Abigail Spanberger's "Span Virginia Bus Tour" Stops in the 'Burg
The Democratic candidate for governor visited several local businesses and chatted with customers and owners.
By Adele Uphaus
MANAGING EDITOR AND CORRESPONDENT
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Even though she pulled up in a big purple tour bus with her name on it, Abigail Spanberger made sure to introduce herself to the cashier while ordering an iced coffee at Anita’s Cafe.
“I’m Abigail,” she said. “I used to represent you in Congress, and now I’m running for governor.”
Spanberger’s “Span Virginia Bus Tour” stopped in Fredericksburg on Thursday morning. The tour kicked off in Richmond last Saturday and is taking the Democratic gubernatorial candidate to more than 40 stops across the Commonwealth.
At Anita’s, Spanberger chatted with Emily Gallarno, a Spotsylvania mom who was waiting in the cafe to pick up her son from summer camp. Though she didn’t know she’d be talking to a political candidate that morning, it didn’t take her long to think of a question—she wanted to know Spanberger’s stance on teaching Black history in public schools.
“I want to make sure we’re [teaching kids] what really happened,” Gallarno said. “I want for my kids to be able to feel proud about who they are.”
Spanberger replied that the only way to learn and move forward is to understand the full history of where we came from.
“Virginia is a place where we can celebrate strengths,” she said. “I want your kids and my kids to see all kinds of success. It’s only when we understand our darkest moments that we can understand our growth.”
Spanberger said that as governor, she would have signed a bill vetoed by Gov. Glenn Youngkin this spring that would have given students the option to count African American History or AP African American Studies towards the history requirement for the standard diploma.
Later on, Spanberger said she also would not have vetoed legislation that would have permitted localities to impose an additional 1% sales tax to support school construction, if approved by voters in a referendum.
“This is something localities want the flexibility and ability to do—if it’s right for them—and that is one the governor has vetoed,” she said. “I’ve been very clear—this is a question of ensuring localities can take the action they need to improve schools.”
After Anita’s Cafe, Spanberger—who was joined by two of her daughters and her husband—visited Fillagreen, a “sustainable living refillery and low waste store” that opened on Caroline Street late last summer.
Owner John Hicks, who grew up in Fredericksburg, said the business is “a ground-up startup by me and my wife, dedicated to the elimination of single-use plastics.”
The store carries bulk bath, beauty, and household products and customers can bring their refillable bottles from home to stock up.
Hicks told Spanberger that his wife brought the business idea to him.
“I was skeptical, but I did a lot of due diligence and it’s a solid business model that could do really well,” he said, and if he is to leave his children a healthier planet, “it HAS to do well.”
Spanberger spent so much time in Fillagreen that she got behind schedule. She next visited Duly Noted and chatted to owner Chris Allen about the challenges of owning a business.
Allen said there’s been a dip in foot traffic into the store due to the weather, as well as to uncertainty about the status of federal government employees. He said that a lot of Duly Noted’s customers are local, and “it’s just about trying to make sure we have what people want to buy.”
Spanberger said that what she hears from people “everywhere” are concerns about affordability. Even though “on a macro level, the economy might be heading in a good direction, that is not what people are feeling day-to-day,” she said.
She said she knows that Virginians “want to elect folks who are looking forward to the future,” and that the role of a governor, as she views it, is to “stand up for Virginia.”
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Spanberger - bribing Virginians with their own tax money and bragging about it, then promising more of the same. Thus, always with Democrats. Ever willing to spend your money.