U.S. Senate candidate Tim Kaine visited Fibertek Inc. Tuesday in Herndon, and then on Wednesday made a stop in Mount Vernon to visit several local businesses there.
Also on Wednesday, former First Lady Anne Holton campaigned for her husband in Westmoreland County.
“Fibertek is a great example of what Virginia has done right and what the nation needs to do right if we’re going to strengthen our economy,” Kaine said after his tour of the company yesterday. “Once we decided that talent was important we grew our own talent, attracted talent from around the world, and then attracted companies that want to be around talented people. At the national level we need to recommit to having the world’s most talented workforce.”
Kaine held a town-hall discussion after the Herndon tour, sharing strategies to spur economic growth and ensure long-term competitiveness through investments and reforms in education and training, including improving standards for science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) curriculums and emphasizing career and technical education.
The Wednesday business tour of Mount Vernon gave Kaine the chance to talk one-on-one with several small-business owners about the challenges they face and shared his strategies to strengthen the economy and create jobs. Kaine also outlined his Virginia-based approach to level the playing field for small businesses through investments in infrastructure and reforming and simplifying the tax code.
“To strengthen our economy we need to pursue strategies to help small businesses thrive,” Kaine said. “All our small businesses have real similarities in the hard work they and their families put in, and what they need from Washington is for folks to put aside partisanship to find common sense solutions to move our economy forward. From my discussions with business owners here and across the state, it’s clear they don’t want people who will fight partisan battles. They want someone with a track record of finding common ground.”
Holton began her Wednesday on the trail for her husband with a small-business walking tour in Montross, starting at Angelo’s Restaurant, and visited several small businesses downtown including Carrot Cottage, Westmoreland County Museum, and the Inn at Montross. After the tour, Holton met with local business and community leaders at the Art of Coffee, where she discussed Kaine’s agenda to create jobs in the short term, develop a talented workforce, and level the playing field for small businesses.
“Tim served as Virginia’s governor during the worst recession since the Great Depression, but he was willing to make the hard decisions to get our economy back on track,” Holton said. “Even during the tough times, he took a balanced approach of necessary cuts with key investments to strengthen our economy and support seniors, veterans, and Virginia families.”
Holton also highlighted Kaine’s record of finding common ground to move the Commonwealth forward and achieve results for Virginians. As governor, Kaine worked across the aisle to strengthen Virginia’s economy and make significant progress in areas like health care, public transportation, and higher education. As a result, during his term, Virginia was named Forbes’ Best State for Business four years in a row, Governing Magazine’s Best Managed State, and Education Week’s best state to raise a child.
“Tim has been able to bring people together throughout his years of service in Virginia,” said Holton. “On the City Council, as mayor of Richmond, and as governor, Tim successfully worked with members of both parties to find common ground to address our most pressing challenges. We need more people like Tim in the Senate who can break through the Washington gridlock and focus on job creation and strengthening Virginia’s economy.”
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