#do not badger ccs about this. they will talk about if it they want. | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

peachyteabuck · 6 years

Text

fool outta me [bucky barnes x reader]

summary: bucky and you finally have a conversation about your feelings after you catch him getting jealous about your friendship with thor

pairing: bucky barnes x writer!reader

words: 2080

trigger warnings: some teeth rotting fluff. talk about personal insecurities. allusions to previous and future sexual contact without much specifics. mentions of an unspecified childhood trauma

notes/other: hi hello i know i’ve been writing a lot of fluff n stuff. i will get back to fics abt two or more ppl just fuking rawing each other soon. dw.

ask box / masterlist / commission info / ko-fi

You and Bucky have been dating for awhile. Not a long time, but awhile. You hadn’t officially moved in together yet (you still paid your half of the rent for your shitty apartment), but you still often slept in his room in the Tower. You’ve had sex, but had never gotten too adventurous. It’s good, Bucky and you are happy. You’re in love. No need to push it, no need to talk it further, no need to complicate things.

You’re sitting on the couch, reading some book about the gendered politics of crafting, when you hear a loud crash in the kitchen. The others are all in other places at far ends of the Tower, and you’re pretty sure Natasha went out to get coffee. But any of them in the kitchen on the common floor? Without you noticing? Nope. Not possible.

Good news is, you trust Tony enough to not allow some stray or burglar to come and kidnap you, so you decide to investigate. You keep your hardcover novel with you to act as a makeshift weapon...just in case. You’re expecting a rat, or maybe some sort of ghost, possibly a dog no one thought to CC you on the email about - definitely not the god that’s been spooked by a a Nutribullet plastic container thingy that’s fallen from a poorly-stacked cabinet.

“Thor Odinson,” you groan, grabbing and gently placing the large smoothie-thing (oh god, what do you call those things anyway? Do they have names?) in the sink. “You scared the shit out of me!”

He looks sheepish as he explains. “Sorry, my lady. It looks like someone in this residence didn’t put…” he gestures to the object. “That away correctly.”

“It’s fine.” You half laugh, half sigh as you go to hug him. “It’s been awhile, hasn’t it?”

Thor chuckles. “It has! Please, sit back down. I’ll be there in a minute and you can tell me everything I’ve missed!”

You smile, nodding and going back to your place on the extremely comfortable couch. Ever the gentleman, about two minutes later he hands you your favorite mug - a baby blue one with cursive gold lettering that says “flight” with little birds on it- with your favorite tea inside. It’s warm under your hands and provides a relief to the ache from holding the book.

“An apology - for scaring you like that,” Thor tells you as you blow lightly at the steam from the beverage.

Again, you smile. “Apology accepted.”

The conversation between you two flows beautifully. You two talk about this and that: about your writing and his kingly duties. About your new book deal and his universal travels. It seems ludicrous, comparing your lives. But he seems genuinely interested in your life - just as you are his.

Book long forgotten, it seems like hours later when Bucky enters the floor with Natasha and Sam in tow. They’re all chatting about some new upcoming training technique they’re going to try with some of the subordinates. Once they all see Thor, they greet him with the same grand gestures and loud voice they’ve always seemed to use with the equally grand and loud god.

Well, except Bucky. He greets only you and only you with his signature peck on the lips, sitting beside you and pulling you into his chest. He’s showered - thank Gods - and he smells like the body wash you bought him. The honeycomb is calming and comforting, much more so than sweat and adrenaline and whatever else got stuck to him.

“How was the workout?” You ask.

He shrugs when he answers. “Good - the usual.”

You roll your eyes. Bucky may not be able to see it with the angle you’re at, but he knows you’re doing it anyway. “Always so descriptive,” you tease. He smiles, welcoming your chide remarks.

Thor watches the pair of you. You can tell Bucky notices, but neither of you really say anything. He had a habit of staring at things while on Midgard, it became a habit after one-to-many all-too-forward inappropriate questions, mostly made while in public (Why does that woman have a metal bar through her ear? He asked in a coffee shop. Why would anyone want to build a bear, especially little children? He texted you when he went to the mall for a first time. Why does this text end in an eggplant? He questioned when he picked up your phone and accidentally read all of your notifications).

It’s no biggie - at least not to you, so you badger Natasha about her postponing a girls’ night. Bucky, though, doesn’t take his eyes off of the God. He watches Thor with his assassin’s precision, and you choose not to comment.

Soon, your conversation with Thor picks back up. The whole time, Bucky’s muscles occasionally tense. For awhile, you ignore it; You know better than to push anything, so you drop it from your mind for the time being. Later that night, though, you bring it to the surface again as you get dressed for bed and Bucky brushes his teeth.

“Sooo…” you begin, leaning on the doorway to the bathroom.

Bucky spits the black (charcoal was Steve’s new thing, and Bucky’s always willing to be his guinea pig) saliva into the sink. “What’s up, babe?”

You shrug, attempting to remain nonchalant. “What was with you while I was talking to Thor on the couch earlier this afternoon?”

Bucky immediately denies his actions. “Nothing, it was nothing.”

You scoff. “I’m a retired interrogator for the United States Navy. You can’t knock me off your path that easily...James.”

Oooooo, full first names are coming out now. This is getting serious.

Bucky scoffs, too. Yours was serious, though. The one he does is obviously an attempt to mock you. “And I was interrogated for like, seventy years. You can’t crack me that easily.”

You stare at him via the mirror, blank-faced. “Really, you’re pulling the Winter Soldier card?”

Bucky shrugs, finally wiping off his face. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

You don’t budge, metaphorically and literally. “You’re deflecting and you know it.”

He just grumbles something unintelligible and brushes past you, huddling under the thick comforter on his side of the bed and turning off the lamp on his nightstand. Bucky’s acting like a small child who just got told he can’t go over to his friend’s house on Saturday because he has to get up early for Sunday mass. Luckily, the only more stubborn person on this Earth besides him (and Steve) is you.

Plus, you babysat until grad school: you know how to handle petulant children. You turn off the rest of the lights and snuggle into bed right beside him, curling your arms around his middle - just like he loves it. He’d never admit it, but James Buchanan Barnes (World’s longest serving POW, Winter Soldier, Veteran, Avenger) absolutely adores being the little spoon.

When he settles into you, you know you’ve got him right where you want him. “You know, if you don’t want to talk to me, I could just give Wanda the go-ahead to read your mind and spoil all of the pranks you were planning to play on Sam…”

He flips over and gasps. “You wouldn’t…”

“And I won’t!” You assure. “You just have to tell me how you feel.”

“Ugh,” Bucky exclaims dramatically. “Talking about emotions.”

You snort a little, kissing his warm, sweet-smelling shoulder. Damn, you really know how to pick a body wash.“You knew this was going to happen! My mom was a social worker, you can’t hide that part of me for long!”

He growls, then sighs. “Fine. But turn over.” You start to question him, but he cuts you off before a single sound can leave your lips. “I can’t have you looking at me while I say this.”

Listen, you bargain with yourself. You got him to open up! That’s great. Let him do it in his own way. Being the loving girlfriend you are, you flip over and face the wall.

It’s a few pregnant moments before he starts, but when he does - he can’t seem to stop. “Look, I know...listen. I was super like, sauve and stuff...pre-war and shit. Talk to Steve, he’ll tell ya. But being under mind control for a Nazi organization doesn’t really like, help your self-confidence, you know? When I met you, it was hard. I remember you, at that party. You looked...oh god, you looked so good in that velvet pantsuit. And those heels! When Natasha introduced us, I legit almost fell over,” it takes every ounce of all willpower you have not to giggle. You remember that day so vividly: how much your bra hurt, what the champagne tasted like, wanting to jump Bucky’s bones the minutes you saw him. Everything, you remember everything. “And then Natasha threw, like legit threw all of your books at me once we got home. And I read all of them. Several times. It was just...I remember I wrote down all of my favorite poems and like, read them every chance I could get. I just, you’re so articulate, the way you use your voice, the way you write. I was...floored. Still am. I just, you never cease to amaze me. And I remember the first time we slept together, and your dirty talking - god. I wanted to stop fucking you so I could write down everything you said. I’ve just never, I’ve never met anyone who could manipulate the English language like you can.”

You wipe a tear from your eye. God, what a fucking charmer. No wonder you let him get it on the first date.

“You’re so...like, you’re like some Greek statue. Carved from perfect marble and so precious. Sometimes I want to touch you make sure you’re real but I don’t want to smudge you, wreck your beauty. And I’ve always felt like...remember that poem, from your second poetry book. The one about trauma from your childhood?”

You sniffle. That poem, that’s the one he talked to you about on your first date. Normally you felt so uncomfortable when people complimented you, but with Bucky it felt so natural. “That my trauma felt like the jagged edge of a rock at the bottom of the pond; ever present but with no exact location until it was too late.”

Bucky picks up, still facing away from you. “Yeah, I just...I never thought anyone so fucking amazing could love someone like me. It felt like you were a shooting star that somehow fell in love with some stupid cliff’s edge, or some other shitty rock or something. I don’t know. I just...I’m worried that you’ll see me like I see me, and Thor is like...the hottest person ever. He’s just as bright as you are...at least, I don’t know, I remember you and him talking about your writing’s allusions to mythology and I had no fucking idea what you were talking about and I just...I don’t know. I love you, I love you so much, and I’m trying everyday to prove that to you. But I just, I’m not sure how to do that properly, so sometimes I-”

You don’t allow him to finish his sentence. You surge forward, your salty tears mixing with his as you kiss him. Bucky kisses back without hesitation. Both of you are reluctant to pull away, but oxygen cares not one bit about how in love two people are.

“I think dating a writer rubbed off on you,” you whisper, lips still almost touching his. “Because those words...fuck. If you keep talking to me like that, we’ll never be able to leave this bed again.”

He laughs, deep and husky. “What can I say, I’m a changed man. First the loofah and that body wash, then the yoga, now this…”

You bark out laughter, then sigh happily. “If Thor would make you crack like this I would’ve invited him to Midgard a long time ago…”

Bucky jabs his fingers into your side, tickling you. “Don’t even joke about that! I’m trying to be tender here, and this is how you treat me?”

