Stafford’s First Congressional District Candidate Forum: Job Creation
How do the democrats running for the nomination in the 1st CD plan on creating jobs in the district? At the Stafford 1st CD Candidate Forum this past Saturday, Scott Robinson and Krystal Ball had the following to say:
Given Krystal’s experience as a successful small business owner, she offered the following analysis:
This is an area where we know that the engine of growth ultimately is not going to be the government. The government is filling a gap right now and is helping to boost the economy and get it back on track. But what’s ultimately going to lead to our economic success in this district and others is small businesses. That’s something that I know a lot about.
Krystal has an impressive background. Her professional experience ranges from software design and implementation for the US Federal Courts to evaluating Indian start-ups in education. She currently owns an educational software company.
As a small business owner, she knows what it takes to create jobs. As Krystal explains,
as a CPA I know the sort of tax reform that will help small businesses, as a business owner myself I know the sort of incentives that can help small business owners, I know that access to credit is absolutely critical.
She not only knows that small businesses will play a critical role in our economic recovery, but also has a deep understanding of critical job-related issues effecting folks throughout the first district:
In the southern end of the district, the quadrennial defense review just came out and they are recommending that we move a carrier [that resides in] Norfolk down to Mayport, Florida. That would mean 11,000 job losses in Virginia. Some of those would be in the first and some of those would be in other districts. But that’s something that I’m tremendously concerned about that we are going to have to pay attention to and make sure that our representatives are arguing forcefully for keeping that carrier in Norfolk.
What’s Scott’s plan for creating jobs in the district and throughout Virginia? Broadband. He had the following to say:
I’ve been to D.C.; I’ve met with different leaders. They all say the same thing; Scott the First Congressional District is probably the best piece of real estate in the country for job development. You’ve got a great location. You’ve got Norfolk and Newport News down south, you’ve got Richmond, you’ve got DC up north. It forms a perfect triangle. You’ve got infrastructure, you’ve got rail, you’ve got airport, you’ve got a port, you’ve got four-lane highways going east, west, an educated workforce. You have an educated workforce. I’ll put my colleges up against any colleges in the country: Mary Washington, William and Mary, Christopher Newport, the community college, Rappahannock Community College. But the one thing that we don’t have and we are not going to create any jobs in the First Congressional District is until we bring technology to the district. I have been pressing that the entire 5-months. We have to bring broadband throughout the entire district.
While I agree that we’ve got some of the finest colleges within the country and that continuing to expand broadband throughout the district is a great idea, I feel that this is a very simplistic view of what conditions are necessary to create jobs. I’m certainly in favor of expanding broadband throughout the district as part of a comprehensive strategy to create jobs, but that can’t be the entire plan.
On a side note, fomer Gov. Kaine and Sen. Warner have done an outstanding job of expanding broadband access throughout Virginia. Former Gov. Kaine actually established the Office of Telework Promotion and Broadband Assistance, which works towards establishing affordable, accessible broadband services to underserved areas of the Commonwealth.
Krystal knows what it will take to jumpstart job creation in the district, having created jobs herself. She wants to invest in green technology and provide incentives for companies and entrepreneurs to locate their business within the district, especially in Economic Empowerment Zones.
She will also propose necessary tax reforms to help spur job creation and make sure that these same businesses are able to get critical access to credit. Many small businesses have struggled mightily in securing adequate credit to make payroll in these difficult times, so access to credit is critical.
She also wants to invest in smart grid technology, which would allow alternative energy sources to become viable and potentially lead to individual’s ability to become energy entrepreneurs through selling their excess energy through the grid. This is the out-of-the-box thinking that we need to create 21st century jobs!
Actually, if Krystal knew her stuff, she would not be promising “smart grid” anything. The fact is that we don’t have cost effective distributed generation capability yet.
She is like a psychotic, pining away at delusions, while oblivious to the fact that she is talking about fantasies.
Sure, we should invest in new technology, but it is pompous for you to discount broadband as an economic engine, while asserting Krystal’s fantasy of of un-proved distributive power generation schemes.
Not that I am a big supporter of Scott Robinson, but to be fair, you should present an objective view of just what each candidate is proposing.
By the way, to exclaim that Ball has “extensive experience” at anything is ludicrous. I also would really like to see just how profitable her so-called software design business is, too. I can find anyone who has heard of her or her supposed company.
Of course this whole campaign is moot, because the District is so very gerrymandered in favor of the party of torture and voyeurs, the Republicans.
But, put up a good fight anyway, and concede not one inch to the fascist Republicans.
Gil – From my perspective, there are three key business issues that will contribute to the growth of a cost effective distributed generation capability: (1) the continued decline in the costs of distributed energy technologies, (2) working with utilities and local governments to ensure that the physical infrastructure is in place to accept the distributed generation into the grid and (3) to establish reasonable connection agreements.
In order to accomplish (2) and (3), we could use partners in Washington and locally who understand the end game and will help work towards this goal. There are huge potential economic and national security benefits.
As for broadband, your conclusion is completely wrong. I have not discounted broadband at all. Let me try to explain things in a different way. In terms of or transportation system, you can build all the roads you want; however, if you can’t afford to buy a car, operate it and maintain it, then all the roads you build is worthless in terms of spurring small businesses and jobs. It needs to be part of a comprehensive strategy. This includes tax reforms, incentives, and making sure that credit is accessible to small businesses. Small businesses are critical to our economic success, since they create the most jobs.
Listen, we have made tremendous progress on broadband accessibility in VA. This is thanks to the wonderful leadership of former Gov. Kaine and Sen. Warner. At the end of 2008, out of the 4200 industrial properties listed in the VAScan database, only 15 properties could not be identified as having broadband technology. If you look at the mapping initiative of the Office of Telework Promotion and Broadband Assistance, many of the parts of the 1st CD have some level of broadband coverage. Of course, there is more that should be done and must be done. We are lucky to have Sen. Warner in Washington to continue pushing the importance of broadband accessibility.
As far as being objective, you can listen to Scott for yourself. This is the first answer to a question where I heard him stake out an actual position. It is just incomplete. Oh wait, he did call for generating power via nuclear breeder reactors. The problem is that for the most part, Scott waffles and weaves around questions or gives answers that are not well thought out and lacks sensibility. He seems like a nice enough guy and don’t have anything bad to say about him personally; however, this election is our best opportunity to knock off Wittman and Scott, I’m afraid, does not appear to be up to task. I’ll support whoever wins the nomination, but Krystal would be the more viable candidate by far.
As for Krystal’s company, I understand that her company has several ongoing contracts in Virginia.
I also disagree with your last statements. Not all Republicans are as you describe. We need to be bringing together folks and not resorting to generic statements about certain groups of people. Krystal has been reaching across party lines. Her pragmatic message is evident by the fact that she has received 25% of all of her campaign contributions from self identified Republicans.