Gillespie Shows Support for Economic Diversification in Visit to Southwest Virginia
Last week, Virginia gubernatorial candidate and former RNC Chairman Ed Gillespie visited Southwest Virginia to tout economic diversification. He started his visit to Southwest Virginia with a visit to Damascus, Virginia with Delegate Israel O’Quinn. They did an interview with WCYB television while touring the Creeper and Appalachian Trails. Gillespie stated:
“”We’ve got to create more opportunities and tourism is a sector where we have that opportunity. It’s the second biggest sector in the Commonwealth. I think we can do even better, and I want to make that a focus. Jobs in general, tourism as a sector,” Gillespie said.”
I'll be in beautiful #SWVA for 2 days. Here I am w/ Del @IsraelOQuinn after walking the Creeper Trail to kick off my trip! #FallinSWVA pic.twitter.com/w5WVz12Y0I
— Ed Gillespie (@EdWGillespie) October 17, 2016
From there Gillespie toured Sugar Hill Brewery in St. Paul and they took a UTV vehicle on the Spearhead Trails. After the tour, Gillespie held a reception for Wise County Republicans at the Inn at Wise, touting the tourism industry of the county.
Dropped by @sugarhillbrewin in St. Paul today to see Greg & Jennifer Bailey. Great to see the brewery up and running! #SWVA #FallinSWVA pic.twitter.com/y74LTQqef4
— Ed Gillespie (@EdWGillespie) October 17, 2016
On Tuesday, Gilesspie met with the Chancellor of the University of Virginia at Wise. From there, Gillespie toured the Clinch Valley Medical Center. Afterwards, Gillespie visited OMEGA Holdings where he toured a surface mine and a mine reclamation site (a reclamation site is a former surface mine that is now grass fields). From there, he traveled to Giles County where he met with the tourism director for the county and ended his trip to Southwest Virginia by attending the Giles County Republican Victory Dinner with Congressman Morgan Griffith.
Gillespie deserves praise for coming to Southwest Virginia for two reasons:
1) He is the only candidate who appears to be taking the time to build the lasting relationships necessary to win all of Virginia. Congressman Rob Wittman is getting better about attending events in Southwest. Supervisor Corey Stewart only comes when he’s dragging behind Donald Trump’s coattails and we haven’t seen state Sen. Frank Wagner campaign west of Richmond.
The reality is Gillespie is spending his time here. He’s not just hitting Roanoke and Bristol and then taking the first flight out of Tri-Cities airport. Gillespie is showing that he is in this campaign for the long haul, willing to travel the hundreds of miles across Southwest Virginia to show he wants to see Southwest Virginia succeed economically.
2) It is exciting to see a candidate focus on more than just coal when they visit Southwest Virginia. It’s easy for a candidate to assume that all we care about in Southwest Virginia is coal. It’s true that we are passionate about our coal, we love to tell people about it. However, there is more to Southwest Virginia than coal. We have farms and small businesses all over the area. Southwest Virginia is also becoming a craft beer magnet, with taprooms and breweries opening all the time. Due to falling coal prices and falling demand in coal, we have to diversify.
Kudos to Gillespie for taking the time to campaign and advocate for the far flung corners of Southwest Virginia.