You kiss him again, smiling. “Aw, my love. How ever will I make it up to you?”

He taps his finger to his chin for a moment, then flips you over so that he’s on top of you. “Oh, I think I have a few ideas…”

#bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes fanfiction #reader insert marvel fanfiction #bucky barnes x you #winter soldier #barnes #winter solider x reader #bucky barnes fluff #bucky barnes imagine #lukis writes stuff

249 notes · View notes

cfijerusalem · 5 years

Text

TRUMP CITY

“Be strong in the Lord, be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged because of the king of Assyria and the vast army with him, for there is a greater power with us than with him” (2 Chronicles 32:6-8, NIV).

I was walking into an Israeli pharmacy recently when an Israeli clerk from the store came out to greet me. After seeing I was walking with a cane, she began immediately to talk about God and to pray to Him to continue His Healing in me. I totally agreed and then thought afterwards, “Wouldn’t it be nice if everyone in Jerusalem was talking about God?” What a different place this “Holy Land” would be. I know that it is coming. There is a day when God will return His People to Him, as an entire nation. Many have strayed into the “ways of the nations of the world” and it is time to see change. I would hope that a new town (named after President Trump of the United States) would facilitate that change. I believe God will prepare His Chosen People for that time and that it is being done in small ways even now. A sudden event – the Trump community – could prepare the people. (2 Chronicles 29:36). This past Passover season saw over one million Jewish people coming up to Jerusalem to celebrate and visit the Western Wall to pray. We pray those numbers will climb and that the younger generation will turn to God, and not to America or other nations they want to be like. God is looking for holiness (2 Chronicles 31:18). The spirits of corruption, pride, selfishness and politics are so prevalent around the world. A man or woman will go to any cost to try to be elected. Let Israel say, “We want Holiness!” in all we do.

The sign at the entrance to the settlement “Trump Heights” (CC BY-SA 4.0, by Roee Mos, Wikimedia)

The Jerusalem Post newspaper, May 14, 2019, has reported that the Israeli government found a location for a new community located in the Golan Heights that will be named after the United States President as a sign of appreciation for his decision to recognize Israel’s sovereignty over the strategic heights. He will bring the name to the cabinet for its approval when the community is established. It will most likely be a mixed secular-religious settlement of approximately 120 families in the northern Golan at Beruchim. Currently 33 towns and villages have been established in the Golan with about 50,000 residents.

The Prime Minister of Israel is very grateful to the US President for his supportive role in helping to get this established permanently. Now for the residents of the Golan, “It is time to build!”

Golan Heights

LET THE WATCHMEN BEGIN TO PRAY:

Pray Fervently for the community to be a standard of righteousness for other communities being built in Israel, that will prayerfully be free from all idols of evil that have been brought into Israel from the nations. “I will walk within my house with a perfect heart. I will set nothing wicked before my eyes…” (Psalm 101:2-3).

Intercede for the families with little children and youth, that they will be protected from all harm, especially from the Syrian side of the border. “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6).

Beseech the Lord to raise up men of wisdom in the local community leadership, leaders in the community with God-fearing hearts as watchmen for the new community. “…and in a multitude of counselors there is safety” (Proverbs 24:6).

Pray for the people to be encouraged and not discouraged from enemy threats to destroy them. May they learn to be strong in the Lord God of Israel. “Do not be afraid or discouraged before the king of Assyria and the vast army with him, for there is a greater One with us than with him.…” “Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them” (2 Kings 6:16, NIV). May the community strengthen one another with these words.

Proclaim God’s Word that this new community will be a prosperous and beautiful testimony to the God of Israel. “He causes the grass to grow for the cattle, and vegetation for the service of man, that he may bring forth food from the earth, and wine that makes glad the heart of man. Oil to make his face shine, and bread which strengthens man’s heart. The trees of the Lord are full of sap, the cedars of Lebanon which He planted…the high hills are for the wild goats; the cliffs are a refuge for the rock badgers” (Psalm 104:14-18).

Standing with Israel, Sharon Sanders

Christian Friends of Israel - Jerusalem email: [email protected]

0 notes

blacklilyqueen · 7 years

Text

House Tag

I was tagged on Wattpad by my friend Alex to do the Harry Potter house tag, but since my Wattpad is all about Star Wars I thought I should post it he

Rules:

Answer all the questions and think about a question on your own and answer it.

Then tag 5 people (preferably from other houses). They have to answer all questions + the one you made up and make up one on their own. And so on, and so on...

P.S.: Since the questions were originally in German I had to translate them. Please tell me if something sounds wrong.

What's your Hogwarts house?

Slytherin

Did you want to be in this house?

There was no house I wanted to be in, but there was also no house I didn’t want to be in so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Did you expect to be in this house?

I thought I was a Ravenclaw, but Slytherin wasn’t that much of a surprise. I would have been surprised if I ended up being a Gryffindor, because none of the house traits applies to me.

If you were not in Gryffindor/Slytherin/Ravenclaw/Hufflepuff what house do you think you'd be in?

Like I said before Ravenclaw.

What natural surroundings do you connect with your house?

A little river in the woods with lots of moss all around.

Should Severus Snape be in your house? (Slytherin inclusive)

Yes, even though I don’t like him (great character, bad person). Just look at the house traits:

Cunning – He mastered to delude Voldemort for several years

Determination – He knew what he wanted: Lily

Ambition – Do I really need to explain this?

Traditionalism – Even though he loved Lily (or was obsessed with her), he still held on to old traditions. He joined the Death Eaters, hated Petunia just because she was a Muggle (I know there are reasons to hate her, but not this one), joined the Death Eaters, hated Hermione because she was muggleborn, joined thee Death Eaters, hated his Muggle father... oh and did I mention that he joined the Death Eaters?

Cleverness – You can say about him what you want, but Snape is one of the greatest potions masters of all time and absolutely talented in the Defence of the Dark Arts and the Dark Arts themselves.

Describe your house/the people with one word (not the actual house traits):

I just feel like there is no better word than cunning, even though it’s a house trait

What Death Eater should have been in your house?

For Slytherins: What Death Eater shouldn't have been in your house?

None. Traditionalism was the most important thing for them and that’s why I think that they should be in Slytherin. Even Regulus who was really brave and maybe could have been a Gryffindor thought that this is the right thing for most of his life.

What other wizard/witch should have been in your house and why?

Not Peter Pettigrew like most people would think! I think that Fred and George should have been in Slytherin. Just go through all the house traits again and tell me that the two of them couldn’t be in Slytherin.

Favourite character from your house?

I love all the characters from the Black family.

Regulus, who is the real Slytherin hero and turned against Voldemort all alone.

Andromeda, who left her family, because she realized that their believes are wrong.

Narcissa, who lied to Lord Voldemort to save her family.

Bellatrix, who was a perfect villain with all her madness.

Least favourite character from your house?

(not in this order)

Umbridge (Don’t have to explain this one).

Albus Severus Potter in the Cursed Child. I mean loved the idea of Harry having a son in Slytherin and I understand that it wasn’t easy for him to be the Slytherin son of Harry Potter, but he still acted like a dick in CC (Harry too, but still).

Severus Snape. Snape is like I said a great character, but a bad person. Same thing for Bellatrix, but she is the villain. She is supposed to be evil, torture everyone and have a crazy obsession with someone who will never love her. That’s why she’s one of my favourite characters, but Snape? Of course, he couldn’t be super nice to Harry, when he tried to convince Voldemort that he was on his side and of course you don’t love the child of your enemy, who married the girl you love (or are obsessed with), but he didn’t have to be mean to Hermione or Neville (and he was mean to them before they were friends with Harry). And the thing with Lily is that it’s not like the two didn’t end up together because of James. No, Lily never felt more than friendship, there was a time when Lily didn’t like James and she still wasn’t in love with Snape. I could go on and on about Snape and I’ll probably make a post about him sometime, but he truly is one of my least favourite characters.

Which character from your house should have been in another house?

Maybe Andromeda? We don’t know much about her, but what we know doesn’t sound like Slytherin.

Choose an animal instead of lion/snake/eagle/badger ("raven" is not an option for Ravenclaw just because it's in the name, but if you have a good reason you can use it):

Something that lives in the water. Maybe a shark.

Choose a colour instead of red-gold/green-silver/blue-bronze/yellow-black:

We all know the answer. It’s Black and I’m 100% Sirius about this!

Choose a flower for your house:

Not a flower, but a Venus flytrap would be pretty Slytherin. I mean that’s a cunning plant. Flies think everything is awesome and then it eats them up.

What stereotype about your house annoys you the most?

“All Slytherins are evil” (Regulus Black, Andromeda Tonks, Horace Slughorn, Merlin)

“There’s no evil wizard or witch who wasn’t in Slytherin” (Peter Pettigrew (Gryffindor), Quirinus Quirrell (Ravenclaw), Igor Karkaroff, Gellert Grindelwald (both not in Hogwarts, but still not in Slytherin), all the Death Earters, who’s house we don’t know)

Do you like your house colours?

I love the silver, but I hate green. It’s okay for all the Slytherin merch, but I just don’t like the colour green.

One thing you hate about your house?

Too many bad people. Not all, but many.

What do you think about your common room?

Awesome. First of all, I you don’t have to walk up all these stairs to the tower. Second of all, it’s under the lake, that’s amazing!

What do you think about your head of house?

I think I said enough about Snape. But Slughorn I don’t know. He reminds me of this “I’m not sexist/racist/homophobic, but…” guy. But he’s okay.

What do you think about the founder of your house?

You mean the person who started all this pureblood nonsense? It’s cool that he could talk to snakes, but that’s it. He hated Muggleborns, Halfbloods, Muggles, Squibs, everything that wasn’t Pureblood, he put a basilisk in a school to kill students, he couldn’t work together with other people. He was a dick.

What character from a different book/movie should be in your house?

Anakin Skywalker. Maybe Sherlock Holmes, can’t tell if he’s a Ravenclaw or Slytherin.

