I got to Richmond around 4pm, only to find that Broad Street had become something of a parking lot! After circling the block, I managed to find the entrance to the parking garage and headed over to pick up my press credentials. (I already had my dinner pass.) Once inside, I took a look at the 250 tables packed on the basketball court known as the Alltel Pavilion at the Stuart C. Siegel Center and I knew it was going to be an interesting evening.
Almost immediately, I ran into fellow blogger James Martin. We chatted a bit and I kidded him about not having Tier 1 press access, which he assured me he did because he got an email telling him so (I didn’t get the email, btw) so he headed over to get the bright yellow-green dot affixed to his pass. Once he got back, we decided to head over to
the reception being held in a big white tent on the other side of the building for the table sponsors. Walking over, we ran into Creigh Deeds and his wife, Pam. We were a bit early, but that was OK, as it allowed us a chance to chat with other early arrivals, some I’ve met before, like Eileen Manning and Rachel Rifkind, and others I hadn’t, like George Burke. The room begin to fill up. I got a chance to speak very briefly with Senate Majority Leader Dick Saslaw, and was introduced to Gerry Connolly, about whom I’ve heard much!
Before the speeches started, I ran into Amy Reger, the outgoing Executive Director of the DPVA. 
Next I ran into the incoming executive director, Levar Stoney, who was there with his girlfriend. Levar has done a heck of a job as political director for the DPVA and is an excellent choice for Executive Director, although Harry Byrd is probably spinning in his grave 😉 The position of political director is now open. I asked Levar about this and he said they will be looking at resumes. Former Governor and current Richmond Mayor Doug Wilder, former governor Mark Warner, Governor Tim Kaine and Congressman Bobby Scott were among those in attendance at this reception. Also there was 2nd Congressional District candidate Glen Nye.Del. Bob Brink was there and mentioned that he had lost his buddies. I reminded him that this was a good time to use his cell phone 🙂 and he said he had gotten a garbled message and had no idea where they were!
When we headed back to the main building, we were directed to stand in line again to go through security. This wa s contrary to what we had been told when we exited the building. Oh well. By the time I got back in and tried to get to the general reception, it was almost over and everyone was headed out to the dining area. I ran into Del. Kris Amundson – asked if she had caught up with Bob Brink (she had) – and Senator Toddy Puller. I also ran into some Norfolk and Virginia Beach Democrats before heading in to dinner.
The tables were packed really close together, making moving around difficult. I had always enjoyed visiting others at their tables but honestly, I just couldn’t do it this year. I also found it a bit strange that the only thing to drink on the table was water (where was the tea?) and it was warm, at that. There seemed to be some confusion amongst the waitstaff as to what they could and could not do. One brought me a beer ($5!) but another one said they couldn’t do that. Our table was near the front – on the third row – so we were halfway through our dinner before the invocation.
The program got underway soon after, starting with a “welcome” by Mayor Wilder. The mayor used his time to talk about Obama. This set the tone for the evening and I felt it was quite inappropriate, given that this was a Democratic Party event, not an Obama rally. After the parade of legislators, Del. Jennifer McClellan – looking lovely as usual – did the grassroots presentation. She also had the privilege of introducing Senator Hillary Clinton.
Clinton came on stage and gave a great speech. I could tell she was tired but she stayed on point and delivered her message. Others have commented on the support for Hillary in the room. (It is interesting to note that in the program, two of the nine top-tier sponsors and three of the 19 second-tier sponsors were listed as “Hillary for President” supporters, while there were none so identified for Barack Obama.) The Hillary signs were all over the dining area and people mobbed the walk area when she left the stage, hoping for a glimpse. I stood on a chair next to the rail (hey, I’m short 😦 ) and yelled at the Senator, who looked up, smiled and waved. (Of course, by the time I got my camera up, the moment had passed 😦 )
After her speech, I figured it might be a good time to try to make it to the bathroom. That was an ordeal. Trying to find a path through the tables, I finally made it to the stairs. Once back upstairs, I ran into three bloggers – phriendlyjaime, Thad and Anonymous is a Woman – chatting. After hitting the ladies room, I went outside with the first two to have a smoke. Once there, we ran into Ben Tribbett, who was heading back to his hotel. We headed back inside.
By the time I got a Diet Coke and headed back to my seat, Governor Kaine had come on to introduce Obama. Kaine was even worse in his remarks than Wilder had been. He turned it into an 
Obama rally, which I found extremely disappointing. A group of defiant Hillary supporters at a table near me stood up with their Hillary signs. Obama came on and started his speech, which was mainly an attack on Hillary Clinton. So much for hope and bringing people together. Another disappointment.
It was already late by this time and given that I had a 90 minute drive in front of me, I decided to head out and beat the traffic. I wasn’t alone – the buses outside transporting people back to the Marriott were filing up with folks.
Somebody please remind me never to attend a JJ Dinner in a presidential election year again.
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Not recognized in last night’s festivities was David Mills, who also is leaving the DPVA and who put together last night’s event. David, thank you for all of your service to the DPVA. I wish you and Jennifer the best of everything as you pursue your lives together.
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UPDATE: I may have missed the shot but the person standing next to me didn’t 🙂 And he sent me the picture. Thanks, David!
VIVIAN J. PAIGE | All Politics is Local 
Vivian,
JJ dinners in other states ALWAYS seem to turn into tit-for-tat rallies. I think the DPVA did a better job than the IA Democratic party did when I worked in IA. Same with NM.
