At the YDNC Convention, Todd Kennedy accepts the awards for Young Democrat of the Year and YDNC Project of the Year.

Over 20 Young, College, and Teen Democrats from Wake County attended the Young Democrats of North Carolina Convention March 24 in Greensboro.

We are happy to announce that Melissa Price was elected Vice-President of YDNC.

J.Todd Kennedy, President Emeritus of Wake County Young Democrats was selected as NC Young Democrat of the Year. This award was given to Todd because of his dedication to the Democratic Party as Chair of the YDNC Campaign Committee. Todd worked tirelessly to elect Democrats across NC by targetting our resources on two important races. The rest is history, and now Heath Shuler and Ty Harrell serve in national and state offices.

A fierce desire to achieve

About 400 Tuskegee Airmen will receive the Congressional Gold Medal today. They had two wars to fight: U.S. enemies abroad and racism at home

They entered World War II through 1940s Alabama, when even black soldiers had to sit in the colored section of the local movie theaters, and nobody expected them to thrive as pilots. The Tuskegee Airmen drew eager young black men, such as Wake County Commissioner Harold Webb, who spent two years fixing planes for white pilots before he even saw a black flier -- let alone a black officer.

"A lot of people didn't believe African-Americans could fly," said Webb, 81. "We were fighting two wars. We were fighting segregation, and we were fighting the Nazis."

Today, President Bush and U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will present the Congressional Gold Medal, one of the nation's highest civilian honors, to about 400 men who trained and fought in that celebrated squadron. Some of them are from the Triangle.

More than 900 airmen passed through Tuskegee Army Airfield from 1942 to 1946, many of whom flew 15,000 sorties over North Africa and Europe and destroying more than 400 enemy planes.

Harold Webb, 81

Webb started his flying career at the controls of a Piper Cub, part of a government program to train black college students as civilian pilots.

Drafted in 1943, Webb went to Wichita Falls, Texas, as a mechanic for white pilots. It wasn't until two years later that Webb, still a mechanic, first saw black officers: Tuskegee Airmen flying P-51 Mustangs.

"That motivated me to do something else," said Webb, a retired teacher and administrator, now a Wake commissioner.

He recalls slogging through classes on physics, flight theory and aircraft identification in 1945, seeing fellow pilots leave for missions over Italy as he trained on twin-engine planes. "What we did led to integration," he said.

http://www.newsobserver.com/703/story/558670.html

Apex Mayor Keith Weatherly responded Tuesday to news that a man was keeping a flock of sheep in his downtown Apex house with a lot of jokes.

He even appeared on WRAL-FM's "Bill and Sheri in the Morning" show to face "b-a-a-a-h"'s and a bunch of cracks.

He responded with what he said was a lighthearted jab at a neighboring town: "Very frankly, you might expect this sort of thing in Holly Springs, but ... it was a surprise to us in Apex."

That didn't play well in Holly Springs.

"Well, you know, he's a jerk," said Holly Springs Mayor Dick Sears Wednesday morning.

http://blogs.newsobserver.com/wakepol/index.php

How can they joke around like that when there's an occupation going on??

Welcome to our new Executive Director Melissa Price! Melissa began on Monday, April 9. (Julia will stay through the convention.)
We are fortunate to have found someone who combines a real passion for Democratic politics with the skills needed to keep our Party running smoothly.

Melissa became involved in politics in high school when she encouraged her mother to run for School Board in Johnston County. She has since served as President of the NC State College Democrats, in leadership roles in the Young Democrats (just elected Vice President of the Young Democrats of North Carolina), and as a campaign volunteer.

A recent graduate of NCSU in Political
Science and Communications, Melissa has since worked as a campaign consultant.
Melissa is a great addition to our Party organization. Please welcome her and give her your support.

You may email her at melissaprice@wakedems.org

A huge Thank You to everyone who helped make the 27th Annual Valentine's Fundraiser the Best Valentine's Ever!

• Thank you to all the sponsors and guests!
• Thank you to all the volunteers who helped out!
• Thank you to everyone who donated food!
• Thank you to Executive Director Julia Lee, Valentine's Chair Sarah Crawford, and Food Chair Joanne Casey!
• Thank you to all of our elected officials who attended!
• Thank you to our special guest NC House Speaker Joe Hackney!
• Thank you to Bill and Mary Coker Joslin for being the Sweethearts of the Wake County Democratic Party!
• Thank you to the Young Democrats of Wake County for hosting the after party!

North Carolina Young Dem of the Month: J. Todd Kennedy of Wake County

J. Todd Kennedy was chosen as our YD of the month, but his contributions go far beyond any one month. Todd accepted the appointment to chair of the YDNC Campaign Committee in addition to his elected position of Wake County Young Democrat President.

He put in countless hours guiding the efforts of a diverse committee to make a difference in our targeted races. Leading committee meetings, traveling from Raleigh to western NC for campaign events, enthusing volunteers, making sure that the preferences of our membership were reflected in our choices, and delegating duties to other committee members were just a few of the activities that demanded his time for nearly six months.

Our success would have not been possible were it not for Todd’s dedication, sacrifice, and leadership.

A financial contribution will be made to the Wake County Young Democrats in honor of Todd’s efforts.

The Wake County Democratic Party has endorsed Representative Dan Blue of Wake County for Speaker of the North Carolina House of Representatives. "Dan Blue is an experienced legislator, a former Speaker,and a man of proven vision and integrity. We will be proud to once again have a member of the Wake County delegation leading the House," said Keith Karlsson, Chair of the Wake County Democratic Party.

