Spanberger talks affordability, data centers and top priorities heading into Virginia governorship

Well, what it means to me is that every priority that I am focused on: lowering the costs for Virginia, focusing on affordability, strengthening our public schools, that these are priorities that we share. And that these are priorities that, frankly, here in the Commonwealth, are how we chart that better path for our kids and for our future. It’s my goal that we are working to bring people together to ensure that the Virginia that we are leaving to our kids, creating for our kids, is something that we are endeavoring to ever strengthen and make better.

Well, it is an all hands on deck approach. It’s why we’ve been furiously appointing not just heads of our secretariats, with all of our secretary designates, but agency heads, ensuring that at every step along the way, I have an administration that knows that the marching orders are to focus on affordability. It’s why, two weeks ago, with leadership from the General Assembly, I released the “Affordable Virginia Agenda” so that day one of this General Assembly session, they are working, among all the priorities that they have, to ensure that they are moving forward the affordability related legislation that are priorities of my administration and arguably for Virginians as a whole.

Well, certainly, it’s through having a really focused and reasonable approach, recognizing the challenges that come with having increased or large scale energy users, kind of popping up or getting zoned and ultimately being built across the commonwealth. It’s recognizing that this industry is one that is increasing its size and its footprint across the country. It’s ensuring that localities that might be interested in bringing data center investments to their communities are asking the right questions, that our electrical grid can handle the increased challenges that, you know, any large energy user may present.

And it’s about ensuring that localities that are either approving or potentially denying these types of investments have information. It’s one of the reasons that we are moving forward with creating a cabinet-level position focused on contending with the real challenges that we face in the space of energy. And I look forward to having someone on the ground in our cabinet meetings who brings that focus to every one of our conversations, so that whether it’s negotiations with PJM, or from a regional perspective, whether it’s endeavoring to strengthen affordability priorities, especially in the energy space, lower costs, or, you know, increase overall generation that we have that perspective in all that we are doing as an administration.

Well, it depends on the issues that are forthcoming. If the president is endeavoring to further hurt Virginia, Virginians, our livelihoods, our universities, our economy, then it will be difficult. If the president is going to continue to pull back federal funding and use previously appropriated federal dollars as a bludgeon against states, then it will be difficult. But I will say this, if the president of the United States wants to work together on issues that strengthen our national security, strengthen Virginia, strengthen our economy, I will be a willing partner.

Unfortunately, time and time again, we see him and his administration really attacking Virginia. Whether it’s our offshore wind, a totally private investment meant to bring additional energy generation. Whether it is our universities, right, among the very top in the nation. Whether it is federal funding to health care to social services, and so as governor my efforts will be to defend the people of Virginia, our economy and our communities. And when we are at odds, we will be at odds. But for the sake of our Commonwealth, and importantly, for the sake of our country, I hope that we will see fewer and fewer examples of that into the future. Hope springs eternal on that one.

So I’m a product of Virginia public schools, both my high school graduation, my university degree. I’ve got three daughters in Virginia public schools. My husband’s a product of Virginia public schools, both K-12 and university. My mother-in-law is a career teacher. Public education is essential to our economy, to our ability to prepare the next generation and importantly, as a parent of three daughters currently in Virginia public schools, I will be a relentless advocate for all kids and for the strength of our public schools.

I’m excited about secretary designate Smith, certainly his experience is expansive in the classroom, in communities and localities across our Commonwealth, in leading, as a superintendent, the City of Hampton schools, and he’s done innovative, really thoughtful things in the communities that he has served. And so I look forward to seeing the perspective that he brings to the secretariat as a whole, and as governor, my approach will be recognizing, and what will sort of drive my approach, will be the recognition that everything we do to strengthen our public schools in Virginia is good for our kids. It is good for our economy. It is good for our ability to recruit additional investment and jobs here to Virginia, and it is also good for that next generation.

I am thinking about the people who worked to protect our democracy that day, that building that day, and all who were in it that day. I’m thinking of the law enforcement officers who faced a really difficult, difficult, horrible day, who didn’t know if they were going to go home at the end of the night. I’m thinking about the fearlessness or at least their focus on putting their fear aside to protect people and to protect our democracy. And so I’m grateful to them, and I’m thinking of them, and frankly so many of them, whether they were Capitol Police officers, Metropolitan Police officers, Virginia State Police or the Virginia Guard that came in to secure the location after the fighting and the insurrection had stopped.

So many of the people who were brave on that day were Virginians, and are Virginians, and so I’m grateful to be coming in as the governor of a place where we routinely stand up for what is right, and so many people who selflessly work to ensure that people would be able to make it home to their families. Whether they were the front line police officers or whether they were members of Congress or our staffs and our teams who really felt the fear that was pervasive that day.