-life challenges and need leaders who listen to their problems and can work together respectfully to solve them instead of playing partisan schoolyard games.” – Ken Mitchell

Ken Mitchell for Congress logo

Ken Mitchell is running to represent the citizens of Virginia’s 6th Congressional District in the November 2024 election. Ken enlisted in the U.S. Air Force and retired from the U.S Army in 1998 as a Chief Warrant Officer 4 following 24 years of active duty. He is the fourth generation of his family to serve the country as a member of the armed services. He spent the last six years of his military career at the White House, supporting former Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton. During this posting, he held a variety of leadership roles at the highest levels of trust and national security. This experience allowed him to observe democracy at work first-hand and develop deep insight into the political process.

Ken Mitchell for VA CD 6

Ken Mitchell
For US Congress VA 6th District
Website: www.KenMitchellforVirginia.com
Facebook: kenmitchellforva
Instagram: @kenmitchellforva

Following his retirement from the military, Ken spent six years in the corporate telecommunications industry, building infrastructure throughout the greater Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. He received multiple awards for his executive leadership and management skills while overseeing a wide variety of operations.

In 2004, Ken relocated to Charlottesville and started a business remodeling historic properties. In this role, he was exposed to the labyrinth of rules and regulations small businesses must navigate. From here, Ken became a Vice President of Buildings and Grounds for all facilities at the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, including the Visitors Center, Tufton Mansion, Jefferson library, and the 2500 acres granted to Jefferson’s father. In this role, he led the modernization of Monticello’s infrastructure and the protection of this World Heritage site.

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Meet Joe Cobb, Candidate for Mayor of Roanoke

Rev. Dr. Joe Cobb believes that our greatest calling as human beings is to love one another by honoring and celebrating what makes us unique and by discovering what we can create together. This calling both inspires and informs his devotion to public service in the Roanoke city, region and around the world.

Joe Cobb for Mayor logo

Joe is the Vice Mayor and a member of the Roanoke City Council (elected 2018 and re-elected in 2022) He served as Vice Mayor from 2018 – 2020. He also works as Chaplain at Hermitage Roanoke, a senior living community in Northwest Roanoke.

Joe Cobb, Vice Mayor of Roanoke


Joe Cobb
For Roanoke City Mayor
Website: https://joecobbforroanoke.com/
Email: joecobbforroanoke@gmail.com
Facebook: joecobbforroanoke
Instagram: @joecobbforroanoke

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Meet Karen Baker, Democrat for VA 9th District US Congress

Southwest Virginia deserves strong voices and real representation in the US House of Representatives. In November 2024, 9th District voters have the opportunity to elect Karen Baker!

Karen Baker for Congress

The breadth and depth of her professional and personal experiences have prepared her to meet the needs of her district. As a hardworking, determined, proven public servant, Karen is exactly right for our region and our nation.


Karen G. H. Baker
For US Congress VA 9th District
Website: www.BakerforVa9th.com
Email: info@bakerforva9th.com
Facebook: bakerforva9th
Twitter: @bakerforva9th
Instagram: @bakerforva9th

Karen Baker was born in Chicago and grew up in Michigan. She graduated from William Smith College, with a degree in comparative religion, and moved to Washington, D.C., where she was a staffer at Americans for Democratic Action. She then went to law school at Catholic University. She began work at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission as a trial lawyer, trying large-scale sex, race, and age discrimination cases, and eventually rose to become the Assistant General Counsel for Systemic Litigation.

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Dr. Ivonne Wallace Fuentes: History as Argument, X-ray, and Weapon

(The following are Dr. Ivonne Wallace Fuentes’ remarks as delivered to Roanoke Valley Democratic Women Membership Meeting attendees on March 22, 2024.)

Thanks to Barbara and Priscilla for inviting me to speak to you for Women’s History Month.

As a professional historian, and a feminist historian, every day is women’s history month for me, but I do love how March offers us all an opportunity to reflect on the historical impact of women.

