News

The Democratic Party lost a real leader yesterday with the passing of Su Biderman. You will note that I did not say the Fairfax County Committee or the Virginia Democratic Committee I said the Democratic Party lost a real leader. It is also true that the country lost a great patriot and that Leslie and I lost a great and dear friend. There were many reasons Su might have been disappointed in this country particularly because as an American of Japanese origin she was placed in an internment camp in Utah during her formative years, denied her freedom, her quality of life and the respect she was due as a citizen. Su like so many others faced with this horrific treatment turned to making this country a better place where our true values are honored in practice as well as in words.

Those of us who were lucky enough to work with Su in the Democratic Party found her to always be impatient that we were not doing enough to win. She didn’t want to win because she was a democrat she wanted to win because she thought our candidates were more committed to the best this country has to offer. A phone call from Su never started with an introduction of who the caller was or with any small talk. Instead it was “what are you going to about this?” “why aren’t you taking care of this?” followed by a detailed explanation of exactly what she expected you to be doing. Su was never mean but she was always determined to raise the level of our game. She believed politics is important to every citizen and that we should conduct our efforts based on the reality that what we do in elections really does make a difference in the way we live.
Su served the party in many capacities but first of all she was for 40 years the precinct captain for El Nido precinct. She was a real precinct captain who knew her people and got them to the polls. Several times she was chair of Dranesville Magisterial District, and for many years she was the Chair of the Headquarters committee. I cannot tell you how many times I called Su with a last minute need which she and her headquarters crew took totally in stride and got the job done. Su could seemly create volunteers out of the woodwork because there was no other good explanation of where all that talent came from. Su was proud of many things she had done particularly being Chuck Robb’s precinct captain usually followed by the “I knew him before he was anybody”. She enjoyed being Chair of Headquarters and we all benefited from her leadership and she was proud to have been a National Delegate to a Democratic National Convention. Su was first of all a worker. She had run campaigns for candidates, created joint brochures for the county, and anything else that was needed but she was never to important to stuff an envelope. She was a true Democrat.
Sue was also active with the Northern Virginia Democratic Club which in the rest of the state was always some areas Woman’s Democratic Club but Su and others didn’t think there should be a separate club for women or for men. She served as program chair for many years and brought national players to talk with club members about the issues of the day. She also served a term as President of the club. Those of us who were active in the club still miss the lively conversations we all had.
Su lost her husband Albert several years ago. They were a real contrast he was tall and calm she was short and excited and they made a perfect couple. You didn’t have to know Su long to know how proud she was of her children Joe, David and Paula who were constantly in her thoughts. She was proud of how well they had done and how much they were contributing to our country.
Because of her work with our party others will benefit for years from her dedication and the training she gave all of us. We who knew her well will miss her reminder calls and her great heart. Her family will be holding a memorial service for her on Saturday March 7 at 11 am at the McLean Community Center at 1234 Ingleside Ave in McLean.
Larry E. Byrne