Do you think J.K. would be in your house? Yes, the Pottermore test said she was in Gryffindor, but was this the right choice?

Thinking in stereotypes: Yes, have you read how many people she killed?!

But other than that, I don’t think so.

"Gryffindors are reckless/stupid!"

"Slytherins are mean!"

"Ravenclaws are nerds!"

"Hufflepuffs are dumb/too nice!"

Does the stereotype about your house apply to you?

Maybe a little. I’m not evil like a villain, but I can be mean sometimes.

Should Harry Potter be in your house and why? (Also for Gryffindors!)

Other than popular believe I don’t think so. I think that when the sorting hat said that he saw something in Harry that would fit into Slytherin it was actually the part of Voldemort in him.

What magical creature should represent your house and why? (Gryffindor: Unless you have a good explanation other than the name "griffin" is not an answer) (Slytherin: Basilisk is also no answer)

Kelpie or Occamy

Was there a situation in your life that made you think "Wow, I'm definitely a Gryffindor/Slytherin/Ravenclaw/Hufflepuff"?

Nope.

Why do you think J.K. Rowling choose a lion/snake/eagle/badger as your house animal? (Slytherin side note: Yes, because Slytherin was a parseltongue, but why couldn't he speak with spiders, cows or elephants?! Why a snake?)

Because snakes represent cunning. Just think about Adam and Eva and the snake.

Do you think your Patronus has anything to do with your house? (not generally spoken, just YOUR house and YOUR Patronus)

My Patronus is a Stoat and I cannot really see a connection. Many noble people used to wear their fur and many Slytherin families have maybe noble ancestors, but I don’t believe that there’s a connection between these two.

If Fleur Delacour went to Hogwarts, would she be in your house?

Maybe, but I think she’s more of a Gryffindor.

My question:

What Ilvermorny house do you think is the most like your house? Is it your Ilvermorny house?

Because of the name you could think Horned Serpent, but no. If you look at the Ilvermorny house traits there’s no house that screams Slytherin.

For me it’s like this:

Pukwudgie – Represents the Heart – Hufflepuff

Horned Serpent – Represents the Mind – Ravenclaw

Wampus – Represents the body – Gryffindor

Thunderbird – Represents the soul – Slytherin

The other three make sense and the last one is left over.

I actually did the Ilvermorny test twice, because Pottermore decided to accidentally delete my profile and I got the same results for the Hogwarts, Patronus and Wand test, but when I did the Ilvermorny test the first time I got Horned Serpent and the second time I got Thunderbird.

I tag @deerprongs @siriusblackfoot @azurakenway @blackinn-n @regulusirius and everyone who wants to do this.

3 notes · View notes

thoughtfulcupcakesublime · 4 years

Link

Partnerships, workforce development training and area projects were covered at a recent program.

The Prince William Chamber of Commerce held its Future of the Region at Old Hickory Golf Club in Woodbridge on Thursday.

City of Manassas Economic Development Director Patrick Small and Prince William County Department of Economic Development (PWCDED) Executive Director Christina Winn spoke at the event.

Local projects and employment were among the items Small discussed.

Winn talked about development, activities and themes in the region that will impact the county’s economic development.

Here is a video of the Future of the Region:

Below, is a transcription that was completed with 80 percent accuracy:

Lyle Dukes: We are celebrating and coming into this year, 10 years as a combined chamber, about 10 years ago, um, to, to, to keep chambers from East side of the County came together and merged. And so this is the 10th year and so this is what we call our diamond anniversary. So, Dukes: well we were excited and looking forward to having some, some great things be a part of some events and some incredible initiatives that we’re going to lay out top in terms of helping the County get better. We always talk about having VA a good place to live, the play to work, but I really believe that we will have you all people in this room and others that are really bringing this County together in a special manner. So get ready. We have a host of you supervisors that are, that are a part of the County and then so many wonderful elected officials but also, yes, just being a part of the founded our business owners and whatnot. Um, just we’re, we’re excited about what lies ahead. This is a new not, this is a new year, a new decade, 2020 2020 is a universal symbol of clear vision. How many have 2020 individual

Speaker 2: [inaudible]

Dukes: really lay out to envision and really go forward and so we have some exciting things in the plan and you’re going to hear some of those today. Want to take the time to appreciate all our vision partners. Each has chosen an area of vision that makes up the chambers program of work because it’s an area to which that member is committed, so please pull your applause. We’re going to recognize our 2019 2020 vision partners, founding vision partner, dominion, energy advocacy, Transurban this row freedom bank education, Apple federal credit union,

Speaker 2: [inaudible]

Dukes: economic development partner is our ISIS CIC. Express mobility partners, help the community. It’s a terror Northern Virginia medical center and then faulted life insiders enterprise inc and also let’s give them a hand

Speaker 2: [inaudible]

Dukes: at this time. Also, we want to recognize all of our cornerstone partners. We are excited about this. These organizations, they chosen a department with the chamber in order in order to showcase their commitment to impacting the community and developing a reputation as your preferred partner in success as, yeah. That your whole, your applause. While we name these partners, these are our cornerstone partners. CC, Bartholomew Keller waves solution. Also sedate the city of Manassas did make incorporated George Mason university science and take out your campus, our life church

Speaker 2: [inaudible]

Dukes: data center PEO distilling Northern Virginia community college campus. Know that Northern Virginia electric cooperative, no fat health, UVA health systems, United bank and with bop wealth management.

Speaker 2: [inaudible].

Dukes: Now if we haven’t the Keystone partners, uh, could you stand? We have a list of so many. If you’re a Keystone partner, we’re gonna just stand and be recognized. Let’s get them

Speaker 2: [inaudible].

Dukes: We wish to thank also our gold sponsor Omni ride, which, uh, a witness represent my colleague Morello and uh, she’s going comment and have some remarks. Um, that’s just, let’s see, Polly

Speaker 3: [inaudible]. Okay. And, um, I’m Holly [inaudible] and when [inaudible] told you earlier this week that he couldn’t make a seniors event and he said, okay, this is your moment in the song. I’m not going to be talking about [inaudible] as the TBM program manager. Determinative options and that means portfolio largely. And um, the programs that I manage are the ride sharing program as well as the employer outreach program and that allows the residents of Prince William County to go out to our website, fill out a match request form, and then what we’ll do is send them back a detailed trans of itineraries and transit options for them, including Metro VRE or buses. We also provide them a detailed in this of all the communities that live near them, near them and have some more work out

Speaker 3: of it so that then you hopefully get together with one another SRO ride shoe. And then the employer outreach program is a program where I work very closely with Prince William County employers. Do you talk to them about those commute options so that they can be talking to their employees about, um, alternate commute schedules? Um, can be benefits and things of that nature. So I’ll take just a minute to say for those who’ve lived in the County, um, and you know that the hotlines are some of the first in the nation. Um, they were built in the 73 they were to before, back then in 18, nine in 19 nine, they turned into HOV three. And so the infrastructure on I 95 has been in place for a long time and is quite sure not as much on the 66, four door. And I’m going to spend just a little time talking about, um, what that infrastructure looks like.

Speaker 3: So on the Eastern side of the County, believe it or not, we have 6,000, 814 for you and lot spaces. Um, compare that to the Western side of the County where we have 2073 actually that was high as of November of last year, but in November of last year we had 51 spaces to the university community a lot. So now we’re just over 3000. Um, I forgot to say them on the West or the Eastern side of the County. Besides all the cathedral, what spaces? We also have about 10,000 people day sliding up and down the night before. So that’s response or maybe through Prince William County Stafford as well. Um, then what’s using that, that infrastructure. Um, we’ve got 88 active van pools on the Eastern side of the County and that translates or actually is ADH all of you in the County, 77 on the Eastern side of the County with the telling of 482 riders. Um, and on the Western side of the County we have 11 van pools with 77 Tilton wipers. So there’s a lot of room for growth on the sort of Western side of the County obviously. And you’re excited about continuing to manage the demand for alternate options on the Eastern side of the County, but are really, really excited about the growth on the Western side of the County. Coming not only to think infrastructure that positive community culture out there, eczema

Speaker 2: [inaudible]

Dukes: but following, and thank you for all you all do to get down the road. Um, I failed to introduce one of our VIP peas. Uh, it’s my wife

Speaker 2: [inaudible].

Dukes: We, we’re, we’re really excited about, um, what’s, what’s happening. And before I do this, let me, I’ll recognize our, um, media partners inside node one and what’s up Prince? They’re going to be taking pictures and tell me and taking, you know, taking notes so to speak. Um, and they gave me a note that said, if you would prefer not to be included in the video, please avoid that error. [inaudible] but we’d be all pain today that you are selling side cited things and concerning what our County, uh, and what this region is doing is doing. And I’m excited to be a part of it. And you all certainly are a part of it is now. My pleasure to introduce and they’re going to come out. Um, we had some chairs that were up here and one of the presenters, I won’t mention Patrick, the name he sent me a sentence, doesn’t want to sit up here, but that this fall is not, uh, um, I’m not gonna mention his name, but we, they’re gonna come and they’re gonna present.

Dukes: And then we’re gonna probably do this, some Q and A’s. We have some time so that you can get a better understanding of, of what’s going on. So at this particular time we have on my notes to see and make sure I follow for the presentation. All right. Um, we’re going to ask that, uh, you get ready for the presentation for, um, for the director of the city of Manassas. The thing is on my script that you are first. And then also we have Christina Wynn, who’s the executive director of economic development for principals. So at this time it comes Patrick, he’s going to talk about what they’re doing in their hair. [inaudible]

Small: so they literally had three chairs [inaudible] scared. So last year I did the column E brand or billion dollar walk up to the podium to kick a few people in the head, showed a bunch of slides from micron and chocolate white and piece out [inaudible] this year to be a little more challenging for us. But all in all, we had a fantastic year. So it’s a little squash through this, I don’t know. All right. So let we start with a paper political advertisement. Yeah, because they pay me, I’m going to introduce you to our team. Um, the Cole Smith and myself, there’s only two of us in the economic development department. Quite honestly, if you’ve never met us and only knows my reputation, he might take an apartment staffed with honey badgers, pound

Small: for pound. We’re probably the most atrocious department on the planet.