Dr. Ivonne Wallace Fuentes (Photo credit: Megapixie.com/A. Tonken)

Too often, I think, we tend to think of history in the way we might think of antique china and crystal — lovely, in its pristine cabinet, where its mostly admired in passing; treasured — maybe it was passed down to us by elder generations of women we loved. Maybe something we might even think to use, pulling it out for important ritual occasions like Thanksgiving, but not really a part of our daily life, like the rough and tumble Target dishes that go into the dishwasher every night. But history, and historical thinking, is not china we pull out once and twice a year. It is part of the air we breathe every day, whether we recognize it or not. As I teach my students, it’s not an empirical list of facts about the past — it’s not a long CVS receipt of names and figures. History is an argument, it is an x-ray, and it is a weapon.

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Introducing RVDW’s New Logo

A logo that centers women: Our new logo features visual symbols of our demand for suffrage and equality, improved font and visibility of the word “women.”

A logo for our region: RVDW encompasses the entirety of the Roanoke Valley. Our new logo uses the dogwood blossom, Virginia’s state flower, to visually expand and include our regional community.

A logo with a message: Women of the Roanoke Valley are in this 21st century struggle to advance equality, demand autonomy, secure our rights, and preserve democracy.

Thank you to the design team (Graphic Artist Beth Deel, RVDW Communications, and RVDW Board) for their work in developing our new logo.


Notes from the design team:

RVDW’s new logo and iconography represent our place in modern day politics and society while acknowledging the generations that came before us.

Pictured above are several examples of suffrage activism graphics. The yellow rose and the sunflower emerged as powerful symbols during the women’s suffrage movement in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The yellow rose became a symbol of hope and solidarity in the United States. In 1913, suffragists wore yellow roses during a march in Washington, DC, to advocate for women’s right to vote. Similarly, the sunflower gained significance in the UK and in the motto “Faith, Hope, and Courage.” The flowers embodied the resilience and determination of women fighting for their right to participate in the democratic process.

Why not a “donkey”? The association of the donkey with the Democratic Party traces back to the 1828 presidential campaign of Andrew Jackson when women and BIPOC were not full citizens of the United States.

US Senate Unanimous: Change Name of Federal Building

Today, the US Senate unanimously passed Sen. Mark Warner and Sen. Tim Kaine’s legislation to rename Roanoke’s federal building the “Reuben E. Lawson Federal Building” in honor of the life and legacy of civil rights lawyer Reuben Lawson. The legislation now moves to the House of Representatives where Rep. Ben Cline’s support is important.

Full story here: Senate unanimously votes to rename Roanoke federal building after civil rights lawyer (wset.com)

Please contact Rep. Ben Cline. Everything you need has been provided here: https://roanokevalleydemocraticwomen.com/were-almost-there-reuben-e-lawson-federal-building/

Let’s help get this across the finish line.

We’re ALMOST there: Reuben E. Lawson Federal Building

Thank you to all who have supported the effort to rename the federal courthouse in Roanoke after the late civil rights attorney Reuben E. Lawson.

In December, Senators Tim Kaine and Mark Warner introduced the legislation to make the change but support from Rep. Ben Cline, in whose district the courthouse is located, is imperative. And so…

Simply download, print, sign (include your address) and mail the following letter to Rep. Ben. Cline, 10 Franklin Rd. SE, Suite 510, Roanoke, VA 24011.

And a very special thank you to Reverend Edward Burton and John Fishwick for their tireless work on this effort.

Sandra Ryals, VP – Political Affairs

More on Reuben Lawson and the Federal Building Name Change

Sheriff Antonio Hash has a heart for service

RVDW’s January meeting reminded us of the importance of engaging with our elected local leaders. Capturing the enthusiasm and heart for service guest speaker Roanoke City Sheriff Antonio Hash has for his job, his city, its residents, and his staff will likely prove impossible.

RVDW highly recommends organizations invite Sheriff Hash to speak to learn about his department, his vision, and to enjoy his contagious positivity. (“You’re welcome!” in advance for that recommendation.)

City Sheriff is a Constitutional Office. In 2021, Antonio Hash, then a 13-year veteran of the Roanoke City Sheriff’s Department, proudly ran and won election as a Democrat. While he will run for re-election as a Democrat in 2025, Hash reminded his audience that his sworn duty, like all public servants, is to the Constitution (State of Virginia and US), his department, his city, and to all the citizens of Roanoke City.