We haven’t really had many heated primaries in VA. I was so shocked how the inter-party rivalries always seem to be more heated than the “let’s kick GOP butt” fights.
I’m glad you stayed through Obama’s speech, I think it is very rude that some of the other bloggers (cough *NLS* cough) were rude and left.
Thanks for a good wrap up of the event.
Yes, I’ve heard that other JJ dinners are like that. Don’t have to like it, though.
It was great seeing you Vivian… though I have to say- that had to be the longest thing I’ve ever experienced in my life (though knowing I had the green dot helped :-P)!
Vivian:
I have to say that I didn’t react to the introductions the same way that you did — perhaps because I am supporting Obama? I would have shared your reaction to Doug Wilder had he done anything more than he did — had he made a sales pitch for Barack, for example. But as a former black Presidential candidate himself, I think he can be forgiven for seeing with some pride (and wanting to comment oh so briefly) on Barack’s success. For those who were not there, what Wilder did was to say, at the end of his remarks, something to the effect that “it is not my place to make this speech an endorsement, but I would be less than honest if I did not say that I hope Barack Obama is the nominee” (or something like that). The point is not exactly what words he used as much as the fact that he only used one sentence to do it.
I was actually out of the room when Jennifer McClellan gave her introduction of Hillary Clinton, so I don’t know how it compares to Tim’s rather boisterous introduction of Barack, but I figured that the whole purpose of an introduction is to fire up your folks to make some noise. If Jennifer didn’t do that as loudly as Tim did, that doesn’t make Tim wrong or ill-mannered to have done so.
I also didn’t have the sense that his speech was so anti-Hillary. But I can’t seem to find the transcript that I had found on line just a few hours ago.
All in all, the only thing that really offended me was that it took so damn long.
What Jennifer did in her introduction was speak of Hillary being an inspiration. Not at all like Kaine’s introduction.
As for the length – well, I knew going in that it was going to be a long night. Not sure where Obama was before but I’ve known for a while that he wasn’t scheduled to be there until after 10pm. That’s why the event ran so late.
I think you missed the part where Doug Wilder pointed out the parallel to himself and Mary Sue Terry. Really, Vivian, this whole post just points out your own lack of objectivity, to which you are certainly entitled. Enthusiasm for a Democratic candidate is a good thing, whether it be Obama or Clinton. If people at the JJ were more enthusiastic about Obama, that should tell you something. You (and Ben) do not seem very tolerant of those who disagree with you, even though those people are in the clear majority.
Vivian, I know you’re a Hillary supporter, but I just wanted to say I am so proud of the state of Maine Democrats today who chose Barack Obama yesterday in our caucuses…..in the middle of snow storm with blizzard conditions I may add!
Our country has come a long way. It’s wonderful. 🙂
spotter – you are the last person who should be leveling a charge about objectivity. Given the nature of your attacks on Hillary, that is an absolute joke. Show me a single write up about the dinner that said it was anything other than a Obama pep rally.
As for tolerance – what I won’t tolerate is Democrats trashing Democrats, something many Obama supporters, including yourself, think is OK.
One other thing I will add – Obama was the only speaker at last year’s JJ dinner and it didn’t turn into a pep rally.
Hey Vivian,
I was at the Obama rally last night and I can tell you I did not hear ANY supporters trashing HRC.
There are MANY Obama supporters who refuse to speak ill of another Democrat and simply want their candidate to win.
I’ve also thought about Kaine’s intro at the JJ. He’s a national co-chair of his campaign, he’s supposed to be fired up. I didn’t hear attacks. I just heard a lot of “I had a feeling”. He was enthusiastic as was the crowd.
Its sad to say, campaigns cant always control their supporters and we may have a few that mirror NLS. All in all, this is one of the most positive campaigns I have EVER seen.
It gives me hope, call me a “hopemonger”.
Spotter, I’ve no dog in this fight, but you’re way way off in 1) calling Vivian intolerant and 2) putting her in the same class as Ben (about most anything, I’d say). Let’s ease up a bit, okay?
Isn’t Kaine as the head of the Democratic Party of Virginia allowed to say anything he wants?
Vivian, I was there and I really thought it was inappropriate to have speeches by the elected virginians and all were supporting obama? what if hillary wins, where are they then? I felt sorry for hillary, I really did. I thought her speech was great and got to shake hands with her.
Why invite them both and ignore one of the invitees.
I also thought the venue was aweful. While it was nice to see so many young voters there, I saw people on the floor area encouraging them to make noise at the wrong time.
We get it, you are for Barrack, but nonstop barrage of chants made it look like it was a staged cheer.
Not exactly encouraging.
and eileen, Kaine is head of ALL the democrats, not just the obama ones.
I don’t have any more obligation to be objective than you do, Vivian, especially toward a candidate who dragged us into the Iraq war and is now pretending to be the anti-war candidate. I judge candidates on their merits, positive and negative. I should note that you have not bothered to refute my factual statements, but instead insisted that a Democrat must not attack another Democrat. I certainly don’t think the Clinton campaign has lived up to that standard, and it has even argued that other candidates can’t stand up to attacks. My point was, the enthusiasm for Obama was genuine and widespread, and you should view that as a good thing, according to the standard that you have set for yourself.