Speaker 2: [inaudible]

Small: well, one of the things I’m most proud of, um, for, uh, for the most important way for her as Nicole Smith for achieving her certified economic development designation last year, uh, our department is two certified professionals in it to achieve that designation, uh, three to five years worth of study. Uh, the comprehensive Dalal three part exam followed by moral presentation in front of the council of your peers in the cold war diligently and was awarded that designate

Speaker 2: [inaudible].

Small: So what does she and I do? Our full service Edo economic development organization would be business attraction and retention marketing. And we are also the city’s tourism agency. Uh, 80% of all the jobs in the community come from existing businesses. Uh, 100% of all existing jobs in the community can be attributed to existing businesses. For a second. Um, there are one thousand five hundred and fifty thousand employers in the city of Manassas paying an average weekly wage of North of $1,200 a week. That’s an average annual salary in the city average across the board, over $60,000 a year. And the city currently has 2.1% unemployment below friction. Our existing business visitation program for retention, uh, involves Nicole and I work in directly last year with 129 existing and prospective businesses. 23 of those existing businesses chose to invest in additional category employment. Um, 15 of them were prospective businesses that actually picks the Nassis in addition to that, um, cold as direct sales calls on existing businesses, their visitation and relationship though the calls. And she, this is personally with over a hundred businesses in the community years. We stay pretty busy and don’t have a slide for it today, but I want to do a shout out to Mason and small business development center and that was a new initiative for the city last year we established the SBDC to replace on the Ford business center, which closed its operations and it’s been a boring success for us over the past year and I was very pleased when the Kennedy recognize that and decided to follow suit.

Small: So major employers in the city, uh, Microm is pretty rapidly pulling away from, you know, down health, UVA health systems, uh, with over 1500 employees. But Nepal remains our second largest employer with 1300. Um, most of these employers and jobs last year. Um, most of them are planning to add additional in the upcoming year. And again, we spent most of our time working with folks like this. It wasn’t me, you probably can’t read this chart and the ones you can probably care

Speaker 2: [inaudible]

Small: but in the yellow and gold area in the lower right hand section down there, that is a percentage of the employment base in city, in the dances that is devoted to healthcare. Um, the sort of light, whitish color on the far left is a percentage of the city’s employment base that is in professional in technical services. So when we talk about our weekly wage, this 30% of our economy is key to that. So sending the NASA sends a 10 highest weekly wage in the Commonwealth of Virginia, the 16th highest per capita income before the highest overall wage for professional and technical services. And we remaining net importer of labor into the community. Uh, 18,000 homeless, 18,500 people drive into the city of the dances every day for work. There are now a lot of communities in this country that can claim that. So we’re truly blessed. Yeah, I had to put that in there.

Speaker 2: [inaudible]

Small: that’s the slide I showed like eight times last year. Clearly it’s a big deal and it remains to this day the single largest capital investment ever made by a company in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Uh, and yet some will ride that horse

Speaker 2: [inaudible]

Small: so there’s an aerial of the construction and micron, the two buildings in the foreground in the lower right. That is what’s under construction now and I would point out that it’s half of what my partners was committed to build in space. One a phase two was the manufacturing fab labs and does not also include the center for automotive excellence that they will be building in the city of [inaudible] as well. There’s another view that highlights the official burden. The city of [inaudible] Craig

Small: and micro is already paying dividends for us this year. Applied materials of the Melbourne, the city of [inaudible] picture company, world leader in production service and sale of the equipment the micron uses in their facility. They brought 20 jobs to us and they’ll be every other 10 in the near term. This was when the governor helped us out with all last year, another supplier on the micron, the governor through a few training dollars at the deal to over a hundred jobs, the average annual wage of $105,000 a year. And these are the types of jobs we talk about. We talk about career technical education. These are not the engineers that worked at high years.

Small: I would also add high purity systems is a union shop. They usually get in labor out of Washington DC. And just as a sort of temporary sales pitch, Commonwealth of Virginia does allow you unions in the state. However, ranking remains one of our single biggest attractions for new employers. So in Virginia we believe it’s the employer’s options to whether they want to unionize or number. And I hope all of you to join the chamber imposing any efforts to change that Richmond this year or anytime in the future. You can talk to Paulson, Nicole chairs between his policy committee.

Small: Where do you have an airport that has the busiest general aviation airport in the entire Commonwealth of Virginia and 30%. All state’s general aviation activity occurs there. It houses for us companies like war, flight science and why knows, uh, whiteness because they have their best 50 jobs since they came to us and they’re growing rapidly. We’re trying to break into that top 10 list at some point is airport operates in black, that is rare for municipal airport. City on actually contributes both lease rentals and property tax revenues to the city over and both paying the expenses it takes to operate the airport. Um, and in addition to the dividends it pays last year we did the groundbreaking of sheer total years and this fixed based operation there is under construction for those of you who’ve ever been on a long trip and then stopped it. Um, I want you to think about the most awesome. This truck stopped me ever pulled into my showers and the great food or fixed base operator was essentially a truck stop for airplanes. They get their gas, their pilots, lounges. Um, only when you think about nice seats or people who don’t, Jeff’s worth tens of millions.

Small: We have the trucks [inaudible] the lady you can breaks the city’s largest. Oh, you’re screwed. Chris. [inaudible] use them all the batteries, 40 acres, $150 million mixed use development under construction. Now with the public private partnership, we update you on that project as it goes along. Um, the true by Hill, it’s under construction now, should be opened in June and he can partners with other construction on that office. Retail building on the left that’s open April. It is available for leaks now standard Martin’s building luxury townhomes homes out there almost $300 and they average about $450,000 after the first hundred and 14 were built this school year. Um, we keep track of the number of school kids are coming out of the new developments, but also about four kids from this development. So if you hear people saying the residential development is going to sink public school, it’s not necessarily true because the kind of developments we’re building, the civic grasses like the messenger, a journalism major building visitor places down down on the live work units in case B marketplace. These developments are primarily young professionals that don’t have children who are moving into our community for some of those fantastic jobs.

Small: We do have a problem in the city of an assets that we have very little to sell, which is why businesses are so important for us. So for those of you is those that you could get on market reports, get arguments, letters, uh, you’ve probably got one downtown today, the number for downtown or even worse, we have a sub 4% vacancy in our office market. We have so 4% they can see in our retail market and we have sub 2.5% they can see in our industrial market. Um, so new construction is important to us. We a lot of places to do that, which is why we attract developments like the way you can be branch loaded become premium commodity for companies on the marketing side. We continue to invest in extending our brand. Hopefully you’re all familiar with it and we’ll put it on everything.

Small: It’s in the upper right corner to the bottom of every single slide. Every single thing we do. It’s been very well received and if you are not familiar with what’s going on in the city, probably because you’re not paying attention. Nicole runs their social media programs. We are one of the most followed localities in Northern Virginia. Our a newsletter goes out every two weeks plus Facebook, Twitter, presence, Instagram as well last year because workforce development and employment is an issue for us. We’ve launched a new website called moved to the Nassis. This website aggregates information on what doesn’t. It’s kind of like the city’s web page. We find out about the complement in parks and rec and who’s on the city council. This is where prospective residents go to find information on neighborhoods, churches, schools, when the public or private or even homeschooling, things to do in region.

Small: So if your HR department is not using this with prospective employees, you really should lead. And if you’re a realtor and you’re not late to this site, the evolution was festivals and events in the city of Manassas. Tourism is the other thing that we do control. [inaudible] we consider the first day for economic development. If you come to our downtown, participate in our events, you’re going to fall in love with our city and you’re going to want to have your business here. You’re going to want to move here. We did over 450,000 visitors in the city, in the masses last year. A lot of holes to print, 500,000 this year, four point $4 million in meals, tax revenues of 14% since 2014. Um, 9 million sales tax of 12% since 2014. Um, actually started to document a form that I may have ended up, it was hard math guy, but I started in 2014 so I’ll let you do the math.

Speaker 2: [inaudible]

Small: all right. So what’s my legacy for the city? I’m an answer. What can I leave behind when I retire or move on or get hit by a truck or somebody

Speaker 2: [inaudible]

Small: so that is not my legacy.

Speaker 2: [inaudible]

Small: because my leg would say, how many of you come to downtown and participate in one of our special events where you can get a drink, walk out of the nest or walk up and down your streets, walking into retailers and really enjoy yourselves. [inaudible] and I didn’t give a shout out too long. We’re very, he’s our port director. He burns it. He does a fantastic job turning this broken Mike over to proceed.

Speaker 2: [inaudible] [inaudible]

Winn: can you think I to tell you probably that act is going to be hard because I am not as funny as Patrick’s. Um, my colleague, he had, um, informed me that I actually put the wrong date on this presentation. I thought maybe that you guys would believe that. I actually developed it last year knowing that I would be right here.

Speaker 2: [inaudible]

Winn: uh, I took a little bit of a different approach then Patrick Day. And so when I saw the title of of this event, future of the region, I thought to myself, okay, what is happening in the region? What activities, what developments, what themes are actually happening all over the DMV and specifically Northern Virginia that is going to affect the way Prince William does an economic development. And this is really important because obviously as you all know, you know, we have a lot of new board members in this year. Our new board is going be embarking on developing our strategic plan and revolt. Robust economy is an important element of that. And so a lot of these things that I’m going to talk about tonight, you know, my hopes is that these things will actually be woven through that strategic plan so that we can be thinking about that as we’re doing planning and economic development and thinking about transportation and etc.

Winn: So, Oh, I keep thinking, I forget. I have the click. Okay. So the first one is collaboration’s NDAs or economic development organizations collaborating and developing partnerships. That’s not new. I mean we have partnerships with George Mason as VDC. You, we’ve always have done that to really do important work and small business workforce development so forth. But what is new is the fact that, um, especially in Northern Virginia is that we’re actually reaching across to our neighbors and we’re partnering to really leverage resources, market together, share assets to really amplify our voices to reach bigger audiences. And this is new. Go Virginia was probably the go Virginia credits program was probably the first piece that really solidified this because that grant was a success duly apart to the fact that Arlington, Alexandria had partnered together. Now Arlington and Alexandria have really, um, David partnering home before go Virginia on a marketing efforts.