Hash eagerly explained the Sheriff Department’s mission, values, structural organization, and its relationship to other agencies.

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2024 Va GA Session Update 2 – 1/19/2024

Greetings with a CALL TO ACTION from your Political Affairs Committee!

The brand-new Virginia General Assembly office building was open for business on Monday, MLK Day. Undeterred by wintry weather, 22 Roanoke and New River Valley residents, including two minors and three members of the RVDW Political Affairs Committee, embarked on an important adventure, seeking meetings and facetime with State Senators and Delegates.

Happiness is . . .
experiencing citizen lobbying!

Gun violence prevention was the focus of the day, as we followed guidance from Groceries Not Guns founder and RVDW member Catherine Koebel. Bills to watch this session include Child Access Prevention Laws, Funding for Gun Violence Prevention and Gun Industry Accountability, Permit to Purchase Handgun Laws, and an Assault Weapons Ban.

We left home at 9:30am and travelled three hours in the snow, over Afton Mountain, lunching along the way, and arriving in Richmond around 1pm.

After clearing security in all our layers, hats, mittens, and scarves, we headed up to Sen. David Sutterlein’s office. Sen. Sutterlein’s (new) district includes the City of Roanoke. These constituents’ voices brought the perspective of a city traumatized by gun violence – personally and as a community. Vice Mayor Joe Cobb and Roanoke City Councilmember Luke Priddy, who is a consultant for Jennifer Boysko in Richmond this session, were present for the meeting. We spent almost an hour seeking common ground on the issue of safe storage and child access legislation.

At 2pm we joined voices and hearts with other gun violence prevention activists from across the state at the 32nd Annual MLK Day Vigil at the nearby bell tower. This year’s event was historic in its own right as we heard remarks from Del. Don Scott Jr., our state’s first Black speaker of the House of Delegates.

Following the vigil, our group returned to the General Assembly building to meet with our respective Delegates, Joe McNamara and Sam Rasoul. office where we were welcomed warmly.

Our delegation headed back to the bus at 4:20pm and safely returned to a snow-covered Roanoke five hours later. Shout out to Abbott Bus Lines for their excellent service.

Best wishes, warmest regards,

Sandra Whitley Ryals, VP Political Affairs
Political Affairs Committee Members: Barbara Andes, Becky Clark, Jessica Hilbish and Catherine Koebel

CALL TO ACTION: GUN VIOLENCE PREVENTION BILLS

CALL. CALL. CALL. As often as you can. Every day is not too often! Put your delegate and your state senator on speed dial! In 2023, Johns Hopkins University research showed 81% of Americans support Child Access Prevention laws, including 58% of Republicans. Keep that in mind when you call.

Del. Sam Rasoul (D)804.698.1038Script: “Please be a vocal supporter on social media and in your legislative updates of Child Access Prevention programs and laws.”
Del. Joe McNamara (R)804.698.1040Script: “Please vote for Child Access Prevention legislation.”
Sen. David Sutterlein (R)804.698.7504Script: “Please vote for Child Access Prevention legislation.”

Full VA Senate Member List
Full VA Delegates List

Dems After Dark: RVDW Holiday Mingle & Food Drive

Update: See Event Photos Here!

Roanoke Valley Democratic Women (RVDW) invites everyone to a celebratory “Dems After Dark” on Thursday, December 7th from 5:00pm-7:00pm at Barrel Chest Wine & Beer. In this post-election, early holiday season of 2023, we’ll gather to celebrate winning back the House of Delegates and maintaining control of the Virginia Senate. Hors d’oeuvres will be provided. A cash bar will be available.

In the spirit of giving, we are sponsoring a food drive during the event. Donations of non-perishable food items (please, no glass) will benefit Feeding Southwest Virginia. Founded in 1981, Feeding Southwest Virginia’s mission “is to nourish neighbors, engage community partners, and develop solutions to address food insecurity.” Most needed items include:

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