Hello Nelson Democrats!  As I write this we are just over 9 weeks away from defeating 45 and sending Dr. Cameron Webb and Sen. Mark Warner to Congress.  Our efforts at convincing Nelsonians to vote by mail seem to be paying off.  While I don’t have the most up to date numbers, as of August 28 there were 1,240 approved applications for ballots, and more are flowing in every day to our County Registrar’s office.  I can also tell you that many of your neighbors who are not availing themselves of the vote by mail (absentee) option are planning to drop by the registrar’s office after September 18, and vote in person early.  One way or another, we want to get our votes “in the bank” before Election Day!

On another subject, led by Reverend James Rose, the push is on to remove the confederate statue in front of the Nelson Courthouse.  That hunk of concrete has been sitting there since 1965, looming as a reminder to our African American brothers and sisters that the past isn’t really past.  Our supervisors are not addressing the situation and claim that they are not hearing from their constituents about the statue.  We can change that now.  Here are the email addresses for Tommy Harvey (harveyASC@gmail.com), Jesse Rutherford (jrutherford@nelsoncounty.org), David Parr (dparr@nelsoncounty.org), Ernie Reed (ereed@nelsoncounty.org), and Skip Barton (rbarton@nelsoncounty.org).  Let’s see if we can’t fill their inboxes with emails asking that the county do the right thing and, at the very least, move the statue away from the Courthouse if not ridding us of this icon of racism alltogether.

With any luck, our Biden/Harris yard signs will be available by September 9-10.  I’m traveling with a friend down south of Radford to pick up around 1,200 for the district.  I will make every effort to get them out to folks as soon as I can.  I’m as anxious as everyone else to get them in the ground, so I promise not to delay once I finally get my hands on them. 

I wanted to share a story from this week which I hope you will enjoy.  As most of you know, I am out in the county regularly setting up our highway signs.  Susan often worries about me working along the roads by myself, since we know our opponents can get a little carried away with their passion for 45.  On Thursday I was along 56 in Wingina when a large pickup pulled along side me.  I looked over as the window came down and the person looking back at me was a large young white man.  However, instead of the trouble I was sure I was facing, he smiled, thanked me for putting up the sign, and told me he appreciated seeing it in Wingina.  The interaction made my day, and reminded me again not to stereotype people.  These last few weeks will be hard, and I’m going to hold onto his smile and believe that the Millennials and Gen Z will show up at the polls and help us end this outrageous, criminal administration.

Larry Stopper

Nelson County Democratic Party Chair