Winn: But when it came to actually working together to recruit a prospect that was really different. And so they demonstrated that, okay, it can be done and we can work together. And so when I think about, okay, I’m in Prince William County, where are my neighbors? What am I going to do? I want to work together with the city of Manassas, Manassas park to amplify our message. We are one community because the businesses don’t see borders. They see marketplaces. And so how can we work together and strategically partner on shared assets and shared issues to really amplify our messages? I’m talking to my friends down in Fredericksburg and Stafford County, you know, uh, Holly over there talked about 10,000 slugs a day coming up the 95 corridor. Well, Frederick, Fredericksburg and Stafford County is in the same boat as us. All that traffic is passing through our communities to go work in Fairfax or downtown. Can you just stop that? So how can Prince William County, Stafford and Fredericksburg actually work together to rebrand the 95 corridor route one to something like the Potomac defense quarter and now we start creating jobs and we put Holly out of work. Sorry.

Speaker 2: [inaudible]

Winn: those are the types of things that we’re more talking about collaboration. So partnerships, how are we taking that to the next level? And that’s when we’re looking at our strategic plan, are the economic development work plan, who are partners, where can we actually leverage resources, connectivity. Obviously connectivity is always been important and this is both transportation and fiber. And what’s happening is you think about this, the Dov region is the second largest. Um, um, sorry, I lost my where it’s second largest, um, workforce that for STEM occupations. So computer sciences, engineers, AI, data analytics, data scientists, et cetera, second largest in the nation for having those STEM occupations. So what does that mean? That means that those workers are working in companies in the DMV. Then the majority of those are actually in Northern Virginia developing the newest technologies and the new advancements in not only transportation, but defense it and related things.

Winn: Those, um, and then you add the fact that Northern Virginia has the largest, um, or the highest concentration of federal research agencies. So think about NSF, national science foundation, DARPA, office of Naval research, et cetera. All of those organizations are funding innovation. So where Silicon Valley is funded by venture capitalists, the entrepreneurs and the innovation that happens in this area is funded by these federal research agencies. And so we are really working in our employers are cutting edge working on these new technologies. And so how does high G get rolled out? How does that all happen? IOT, internet of things. You, somebody just told me the other day down how these technologies are actually transforming and being into our lives on a daily basis. That the ring doorbell that they just reported, that that is where it was, um, you know, uh, meant to be, you know, uh, protection device is passionately now catching criminals.

Winn: I mean, thinking about how this technology is changing the way we live. We live in experience our daily lives and how we’re doing. And so when you think about transportation, you know, our chair chair revealer at the opening statement of her first board meeting talked about how we need to bring, you know, the BRD out to gains know and bring Metro to lick bridge. And you know, why that’s important is that we have to be connected within this region. You know, the perception is is that Prince William was so far out there, it’s, Oh, it’s out there. But if we start now connecting within the region using transportation and technology, we are going to be considered and being able to attract more jobs and more employment to our area.

Winn: The other piece is micro transit. You know when you think about being able to attract workforce, a lot of the DMV region was really a leader in the Capitol, bike, sheriffs, scooters and so forth. You and that technology associated with the electric bikes and whatever they’re doing, I don’t know, I’m not technologist, but whatever they’re doing to really advance that, to make that mobility easier to connect nodes. Well how are we, no, I’m embracing that and bringing it in. Thinking about that in our future developments and planning for that. And the last piece would be smart cities. You know the whole DMV area hat is very progressive in terms of having smart cities policies. Thinking about where wifi is, where, how we are connecting the public life, health safety systems. Those are pieces that we need to think about. And when we start becoming an acting as a technology player, we are going to be able to attract more tech employers and you can really stop becoming a pup bedroom.

Winn: Workforce development training. Patrick talked about this. So the workforce, you know what people say when you talk about workforce, everybody kind of has a different kind of idea in their lined for a long time. Most of the programs around workforce has been in education and training. And so the public schools are doing an amazing job with career technical education, our universities and um, the skill source. We have all of these amazing resources that are working on training more workers, developing them, um, creating sponsor internship and entrepreneurship or apprenticeship programs. And so how are, um, and using that to really develop our workforce, this really, this issue became even more, um, hyper-focused when Amazon and micron really decided to invest in this area. Every, all lot of lawyers were very worried about Amazon creating 25,000 jobs. You know, I just said we were the second largest and these STEM-related second largest market for these STEM-related occupations.

Winn: But now Amazon is going to come and take all the jobs, right? That’s what everybody’s thinking. So there is a lot of emphasis and a lot of focus at the state level, the local level, all of our university partnerships, um, and so forth to really think about how are we developing the workforce of tomorrow? How are we cranking out more, uh, university students and graduates in these STEM-related programs? The Virginia economic development partnership is making a lot of strides in creating, um, a tech talent pipeline with their investment in the university system. They anticipate that through this investment that they’re making over a 20 year period, they’re going to increase the number of computer science graduates by 25,000 people, um, which has almost doubled what they are doing right now. And so that is super important as we’re thinking about how our, if, if we are perceived as having a future labor force, a shortage or that it’s hard to get workers, it’s going to be hard for us to attract jobs. And so there’s a lot of efforts and going into this. The other piece is talent recruitment.

Winn: Well if you listened to the fuller Institute and the reports that they put out, art, the DMV area has always lost a lot of, um, graduates that grew up here. A lot of Prince William students that went to high school here go to college and they never came back home because they didn’t think they had a job. And the only reason why I’m reaching bros is because we have this international, um, in migration of, of people coming in. And so the NOAA economic development Alliance, how many people know about what that is? Nope. Okay. Alright. Good job. So when I talked about collaboration and partnerships, one of the most amazing things that happened to justice fall was that the 10 jurisdictions in Northern Virginia got together the economic development directors and said, we are going to create an Alliance so that we can market together and um, work together to, uh, amplify the Northern Virginia message.

Winn: And because, because of the Amazon, when they were North of Northern Virginia actually got recognized separately from the DMV. Always in the past. Anytime that people would talk about Northern Virginia, they always love it in with DC. They wouldn’t say Metro DC area. And so when that shortlist came out with Amazon, it didn’t say metropolitan DC, it’s a district cook clock and then it said Northern Virginia. And so what we got together as um, an a as partners to say we’re going to work together. One of the things that we’re going to, we’ll focus on is talent recruitment is how are we helping really bring that the, the workforce in the talented workforce in to supply our work, our employers and to make sure that pipeline doesn’t dry up. And Fairfax County is one of the leaders in that area. They have a large budget and they are already investing in trying to develop programs and opportunities to start to market in our area.

Winn: You know, I got ’em handed off to Patrick and Nicole, you have their um, moved to Manassas website. I did stumble on that very early on. It’s a fantastic website because think about it, if I’m looking for a job and I’m from this area, I want to know, you know, what is there to do, how are the schools, what is, what is the opportunities here? And so having those resources available and marketing to be able to attract that workforce is really important. The workforce incentives piece is also, there’s always been some kind of grant training, job training program, but again, the Virginia economic development partnership recognizes that workforce is such an issue that they are, um, they’ve taken a big step this year. They are, they plan to create a workforce program and who have over 50 employees working in workforce related, um, program. And they, I have created a new, uh, it’s called a tap program, the talent accelerator program.

Winn: And what this is, is instead of an employer that’s coming into the area, they either can opt to have a grant and then go do workforce recruitment on their own. Or they actually get this customized service from the state, from the Virginia economic development partnership to work with. Um, then the staff to develop, recruit and attract. They’re more enforced for their jobs. And so it is modeled after some of the best workforce programs in the nation and our state, Virginia will have that. That means that when we’re attracting employers to the city of Manassas and um, principally Yolo County, we’re going to have access to be able to market and that’s going to be extremely instrumental placemaking.

Winn: So placemaking obviously we have it is, um, it’s been, uh, you know, it has been continuing to evolve. I would say as the, um, I think the regular kind of, um, residents you placemaking, it was always been kind of like urban centers and city centers, you know, think about like, uh, those experiences and reskin Thomas center was one of the very first communities that started to try to create this sense of place. And it’s taken over 20 years. Her rests into view what it is today. But what’s, what we’re thinking about now is how are we creating those nodes of activities, those pop up experiences. People don’t shop at stores the way they used to because we can buy what like 90% of what we need on a daily basis online. So when we’re going out, we want to have experiences, we want to connect, we want to engage with people.

Winn: And so our city centers are our nodes of activity, have to be able to give people this, this opportunity to experience things and to bring together the sociability. And so we need to think about like what Prince William is doing with our small area plans in developing these nodes of activity. This is going to play a big part because if we’re going to be able to attract the workforce and we’re gonna be able to attract the little, um, the tail it, people want to know where are they eating and shopping at lunchtime or after work. And they’re gonna go get a drink and they don’t want to have to go miles and miles away and they don’t want to get in their car. They want it accessible. So having amenities available is going to be super important. Pop up retail being a or a pop up libraries, pop up art spaces.

Winn: Those are great tools to help us activate maybe spaces that are vacant or have been underutilized for a period of time and try, try to bring new life into a neighborhood or, or a no. And so when we think about another trend and things that need to be, um, really implementing and doing are our strategies. Placemaking is huge because people, um, because places matter to people in economies. It’s not about, um, it’s not about where the lowest prices are, the lowest landings. It’s about the place which brings me to the revitalization of the, the I 95 route one corridor. We are focused. When I think about how these, uh, placemaking, um, principles are actually going to affect how we start to strategize and encourage investment. This plays a big part just right before the end of the year, the North, um, Woodbridge area, small area plan was adopted and approved.

