Virginia Democratic Party chairman to leave post

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By Julian Walker
The Virginian-Pilot
© October 13, 2010

After five years as chairman of the Virginia Democratic Party, C. Richard "Dickie" Cranwell will step down in December.

"The decision to retire as chair of what I believe to be the most effective state party in the country was not an easy one," Cranwell said Tuesday in a statement released by the party.

He attributed his decision to a desire "to spend more time with my family."

A resident of Vinton, Cranwell spent 30 years in the House of Delegates representing a Roanoke County district. He retired from the legislature in 2002.

Cranwell led the party during the election of a Democratic governor (Timothy M. Kaine), two Democratic senators (Jim Webb and Mark Warner) and worked to deliver Virginia for President Barack Obama in 2008. Those successes gave way to a disappointing 2009 election cycle for Democrats, when three Republicans swept into statewide office.

Cranwell said he'll maintain some level of involvement in politics.

"I'm just going to be a foot soldier now, not a staff sergeant," he said.

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Nye will not be far behind him.

Submitted by eureka on Wed, 10/13/2010 at 9:51 pm.

Nye will not be far behind him.

Editors - Party name is Democrat not Democratic

Submitted by objectivist on Wed, 10/13/2010 at 8:42 am.

I'm not sure how removing my previous comments on Democrat vs. Democratic helps. This article is still incorrect. Please fix the errors.

First, they didn't take down

Submitted by path34190 on Wed, 10/13/2010 at 9:49 pm.

First, they didn't take down your comment, you commented on a different version of the story written by a different reporter. You can find it at http://hamptonroads.com/2010/10/virginia-democratic-chairman-stepping-down?cid=srch

Second, you're still wrong. The official name of the state party is the Democratic Party of Virginia. They run the party, they get to choose the name. Look on the state party website, it has the name all over every page, and that name is Democratic Party of Virginia. The members are called Democrats, but the party is Democratic Party of Virginia. www.vademocrats.org

democrat vs democtratic

Submitted by utvolfan on Wed, 10/13/2010 at 9:21 am.

Not sure where you are getting your information but from two different dictionary's, here are the definitions of Democrat:
dem·o·crat /ˈdɛməˌkræt/–noun
1. an advocate of democracy.
2. a person who believes in the political or social equality of all people.
3. ( initial capital letter ) Politics .
a. a member of the Democratic party.
b. a member of the Democratic-Republican party.
World English Dictionary
democrat (ˈdɛməˌkræt) — n
1. an advocate of democracy; adherent of democratic principles
2. a member or supporter of a democratic party or movement
Seems by these it WOULD be the Democratic Party consisting of Democrats.

Correction

Submitted by utvolfan on Wed, 10/13/2010 at 9:23 am.

The subject line should read "Democrat VS Democratic."

hey hey hey GOODBYE

Submitted by johnbo on Wed, 10/13/2010 at 7:56 am.

Another one bites the dust abandoning the sinking ship caused by Nobama. Soon the rest of the Democrats will wake up smell the coffee and put down the OBAMA Kool-aid for a good dose of reality. The Reality that this great country elected someone who has socialist views and believes that as long as his buddies are exempt that our money must be redistributed to those lazy ones who do not want to work for a living.