Mediaboss Marketing

Democrat and political newcomer Jewan "Jack" Tiwari today announced a challenge to incumbent Del. David Ramadan (R) in Virginia's 87th District, one of the most competitive seats in the state since redistricting in 2010.

A Realtor, Tiwari is also founder of Social Servants, a nonprofit that conducts informational, educational and humanitarian programs and president of the America-Nepal Society, according to his announcement.

Similar to several other local Democratic candidates for November's election, Tiwari quickly listed education as a focal point of his campaign.

Our schools are overcrowded, Loudoun has still not instituted full day kindergarten, and teacher pay is still below the national average," he said in a prepared statement. "We need to prioritize education in the General Assembly, particularly early childhood education.

Virginia's 87th District covers portions of Loudoun and Prince William counties, including Ashburn, Chantilly, Haymarket, Sterling and South Riding.

In 2013, Ramadan defeated Democrat John Bell by 187 votes out of more than 20,000 cast.

Be the first to post a comment!

View original post here:
Democrat to challenge Del. David Ramadan in Virginias 87th

Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg, the deputy prime minister, said he had never heard of Liberal Reform. Photograph: Derek Peters/Demotix/Corbis

A leading Liberal Democrat grassroots group has said that members are being left in the dark about how the partys policies would be paid for.

In a briefing before the partys spring conference in Liverpool this weekend, Liberal Reform described it as regrettable that even at this final conference before the election, party members are being left in the dark as to how all of these plans are going to be funded.

The party is currently saying we want a 60:40 split between cuts and tax increases that is tax rises of 30bn, the briefing reads. It is difficult to see how that can be funded without the basic income tax rate or VAT going up. And that is before the increases in spending to which the party is already committed.

When asked about the comments at a press conference on Monday, deputy prime minister Nick Clegg said he had not heard of Liberal Reform, despite having written a forward to a major publication by the group in September 2013.

He said the party had a very democratic way of deciding policy, which set it apart from the slightly more North Korean approach taken by the other parties.

Clegg said: I sat and participated all day on Saturday in the final meeting of the Liberal Democrat federal policy committee a large group of federal Liberal Democrats elected to that body and elected to decide on behalf of the party what should go in our manifesto, which will then be subject to a vote this weekend.

So I dont know who you are alluding to, but the notion that somehow that is not done in an open, deliberate and consultative democratic manner is confounded by our meticulous adherence to the democratic ways we decide these things.

Members of the three Lib Dem decision making committees are elected by its members, and party members who have been elected as local representatives then vote on the partys policies at conferences.

Alan Muhammed, co-chair of Liberal Reform, said: Our understanding is that some of the party committees have seen some costings relating to the manifesto proposals. However, many of those committees operate largely in secret and there seem to be no plans to give access to the figures to the wider membership.

See more here:
Liberal Democrat members 'left in the dark' about party's spending plans

The top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee urged former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to give a full explanation of why she used a private e-mail account for all her official correspondence during her four years as America's top diplomat.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., told NBC's "Meet the Press" Sunday that Clinton "needs to step up and come out and state exactly what the situation is," adding that from "this point on, the silence is going to hurt her."

Feinstein is the first major Democrat to urge Clinton to share details of the account's contents, some of which have been subpoenaed by a special House committee investigating the 2012 attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya.

Clinton, thought to be the near-unanimous frontrunner for the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination, has kept mostly silent on the private e-mail story, which was first reported by the New York Times last Monday. Her use of the account may violate federal rules requiring officials to keep all their communications for record-keeping purposes.The controversy grew later in the week when the Associated Press reported that the account's server had been traced to an Internet service registered to her Chappaqua, N.Y. home.

This past week, Clinton said in a Twitter message that she had asked the State Department to make public all emails she had previously turned over to them, a total of approximately 55,000 pages. However, The Times reported that those messages previously had been selected by members of her staff and were not a complete record of her four years at Foggy Bottom.

She did not address the issue in her most recent public appearance Saturday night during an event in Coral Gables, Florida, for the Clinton Global Initiative University.

Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., the chairman of the Benghazi committee, told CBS' "Face The Nation" "there are gaps of months and months and months" in the emails the committee had previously received. "It's not up to Secretary Clinton to decide what's a public record and what's not," Gowdy said.

"We're not entitled to everything," Gowdy continued. "I don't want everything. I just want everything related to Libya and Benghazi."

For his part, President Obama said Sunday that he first learned of Clinton's private account through news reports. He went on to praise Clinton for requesting the release of the 55,000 pages of e-mail by the State Department, called her "an outstanding public servant" and defended his administration's record on transparency.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Original post:
'STEP UP': Top Senate Dem presses Hillary to address private emails

February 24, 2015 Senate Democrat Leadership Press Conference
Senate Democrat leaders discussed a bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security at their weekly news conference on Feb. 24. Website: http://www.rollcall...

By: Roll Call

Read the original:
February 24, 2015 Senate Democrat Leadership Press Conference - Video

Gerald Ensley, Tallahassee Democrat 5:33 p.m. EST March 4, 2015

Nominee Jane McPherson walks up to her honors during the reception in 2013 for 25 Women You Need to Know. The Tallahassee Democrat celebrates Womens History Month with its 9th annual recognition of women who have matched their professional success with contributions to public service. This year, the newspaper also chose 5 Young Women to Watch.(Photo: Democrat files)

A decade ago, a poll found the majority of Americans couldn't identify Susan B. Anthony or Elizabeth Cady Stanton as pioneers of the women's equality movement. Heck, only 26 percent of Americans in that poll knew women got the right to vote in 1920.

That's why it remains important to publicly recognize women leaders and why the Tallahassee Democrat has again chosen 25 Women You Need to Know. For the 9th year, the newspaper is honoring 25 local women who have been successful in their careers and given back to the community.

The Democrat also added a new category this year: 5 Young Women to Watch. Those selections were chosen from high school students, who also have demonstrated public service.

Throughout March Women's History Month the Democrat will publish individual profiles on the 30 chosen women and girls in the newspaper and on Tallahassee.com. The women will be honored at a luncheon April 6 at Goodwood Museum and Gardens.

Autoplay

Show Thumbnails

Show Captions

Like the previous 200 winners, this year's list of women encompasses businesswomen, educators, attorneys, judges and government officials who have been invaluable in the economy, culture and community of Tallahassee while not always receiving appropriate recognition for their contributions.

Visit link:
Tallahassee Democrat announces 25 Women You Need to Know 2015