Winn: That small area plan actually calls or mixed use vertical development in a walkable community that’s going to have that sense of place. Do you know, ever since that plan has been approved, we have gotten so many, um, interested property owners and investors that are now looking to this area. And these are real so that it’s too early for me to talk about, but it’s, but it’s, it happens and the County has made some investment in terms of infrastructure and, um, widening route one and clearing utilities to help create that sense of place, the, um, the market. And so, you know, like I, I get a lot of people saying like, well, we never really focused on the Eastern side of the County before and, you know, why are we doing this now? Or you should have been doing this before. Well, what I tell you, you’ll find years ago, I don’t even think that we could have put, um, got me level of interest in this area.

Winn: Like we are a nap. And that reason is, is that you have these higher priced markets in Restin, Tyson’s, DC, Arlington, Alexandria. And so now those government contractors, those it companies, those maybe second tier, uh, in my class with companies that may have gone to those places, you know, initially they’re being out price and they can’t afford to actually be there. So if they don’t need to have direct access to the Capitol or DC or the pedagogue, this is a great opportunity. And so I feel like when we’re thinking about the future of 20, 20 and beyond, I in 85, route one corridor is where it’s at.

Speaker 2: [inaudible]

Winn: existing business engagement. So I’ve been a big proponent for, um, my economic development career when, when I think about an existing businesses, I think about what types of value added services that we can offer to help, um, companies generate more revenue and um, create new law, new partnerships that hopefully create a new lines of business. And with bottom line that I want you to expand and grow in my County. And so we develop our programs and services around us in mind. How can we lift up our companies and give them more opportunities? The interesting thing is about existing business engagement is because the workforce today and the one tomorrow is so socially conscious. When they are looking for jobs, they go to an employer’s website and they want to see what is that employer doing in the community? Do they have volunteer programs? Are they giving back because they want or do they recycle?

Winn: Like right? What kind of policies do they have? And they want to be a part of companies that embrace those same values that, that they do. And so when we think about where we’re going in the future, part of our engagement is going to be, Oh, ground getting the, uh, existing business community involved in the community. How are we helping give opportunities to that, to their workforce to get involved and give back? And we believe that that is going to create more opportunities, more partnerships, and um, and really help them continue. It’ll like, it’ll dig them in the roots where they’re so connected into our community and they’ll never want to leave. Um, and it’ll create more opportunities for them to connect and generate more revenue. The last piece is entrepreneurship. If you’ve heard me speak before, I told you, that’s what I have told you, that um, one of the interesting Coke towels from Amazon relocating to Northern Virginia is that they have a stat that says, um, three out of every 10 employees that worked for Amazon goes off and starts their own business.

Winn: And so when you think about what small business and entrepreneurship is, and, and we have Mike run in these other major employers in the area and you have technology, we need to be ready to really build capacity with our small businesses and help them not only start and launch a business, but then scale and continue to grow. And whatever their exit strategy is, whether it’s they want to leave, they want to continue to grow and leave a legacy for their kids or they want to exponentially grow and get bought out. We need to support and be able to have the tools ready so that we can grow our home. And because I think there’s unreal lot more opportunities that is, um, Debbie presented for more entrepreneurship and more companies to, to grow with small business and entrepreneurship. It takes a village and it takes many different partners.

Winn: And you know, I’m going to echo, uh, George Mason given her, I go Patrick and give a shout out to our friends at George Mason. And as Patrick says, we did follow suit. We just like to copy him, um, every time. Um, um, uh, reach out and we still, we have a Mason small business development center in order to looking at, you know, when you think about the themes and all connects back because we’re looking at how do we partner with better programs? How do we, how do you partner with AA RFP to engage retired professionals to start new businesses? How are we engaging with the Latin, um, Latino, uh, economic development chamber and a corporation to make sure that we have Spanish speaking counselors to really help our minority and women owned businesses? You. So how are we creating those partnerships? And it all circles back. So all of those things all integrate it in order for us to do economic development. And then last facility with our snapshot, I did not do any, like, here’s what our accomplishments are. So when I think about the future of 20, 20, you know, our demographics are continuing to change. You know, I’m hoping that with our ability to con, um, to attract more workforce, that talented workforce and create more jobs here in Prince William, that our demographics will even get better and, um, more attractive to, uh, attract more companies. Thank you.

Speaker 2: [inaudible].

The post Economic development leaders speak at Woodbridge event appeared first on What's Up Prince William.

via What's Up Prince William

#IFTTT #What's Up Prince William #PWC News

0 notes

krypti · 6 years

Link

[CN:Silencing, gaslighting, rape and abuse, rape culture, white supremacy, racist erasure, white privilege, male privilege. This is the first in a 4 part series.]

At first I thought, "Maybe Bernie Sanders has a woman problem."

It boggled my mind to think it. I'd always heard him spoken of as a liberal lion progressive honey badger, a guy who courageously took on unpopular stances, and simply did not give a fuck about conservative detractors. Go Bernie! Like a lot of people, I knew he was a socialist, and an Independent. From the snippets I'd gotten, he seemed to be a mix of Eugene Debs, and Rosa Luxemburg and Tommy Douglas combined, with a little bit of Alice Paul, Harvey Milk, and A. Phillip Randolph sprinkled in.

I thought I knew him. And what I knew, I liked very much.

["Bernie Sanders-Caricature" by Donkeyhotey is licensed under CC 2.0.]

But then came the release of his 1972 essay from the Vermont Freeman, a strange, free-wheeling reflection on relations between a man and a woman that included references to the man sexually fantasizing about women being abused, a woman sexually fantasizing about being raped, everybody wanting to read articles about the sexual abuse of 14 year olds, and a 13 year old girl with a "sex friend." Whut.

As someone who teaches women's history, I know enough about gender relations in 1972 to take it in context. It wasn't totally atypical of the crap some (but not all) male radicals were writing when it came to sexuality and "the revolution." That didn't make it any less awful, or more feminist. I assumed (from what I—vaguely—knew of Sanders) that he'd acknowledge the hurtful language, explain that he'd changed, and apologize. Problem solved.

I was wrong.

Instead his campaign trumpeted every brogressive excuse in the book. "It's a joke!" (But jokes can be harmful, and intent is not magic.) "It's bad 50 Shades of Gray fiction." (But 50 Shades of Gray glorifies abuse.) Then his fans got in on it. "Sanders has good votes!" (True! Which is why I'd expect him to understand the criticism.) "Don't crucify him!" (Criticism from feminists is not a violent attack.)

Silencing, gaslighting, minimizing. Huh?

Then there was his campaign appropriating #BlackLivesMatter to talk about jobs. Then there was Bernie Sanders whitesplaining not only how POC vote, but also how POC should be voting: "You should not be basing your politics based on your color." Here was Bernie Sanders' former chief of staff and close advisor talking about how Democrats really need to be courting white people. And here were his internet fanboys, on Facebook and twitter and in the comments of articles which ask why Sanders doesn't talk about race and gender, telling us to STFU because Bernie is THE MOST PROGRESSIVE. (Since when is that a productive way to evaluate a candidate?)

I changed my question. Does Sanders have a privilege problem? To find out, I went looking for Bernie.

(If you're not familiar with privilege, and its effects, you'll need to educate yourself before reading the rest. If the term only means economic privilege to you, and you've never heard of [among others] white privilege or Christian privilege or thin privilege, or the places where privilege and oppression intersect, then this essay will be incomprehensible to you.)

I went looking in the history, because that's how I understand things. I started at the beginning and went forward. I didn't want to rely on other bloggers' accounts. So as much as possible, I dug into old newspapers. There aren't any archive-only documents here; everything is online, in one place or another. But as much as possible, I've used news stories and items from the time of the events involved, or close thereafter.

I went looking for the activist and politician. So you're not going to find any irrelevant and intrusive nonsense about his personal life, his partners or other family, who deserve their damn privacy. This isn't a hit piece. But maybe it's a corrective, an attempt to bring some reality to the overinflated claims about his psychic ability to always be right about everything progressives care about in 2015. I wanted to look at his story through the lens of intersectional feminism. From that perspective, it matters, a lot, how candidates talk about marginalized groups; it's not enough to have some good votes in Congress if you're also legitimizing oppression in other ways. I've got some particular questions, especially (but not solely) around race and gender; not everyone is equally interested in those questions, but they are central to the purpose of this space.

I went looking for Bernie. And here is what I found.

PART 1: SANDERS '72

[Picture originally published in the Bennington Banner, Tuesday, Sept 17, 1974.]

Let's start with the late 60s and early 70s, since there have been a flurry of pieces recently discussing more of Sanders' early 1970s essays, his general participation in Vermont's radical scene, and his early political life. If you want to know about his earlier years, his time at the University of Chicago, including his anti-segregation work and other activities, has been covered elsewhere. I'm interested in his early political life in Vermont. He wrote for several alternative publications, did some community organizing, and ran for office on the Liberty Union ticket. Like others in his cohort, he was broke a lot, and lived on unemployment, his carpentry, or the sale of his educational filmstrips. Or his writing.

His writings ranged over a broad range of subjects, but when he got the chance, he frequently turned to revolution. Against the establishment, against class restrictions, and against government restrictions on the individual rights. A rejection of Vietnam and other wars, using those monies to address class inequities. The decriminalization of drugs, abortion, and other areas where the government infringes on individual rights. The essays certainly touch on gender issues, but most often as related to broader themes of liberation, including sexual. Sometimes, yes, they are downright creepy. In every case, they seem to reflect a Sanders who cares about equality generally, but hadn't engaged with feminism, or considered his male privilege, at all.

For example, in "The Revolution is Life Versus Death," published the Vermont Freeman in November 1969, Sanders ruminates on the film I Am Curious (Yellow), apparently concerned that those under 18 were not permitted to view the sexually explicitly movie. I think his concern is false modesty and sexual ignorance, because he then muses (in response to an incident at a Vermont beach): "Now, if children go around naked, htey [sic] are liable to see one another's sex organs, and maybe touch them. Terrible thing! If we bring children up like this, it will probably ruin the whole pornography business, not to mention a large portion of the general economy that makes its money by playing on people's sexual frustrations." I really wish he'd put something about teaching children to ask before touching someone else. I don't want to be disappointed so early in my quest.