Blue represented Wake County in the North Carolina House from 1981 to 2002, serving as Speaker from 1991-1994, and was the first African-American to hold the post of Speaker. Blue was chosen by the Wake County Democratic Party's Executive Committee to fill out the unexpired term of the late Representative Bernard Allen and was elected to a full term in November 2006.

It's a New Year,
a new Democratic Congress,
a new Democratic era,
and another year of continued Democratic momentum in Wake County!

But the job is not done. This year we have to defend our majority on the Wake County Board of Education and elect Democrats to municipal office all over the County. In 2008 we will elect a Democratic President, Senator, and Governor. The Wake County Democratic Party is ready to fight for every vote, but to continue our success in 2007 and prepare for 2008, we need your help.

The Valentine’s event keeps our doors open for the year.  Join the Wake County Democratic Party in maintaining the momentum in 2007 and getting ready for 2008!

Put yourself at the heart of the Democratic Party!  Join us on February 16.

Click on the big red heart on the right for more information.

• Russell Capps is GONE!!!
• Democrats defeated THREE Republican incumbents:
  1. Ty Harrell beat Russell Capps in NC House District 41
  2. Lindy Brown beat County Commissioner Phil Jeffries
  3. Lorrin Freeman beat Clerk of Court Jan Pueschel
• ALL Democratic incumbents were re-elected
  1. US Congressmen Brad Miller, David Price, and Bob Etheridge re-elected
  2. Janet Cowell and Vernon Malone re-elected to the NC Senate
  3. Jennifer Weiss, Linda Coleman, Deborah Ross, Grier Martin, and Dan Blue (replacing Bernard Allen) re-elected to the NC House. Six Democrats out of nine House seats in Wake County.
  4. District Attorney Colon Willoughby re-elected
• Greer Beaty came within 335 votes of defeating Nelson Dollar who ran unopposed in NC House 36 in 2004.
• The school bond, endorsed and supported by the Wake County Democratic Party, and opposed by Russell Capps and the Wake County Taxpayers Association, passed.
• ALL EIGHT of the judges elected in Wake County are Democrats: Paul Ridgeway, Paul Gessner, Craig Croom, James Fullwood, Joy Hamilton, Vince Rozier, Kristin Ruth, Anne Salisbury.
• Outside Wake County, Democrats took back the US Senate and the US House.
• Sarah Parker elected Chief Justice and Associate Justice Patricia Timmons-Goodson elected to the NC Supreme Court.
• Robin Hudson elected to the NC Supreme Court.
• Bob Hunter re-elected to the NC Court of Appeals
• Linda Stephens, running for the NC Court of Appeals, carried Wake County by over 3,000 votes.
• 45,897 straight-ticket Democratic votes vs. 39,787 straight-ticket Republican votes
• Turnout in Wake County was over 40%, better than the estimated 31% state-wide.

District 2

* Lindy Brown (D)53% (100,223)

Phil Jeffreys (R)*47% (88,556)

99% of precincts reporting

Democrat Nancy (Lorrin) Freeman appeared to have ousted Republican incumbent Wake Clerk of Court Janet Pueschel on Tuesday, according to unofficial results.

Freeman, an assistant attorney general, was critical of Pueschel's first term and said she wants to bring a "more effective" management style to the office.

She blamed Pueschel for high turnover among clerks during her tenure. In the past year, turnover was 30 percent -- three times the turnover in Mecklenburg, Guilford and Forsyth, the state's other largest counties. And she said there has been a breakdown of relationships between the clerk's office and others who work with it.

The clerk, who earns $105,378 a year, handles administrative, clerical and record-keeping for the district and Superior Court, and leads a staff of more than 100 employees.
http://www.newsobserver.com/968/story/507708.html

Democrat Ty Harrell of Raleigh, who tried to paint Republican incumbent Russell Capps as an extremist, was leading the six-term incumbent Tuesday night by nearly 800 votes in one of two tight state House races in the Triangle.

Capps was not conceding Tuesday night but seemed at peace with a potential loss.

"I'm old enough to retire," he said. "If I lose, the good Lord probably has something else for me to do."

All that remain to be counted are provisional ballots, and that's not expected to happen until next week.

http://www.newsobserver.com/722/story/507637.html

A personal best. 4:45

Blue selected for Allen's seat in state House

RALEIGH - The executive committee of Wake County's Democratic Party on Wednesday picked former state House Speaker Dan Blue to replace Rep. Bernard Allen of Raleigh, who died 12 days ago, to represent District 33 in the legislature.

The vote was unanimous. By law, Gov. Mike Easley must follow the group's wish to appoint Blue, 57, a Raleigh lawyer raised on a Robeson County farm. Blue gave up his state legislative career in 2002 to run for U.S. Senate but lost in the primary election.

http://www.newsobserver.com/102/story/502920.html

Blue takes the seat for the remaining months of Allen's term, and he will get Allen's ballot votes Nov. 7. Because Allen was unopposed, Blue will have the job through 2008.

Bernard Allen Jr., seconded former Raleigh City Council member Brad Thompson's motion to pick Blue to succeed his father and gave a speech supporting him.

"We desperately need his leadership," Allen said.

"We need somebody who can hit the ground running," Thompson said. "Dan will serve well. It will give us the quality and continuity of service that we need for the people of this district."