"Thank you
Washington Moroccan Club
You were at my first fundraising event , we will go together to Morocco
one of these days .."

Text of Gerry's Victory Speech

I want to thank all of you who were a part of this effort. First, I want to thank my wife Cathy and daughter Caitlin. I want to thank my staff and the hundreds of volunteers who contributed countless hours on my behalf. I want to thank my friends in labor, the environmental community, and the business community. I want to thank my colleagues on the Board of Supervisors and elected state and local officials from across Northern Virginia who supported me. Finally, I want to thank my good friend Governor Tim Kaine for believing in me from the start.

Tonight Virginians joined their fellow Americans in taking back their government. Tonight we told the ideologues to stand aside, it is time for a common sense approach that gets results. Tonight we told Washington to stop the endless partisan bickering and get something done.

Tonight we judged one Party and held its Administration to account for its failures and mismanagement: Katrina, Iraq, Global Warming, declining incomes, lost jobs, the biggest deficit in American history, the largest one-week drop in the stock market's history. And the voters spoke -- enough, be gone, you've had your day. It is time for a change.

And tonight we turned a heavy page on 400 years of racial history and reaffirmed the American imperative that all men and women are created as equals. All are entitled to reach their highest potential. All are to be given that opportunity.

Tonight we celebrate a historic election that will be recorded in the annals of this generation and for generations to come. But tomorrow, we Democrats begin the arduous task before us -- to heal political wounds, to end a war honorably, to reassert that torture can never be an American value, to stabilize a lasting economy, to restore our place in the world, to reassert our environmental stewardship, to provide quality education for all our children, to revamp a broken health care system, to level the playing field for working men and women, to reach across the aisle to restore civility and mutual respect in our polity.

All the easy things have been done. The next Administration and Congress now face the greatest economic challenge since 1932. We need to recognize that much damage has been done and we won't be able to fix everything overnight, but we must be willing to tackle the tough and seemingly intractable issues. But most importantly we must act. We must remake the federal government as a responsive, accountable instrument of the people we serve. If we do all of these things we will extend tonight's historic mandate for a generation. If we insist that the government must work for all of our citizens again, we cannot fail.

****

A delegation of the Washington Moroccan Club attended a fundraiser for Congressional candidate and Fairfax County Board of Supervisors chairman Gerry Connolly .

In a friendly conversation with congressional candidate
Gerry Connolly , he stated ..

.." I love to go to Morocco one day !

Connolly, former U.S. Rep. Leslie Byrne, Iraq War veteran Doug Denenny and physical therapist Lori Alexander are competing against each other for the Democratic Party nomination to Virginia’s 11th District congressional district.

The winner of a primary contest June 10 will face Republican Keith Fimian in November.

Fairfax Connection
April 10, 2008
Julie O'donoghue

Congressional candidate and Fairfax County Board of Supervisors chairman Gerry Connolly released his campaign’s environmental agenda this week.

Should he be elected, Connolly would pursue a 10-point environmental plan that includes making a solar energy tax credit available to more people; creating a free home weatherization program; forming land conservation grants that protect drinking water; putting forward a cash reward for the business that creates that first 100-mile-per-gallon car; and installing auxiliary power at Dulles International Airport so that planes do not have to idle as much while sitting on the runway.

"I think there is very broad consensus on environment and I don’t think it is liberal or conservative," Connolly.

Connolly was the first chairman in Fairfax County’s history to develop a comprehensive environmental agenda.

Under his leadership, the local government helped create the "Cool Counties" initiative, which lays out steps for localities to become more environmentally friendly.
Environmental activists have been pleased with Connolly’s efforts at the local government level.

"I have thoroughly enjoyed working with Gerry Connolly because he has been a leader in working on environmental issues. It is not often I get to work with an elected official who leads on conservation issues," said Stella Koch, a Virginia conservation advocate for the Audubon Naturalist Society.

Other Democratic candidates in the race have said environmental protection would be a high priority for them.

Byrne was named one of the Virginia League of Conservation Voters 10 legislative heroes in 2003. In 1994, she was the first member of the General Assembly to introduce tree preservation legislation in Virginia, Byrne said.

As a member of congress, Byrne would look at regulating the coal industry, which partly responsible for the elevated levels of mercury in younger female bodies, she said. Byrne also thinks that the federal government should set up a think tank to look at energy and climate change issues.

Denneny serves Fairfax County’s Environmental Quality Advisory Council and helped found the local League of Conservation Voters.

"The environment would be one of my highest priorities. I believe the U.S. Government needs to launch an Apollo-like program for climate change," said Denneny, referencing the federal government’s space program under John F. Kennedy.

Alexander, who has testified on environmental matters before the state government and is an active member of The Sierra Club, has concerns about the area’s air quality and its effect on residents.

(Fairfax Connection)

Issues

"I bring a passion for progressive values, and an ethic of getting things done. I want to bring that same ethic -- the expectation that government will work for its citizens -- to the United States Congress."

-- Gerry Connolly

Bring Our Troops Home
I opposed George Bush’s war in Iraq from the very beginning. My first priority in Congress will be to work to begin an immediate phased withdrawal of combat troops from Iraq. I will vote against any open-ended commitment to keep large numbers of American troops deployed in Iraq.

Rebuild Our Reputation Abroad
American credibility has been severely damaged by George Bush’s war in Iraq. Before serving in elected office, I spent ten years advising the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee on foreign policy. I will use that experience to work to rebuild our alliances and cooperate with the international community to bring greater stability to the region.

Crack Down on War Profiteers
The Bush-Cheney Defense Department has secretly awarded billion of dollars in no-bid contracts to defense contractors doing business in Iraq. I support Democratic efforts to pass the War Profiteering Prevention Act to end this corrupt practice. I’ll work to hold defense contractors criminally accountable when they defraud taxpayers.

Child Care for Military Families
Long deployments and multiple tours of duty have put an incredible strain on families forced to cope with the extended absence of a parent serving abroad. I will work to expand child care services to help military families with young children.

The 21^st Century GI Bill
I will work with Senator Jim Webb to pass his 21^st Century GI Bill that would make college and job training opportunities more affordable for troops entering civilian life.

Military Health Care
Recent reports from Walter Reed and other facilities have demonstrated that the Bush administration has failed to provide adequate care for the brave men and women who have sacrificed so much for our country. I will work with the new administration to ensure our returning troops receive the best medical care, physical therapy and counseling services.