He goes on to note that "[t]he Revolution is coming, and it is a very beautiful revolution... The revolution comes when two strangers smile at each other. …when a commune is started and people start to trust one another, when a young man refuses to go to war and when a girl pushes aside all that her mother has 'taught' her and accepts her boyfriends [sic] love."

The rape-y logic that a woman "accepting" her boyfriend's pressure for sex is somehow revolutionary was not uncommon at the time. But there were plenty of feminists out there at the time fighting back; the earliest version of Our Bodies, Ourselves spends a lot of time trying to help women work through pressure from both patriarchal tradition and the male entitlement of the Sexual Revolution. Suggesting that a woman is brainwashed by her parents just because she doesn't want to have sex with a dude, as Sanders does, is simply the inverse of suggesting she's a slut if she does. (Bonus gross points for equating patriarchal control with her mother!) I don't see much understanding of feminism here.

Sanders' additional claim that many social ills were related to the sexual repression of young people was also suggested in another 1969 essay, "Society, cancer and disease," in which he muses over a 1952 study that correlated the inability to orgasm with breast cancer; he also discusses a 1954 study suggesting that women with cancer of the cervix tended to have a dislike of sexual intercourse. These aren't Sanders' fantasies; they're scientific studies (albeit minority opinions). But the conclusions he draws are all his own:

…What do you think it really means when 3 doctors, after intense study, write that 'of the 26 patients (under 51) that developed breast cancer, one was sexually adjusted.' It means, very bluntly, that the way you bring up your daughter with regards to sexual attitudes may very well determine whether or not she will get breast cancer, among other things…How much guilt, nervousness have you imbued in your daughter with regard to sex? If she is 16, 3 years beyond puberty, the age at which nature set forth for child bearing, and spent a night out with her boyfriend, what is your reaction? Do you take her to a psychologist because she is 'maladjusted,' or a 'prostitute,' or are you happy she has found someone with whom she can share love? Are you concerned about HER happiness, or about your 'reputation' in the community?

The reference to 13 years being at the age when nature prescribed childbirth is gross. His concern, that teenage women "share" or "accept" love from men, for their own good (cancer!), is some pretty amazing trolling. If the revolution includes this much patriarchy, count me out, Bernie.

Sanders voices concern over men getting cancer as well, but apparently they don't have to blame their sexual attitudes. Rather, it's female authority figures who are to blame:

A child has an old bitch of a teacher (and there are many of them), or perhaps he is simply not interested in school and would rather be doing other thing. [sic] He complains and rebels against the situation, which is the healthy reaction. When a person is hurt, no matter what age, he SHOULD rebel…. Outwardly, he becomes the "good boy", [sic] conforming to the rules and regulations of the system. Inwardly, his spirit is broken, and his soul seethes with anger and hatred, which is unable to be expressed. He has learned to hold back his emotions and put on the phony façade of pleasantness. Thirty years later, a doctor tells him he has cancer.

So, men's anger is suppressed by old women, who represent the oppressive power system that gives men cancer. Considering that anger is one of the few emotions (white) men are traditionally allowed to express in a patriarchal society, this doesn't sound so much revolutionary as reactionary. Was he serious that *men* are the ones obliged to bury their anger "under a façade of pleasantness"? I'm sorry, but this is not the fearless feminist I was looking for.

In fact, Sanders was so far removed from feminist analyses of oppression that he suggested women bore some responsibility for it. While the rapey sexual passages of his 1972 Vermont Freeman essay have been thoroughly quoted, this passage has drawn less attention:

Women, for their own preservation, are trying to pull themselves together. And it's necessary for all of humanity that they do so. Slavishness on one hand breeds pigness on the other hand. Pigness on one hand breeds slavishness on the other… On one hand "slavishness," on the other hand "pigness." Six of one, half dozen of the other. Who wins?

Presenting the oppression of women as somehow resulting from "slavishness," seems to put the responsibility for gendered oppression on women's acquiescence. Women have to take responsibility for bootstrapping themselves out of patriarchy! (The particular use of the word "slavish" is also wince-inducing, considering the racial history embedded in the term. That sort of erasure and appropriation was something that white feminists (like Robin Morgan) were doing a lot, so Sanders isn't uniquely gross here. Ugly white privilege all around.)

Sanders' essay also includes another classic 101-level bit of false equivalency: women's mistrust of men, based on their experiences with oppression from men, is "misandry," and therefore somehow the equivalent of male oppression:

…"But in reality," he said, "if you ever loved me, or wanted me, or needed me (all of which I'm not certain was ever true), you also hated me. You hated me—just as you have hated every man in your entire life, but you didn't have the guts to tell me that…. You hated me not because of who I am, or what I was to you, but because I am a man. You did not deal with me as a person—as me. You lived a lie with me, used me and played games with me—and that's a piggy thing to do.

This kind of false equivalency (addressed by Liss at this blog in "The Terrible Bargain We Have Regretfully Struck") is probably something that 70s Sanders would have immediately recognized, if it were in a class-based analysis. No intelligent leftist of his generation would have accepted to idea that a poor person's suspicion of the rich was equivalent to their oppression of the poor! Yet here we find women being "piggy," a not-too-subtle word choice in an era when "male chauvinist pig" was entering the lexicon.

So, based on a limited sampling of his essays, Sanders is sounding a bit like a Shakesville troll crying misandry. I do not think I would have enjoyed being at a party with early 70s Bernie Sanders! But more importantly, would I have voted for him?

Sanders ran as a candidate in a number of elections for governor and for Senator from 1971-1976, on the Liberty Union Party ticket. (These included two different elections in 1972: a January vote for senator and a November vote for governor.) His campaign rhetoric, as recorded through his own writing and newspaper reports, centered on concerns with the Vietnam war, economic injustice, and Nixon-era government infringements on civil liberties—a fiercely social libertarian stance that rejected government interference in personal liberties. Frequently, these concerns overlapped with gay liberation (as it was then known), anti-racism, and women's rights. So it's important to put those concerns in full context of time and place in order to understand what Sanders was supporting.

For example, Salon recently re-published one of Sanders' 1972 letters to the Vermont Freeman, under the truly embarrassing headline, "Bernie Sanders Supported Full Marriage Equality 40 Years Ago." The article lauds Sanders for being so far ahead of his time and tut-tutting President Obama and Secretary Clinton for not supporting full marriage equality until 2012. Why is this embarrassing? Well, aside from the fact that Sanders was still squishy on his support for civil unions as late as 2000 (more on that in Part 4), it's a terribly ahistorical reading of Sanders' letter.

The goals of most participants in early gay liberation didn't include marriage. Although some same-sex couples did indeed pursue marriage licenses many more activists rejected marriage as an oppressive institution. And also? They were fighting simply to survive, to exist in peace without being jailed or beaten or tortured by "treatment" or locked in asylums. Marriage, that conservative institution, became a more widespread goal in the 1980s. (Here's a brief history of that evolution.) Although some of Sanders' current fanboys seem to view him as a Progressive Messiah, I don't think anyone has seriously suggested he has psychic powers, able to discern that ONE DAY this seemingly conservative cause would become a progressive one. So what was he supporting in the letter?

Writing in support of his own bid for governor, he lists three points of concern. Point 1 is Vermont's regressive tax structure, which Sanders criticizes for taxing consumers more than corporations. Point 2 is about the war in Vietnam, which he acknowledges as a moral and financial problem, specifically calling for its funding to be transferred to affordable housing, dental, and medical care. In point 3, he states that "[p]robably the most alarming concern of the Nixon administration has been the gradual erosion of freedoms and the sense of what freedom really means." He calls for the abolition of "all laws that impose a particular brand of morality," listing among these "all laws dealing with abortion, drugs, sexual behavior (adultery, homosexuality, etc.)" His letter ends asking for support from "all people who are disgusted with the basic status quo and who demand basic social change in this state and this country."

It's notable that Sanders addresses the decriminalization of homosexuality and abortion on a par with drug use, as part of a wider concern for civil liberties generally. That's consistent with his description of Liberty Union's platform in a Bennington Banner article from Saturday, December 11, 1971. (This and most of the other newspaper articles I am referencing are available behind a paywall at Newspapers.com.) In "What the Other Party Offers," John Leaning reports that LU candidates Sanders for Senate and Doris Lake for Congress have four areas of concern. First is the economy, and wealth inequality; Sanders is quoted as saying that "the interests of the 2 per cent directly and entirely control the economy." Point 2 is labeled as "decision making: 'Who makes the decisions in this country…the same handful of men who control the power and wealth. That has to change, because no 10 men should ever be able to control the lives of the rest.'" Third is foreign policy; Sanders decries the post-World War II imperialism of the U.S. Point 4 is freedom: "Sanders said he would seek an end to abortion laws, legalize all drugs, eliminate restrictions on birth control, and end all discrimination based on sex, race, or anything else." Sanders is then quoted going into drug decriminalization in some depth, suggesting that decriminalizing drugs (he specifically discusses heroin) would end the "kick of doing something against the government" and allow "us to know the dimensions of the problem, and be able to deal with it rationally."

Sanders addressed many other issues that campaign, and some of his out-there ideas even won praise from the "establishment." For example, he argued that hitchhiking should not be illegal, and in fact, there should be regular parts of the roadway widened so that those who wanted a ride, and those who wanted to stop to give one, could safely meet. Needless to say, I can't find any other candidates addressing this topic, although it was at that time a very common form of transportation, especially for young people without money for bus or train tickets. The Bennington Banner not only reported this, it wrote an editorial commending Sanders' idea; why have a law that everyone winks at? Sanders and Liberty Union may have been on the fringe, but they did get some positive attention for their original ideas on occasion.

The Bennington Banner also featured stories on Sanders opposing Nixon's bombing raid in North Vietnam on December 30, 1971 (an opinion shared by all but one of the other House and Senate candidates). On January 4, 3 days ahead of the special election for Senate, Sanders toured a state prison in Windsor and made remarks afterwards blasting environmental pollution and saying "...that the 'real criminals' are 'the people who allow and even promote the unemployment which enables corporations to make large profits.'"

