Moran Helps Open Obama Campaign Office in Falls Church

About 400 supporters of President Barack Obama joined Rep. Jim Moran to celebrate the opening of the president's Falls Church campaign office Saturday.

Moran (D-8th) said the location is the biggest of the 13 Obama campaign offices in the state. He said the volunteers that will staff the office over the next several months are very important to the campaign.

"These are the frontline people," Moran said. "We have to win Virginia in November."

Volunteers registered voters and gathered contact information from the hundreds of people in attendance at the grand opening. The office is in Loehman's Plaza at 7285 Arlington Blvd. The Falls Church office joins locations in Fairfax, Prince William and Loudoun counties. A campaign spokesman said the Arlington office (2408 Columbia Pike) will open Sunday at 1:15 p.m. rounding out the five Northern Virginia locations.

As Moran hyped up the crowd up during a fiery speech Saturday, Tilly Blanding cheered and clapped along with everyone else. Blanding, leader of the campaign's West Springfield Neighborhood Team, said she pounded the ground for Obama in 2008 as well. Strategically she said the Falls Church location is in a good location where there is plenty of parking and a large base of diverse supporters.

"The more offices we open the better," Blanding said. "We're all ready to work."

Falls Church city council candidate said regardless the outcome of the May 1 city election, he will report to the office May 2 to volunteer on the Obama campaign. He said the opening of the Falls Church is great and will hopefully draw supporters and those still on the fence.

"I think voter turnout in this area is huge," Lawrence said. "Northern Virginia made the difference last time."