He then gets around to the actual prisoners, blaming "the government's economic policy" and racism for joblessness: "He says that when a man who can't get a job because of the government's economic policy or because he is black, steals to get food for his children, that person is put in jail. 'It says a great deal about our country…that the richer our country gets, the more of us there are behind prison bars and that an overwhelming number of those who are in jail are poor, non-whites.'" Then he reportedly moved on to his opponent, Robert Stafford, blaming him for continuing to "vote for every major military appropriation in the last 10 years while he has been in Congress" and adding:

"The criminals who made this war will never be prosecuted," he continued, "but one soldier who massacred two dozen people is put in jail. Why is it a crime to kill one person or several dozen but not a crime to kill 200 people a day in Southeast Asia with American bombs and planes as we are doing right this minute?"

Taken in context, I can only conclude that his remarks refer to Lt. William Calley, who had been convicted in March of the premeditated murder of 22 Vietnamese civilians in connection with the My Lai massacre. The suggestion that Calley was not the only guilty party is nothing extraordinary; numerous other, more senior officers got off scot-free. But the suggestion that Calley did not deserve to be in jail (like the man who steals to get food, apparently), and the math-playing with Vietnamese lives ("One person," "several dozen" "200 people a day") are absolutely cringe-inducing. It's also strange, to say the least, to derail a very important and relevant statement about the racial injustice of American prisons to focus on a white man's imprisonment.

Let me be clear: I'm not saying that Sanders in 1972 was George Wallace, nor that his problems in speaking about race weren't a common problem for white progressives of all stripes at the time. (And it should be acknowledged that Sanders himself, a Jewish man who lost relatives in the Holocaust, has dealt with a wide range of ethnic bigotry. As Paul Kivel has explored, white privilege is complicated for European-descended Jews.) My point is this: Sanders'72 has a hard time keeping his focus on race, or addressing it intersectionally; he immediately goes back to economic hegemonies. And the result? Awkward as a basset on a surfboard.

[Picture originally published in the Bennington Banner, Friday October 16, 1976. Attributed to "Woolmington."]

Racial hierarchies aren't the only ones he has trouble on. He supports an end to abortion restrictions, an incredibly relevant topic in 1972. Roe v. Wade was scheduled to be re-argued that October. In Vermont, the landmark Beachy v. Leahy case had struck down state restrictions on the procedure earlier that year. Beachy v. Leahy was exactly the sort of case that one might expect Sanders to be interested in, since its reproductive rights issues were strongly wrapped up in class: a welfare recipient, in need of an abortion, could not afford to cross state lines to obtain one. Although Vermont law did not make it a crime for women to have an abortion (self-inducement, for example, was quite legal), any Vermont physician providing her medical care could be prosecuted.

But the intersection of class and gender is absent from Sander's remarks on abortion when quoted in a September 1, 1972 article in the Bennington Banner. Instead, he hits on the civil libertarian argument that politicians have no right legislating another person's body: ("[i]t strikes me as incredible that politicians think that they have a right to tell a woman what she can or cannot so with her body." He acknowledges that abortion "brings out deep feelings in people, and I respect the feelings of those who are opposed to abortion on moral grounds," but rejects the idea those are valid grounds for legislation. And then he ends noting that Women in Vermont will have abortion regardless of legal status: "The question is whether they will be forced to go to those states where abortions are legal, or whether they can be treated in their home state."

That's an extremely puzzling conclusion when an entire court case had been built around the fact that some Vermont women could not afford to travel out of state. So why focus on the social libertarian argument about government control?

Even when ostensibly addressing women directly, Sanders '72 seems to have had trouble connecting and staying focused. In a 1972 feature, Crittenden magazine provided A Feminist View of the Democratic and Liberty Union Candidates. (The magazine had previously interviewed other candidates in a separate issue.) There seem to have been some differences in the precise questions asked each candidate, but each responded to broadly similar topics deemed to be of feminist interest:

Bernard Sanders, Liberty Union Candidate for Governor.

ERA-Strongly for it.

Daycare--Should be available to anyone who wants it, with sliding fees based on income. "Day care is important, not only for parents but for kids."

Abortion--a "civil liberty" that government has no business restricting.

Consumer Rights--His view is like Ralph Nader's; he would like to see consumers on the boards of all major corporations.

Welfare Reform--The entire system should be scrapped and replaced with a $6500 income for a family of four. "Poverty is obsolete and should not be allowed."

Women's Liberation--A manifestation of blacks, women, gay people, and others "demanding control over their lives." As for women in politics, he points out that he has a female running mate--Elly Harter--and that the highest vote ever received for a Liberty Union candidate was received by Doris Lake in her campaign for Congress last year. Would he mind having a woman governor or attorney general? "Are you serious?" As for working under a woman's supervision, he points out that he's supervised by Liberty Union Chairman Martha Abbot, and has no objections. Women should have opportunities for top governmental and industrial jobs, but he would "not support someone just because she's a woman." Among steps he would like to see to bring equal pay for equal work is to raise the minimum wage to $2.50 an hour.

(Sanders also responded to a question on the Vietnam War [end it, for economic reasons] and a local environmental initiative.)

It's an interesting collection of responses. His support for the ERA, consumer rights, and abortion rights are clear—but the latter is, once again, very much a "civil liberty" issue. Women's liberation is framed entirely as an aspect of a wider revolution. His welfare reform suggests a commitment to minimum guaranteed income. And he can point to women in his own party with genuine leadership positions—more than the Democratic candidates were able to do. Well done, Sanders '72!

It's also weirdly disconnected. Women should get opportunities in government and industrial jobs, but apparently they needed no special consideration to overcome the overwhelming structural biases stacked against them. Should they bootstrap themselves out of patriarchy? And I'm not clear on how raising the minimum wage was supposed to "bring equal pay for equal work."

But perhaps the female voters responded better to Sanders. Unfortunately there are few records of his interactions with female voters, or any voters for that matter. A December 11, 1971 story about a Liberty Union campaign event, "An Evening with Sanders and Lake," details a first-person account of a reporter's encounter with the two Liberty Union candidates at a small information session. The reporter, Greg Guma (who would cover much more of Sanders in future) mostly discusses his own interactions with Sanders, who was already displaying his now-famous grumpitude:

In answer to a question about his personal political viewpoint, Senatorial candidate Sanders replied: "Obviously you haven't been listening to me. Do you know what the movement is? Have you read the books? Are you against the war in Vietnam?"

"But what do you think?" was the reply from myself. "You're an individual, not a movement."

"You don't understand. It's the movement that's important. Are you for it? If you're not, I don't want your vote."

After Sanders repeated "I don't want your vote," Guma apparently left the meeting. He concludes his article with a comment from an attendee:

The result of the rap session was summed up by Ruth Levi. "You've lost my vote," she said with a smile.

Sanders left his own record of the campaign trail, in a piece for Crittenden magazine, Fragments of a Campaign Diary. It contains sketches of his life on the campaign trail and his own blunt assessments of himself. If your picture of early 1970s Bernie Sanders is informed only by those slightly psychedelic essays for the Vermont Freeman, I'd recommend this to round out the picture. It's a straightforward series of vignettes and reflections that are very human. Here are Sanders and another candidate frugally splitting a fish dinner, down to their last few dollars. Here is Sanders enthusiastic about a "beautiful, toothless old man" telling him tales of Depression-era the socialist meetings. Here's a Vermont Labor Council delegate demanding to know where Sanders' beard was—after all, didn't all radicals have beards? Here is Sanders' frustration with a television interview where he addressed corporate greed at length, and the station "only" played back his responses on marijuana and abortion.

And here is Sanders being hard on himself when he feels he's done poorly.

Spoke to students of St. Anthony's in Bennington—and I did terribly… Spoke right off the top of my head, didn't put two coherent sentences together, and made very little allowance for the fact I was speaking to 17 year olds… I consider talking to young people very important, and it bothers me that I was unable to convey my feelings to them.

…Appeared on "You Can Quote Me" and did horrendously. It was just one of those times that I never got started and was on the defensive throughout…. It was defensiveness from thereonout…I felt disgusted with myself when I left the studio—I didn't handle myself well at all.

...the entire last week of my campaign…was directed toward telling people that they should vote what they believed in and not for what they considered the lesser of two evils. I guess it didn't work, though. On election day I expected 3 percent and was very disappointed with what I got.

(Sanders received 1 per cent of the votes.)

Perhaps the most interesting anecdote, for me, was his encounter with a group of working-class women in a factory—women with whom Sanders might expect to connect, given his interest in economic justice. It didn't quite go that way. He reports:

---Went through a factory in Bennington with endless rows of middle-aged to elderly women sitting behind sewing machines. Horrible. "Excuse me, I'm Bernard Sanders, Liberty Union candidate for governor. Have you heard of Liberty Union? Well, if you get a chance I'd appreciate it if you read this." And out goes the leaflet. A very deadly place. Barely made it through. As I left I heard a few women making snickering comments about Dr. Spock running for president. [ed: Spock ran on the Progressive Party ticked and was supported by Liberty Union in Vermont.] And I thought everybody liked Dr. Spock. I knew I wouldn't get one vote from that place.

I don't know why, exactly, Sanders flopped with this audience, and I'm not sure he did either. Perhaps he was uncomfortable with older women. Perhaps his revolutionary fervor was annoying to women just trying to get through the workday. It's interesting that Sanders thought "everybody liked Dr. Spock," when conservatives were already blaming the doctor-turned-activist/public humanist for ruining America's youth. Maybe these women agreed with that critique. Or maybe they just thought Spock was a mansplaining jackass who could keep his childrearing ideas to himself, thanks very much. But somehow, they connected him with Sanders. And I suspect he was correct—he didn't get one vote from that place.

Sanders would spend several more years running for office and not getting very many votes, before a successful election to the position of Mayor of Burlington in 1981. What happened to turn him from loser into winner? And how did his "white male" problems continue? Those will be featured tomorrow in "Looking For Bernie, Part 2: Mr. Sanders Goes to Burlington."

#bernie sanders

0 notes