[Music] welcome to everything Co-op bringing you information on how cooperatives can help improve your quality of life this show is being sponsored by the national co-op bank NCB the NCB is dedicated to strengthening communities Nationwide for the delivery of Banking and Financial Services for the nation's cooperatives their members and other socially responsible organizations for more information on the power of community ownership visit NCB docop that's NCB doco P now stay tuned for your host Vernon [Music] Oaks good morning everybody this is Vernon Oaks everything Cooperative we're talking about Cooperative today and we're going to talk about some of the things that Donald Trump has put in place in his first 14 15 days and how it relates to cooperatives and we talking to Justin fairf this morning good morning Justin good good morning Vernon happy to be with you thanks for having me thanks for coming on this morning and you were running for Virginia lieutenant governor that is correct uh this year in 2017 uh Virginia has Statewide elections and we have a primary on June the 13th okay so you have about four more months or so to to get all your ducks in the line that's correct about 123 days but I'm not counting how many hours but that's exactly right on June the 13th in a little over four months all right fantastic Justin what I want to do is talk about some of the things that you're doing some of the things that Donald Trump is doing and how that relates Toops for instance Donald Trump is wanting to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act that's one of the first things he wanted to his executive orders and how do you feel about that and particularly if they don't put in place and how does that work in Virginia for you yeah absolutely first of all I I am uh 100% opposed to the repeal of the Affordable Care Act uh I think it uh is a law that has done a tremendous uh amount of good uh you know more than uh 20 million additional Americans have been insured uh since that law took effect uh it was one of the signature achievements of President Obama's uh Administration uh and uh in Virginia we've had hundreds of thousands of Virginia who have gained uh health insurance coverage uh since the laws enactment and while we did not expand Medicaid in Virginia which I uh absolutely believe we should uh because it would cover an additional 400,000 uh Virginians we still have seen tremendous benefits uh from the Affordable Care Act and not to mention what we've seen Nationwide so you know I've also you know seen and read reports where uh those who wish to repeal the Affordable Care Act this Administration uh republicans in Congress uh don't really have a plan uh as to what they would replace it with and and given that they have been you know uh attacking this law now for you know going on seven years and to not have a plan I think does a disservice to all Americans to this economy uh to the uh ability for Americans to access health care and so I am uh in support of the law I feel like we can tweak it uh to make it better but we Absol absolutely should not uh repeal that law because it would harm so many people in including here in Virginia they talk about 20 to 30 million people it would harm that that's correct which is just a tremendous number uh of people and we know about features of the law uh that are wildly popular for instance allowing uh you know young people to stay on their parents Insurance until the age of 26 uh which frankly helps them not only uh with regard to health insurance but to really start to get an economic foothold in their lives so that they can uh not worry about that coverage and instead can go out and get a higher education and vocational training buy a home home start a family get access to Capital to start and grow a small business and that really has been the focus again of our campaign for lieutenant governor of Virginia is creating more Economic Security and opportunity for all Virginia and no matter where you start how much money your family has who you love uh your color of your skin uh you should get a chance for uh economic mobility and to rise and to have more security uh in your life and in your family's life and the Affordable Care Act is a big Cornerstone of that for so many families and the other thing it does is pre-existing conditions you can get coverage absolutely that's a huge huge uh part of it Vernon is is is not discriminating against people based upon pre-existing conditions uh and again we have had people testify you know in many cases even on National Television that they would not be alive but for the Affordable Care Act uh including uh some people who did not vote for president Obama uh who have since said that uh were it not for that law were it not for you know the effort made uh to get rid of the discrimin pre-existing conditions clause and insurance contracts you know they would not be living today uh and so I don't know in the face of that how someone could uh heartlessly want to repeal a law and again have nothing to replace it with uh leaving people stranded uh and certainly causing a tremendous amount of damage uh to People's Health and to our economy well I know you only have 30 minutes to be on with us today and we could spend the whole 30 minutes talking about this but let me talk a little bit about Co-op co-ops are any business you can think of it could be a cooperative and I know you have in your what you want to do is increase small businesses so if it's own if the business is owned and controlled by the worker the employee is called a worker Cooperative if the business is owned and controlled by the people that use the product of services called a consumer cooperative and worker Cooperative could be any business and consumer Cooperative a lot of times is housing co-ops and you have quite a few in Virginia in Tidewater Richmond it could be credit unions and you have quite a few of those right anytime that the consumers own and control the business but the reason I wanted to go there because the values and principles of Co-op the values and principles uh Cooperative members believe in ethical values of honesty openness social responsibility and caring for others right so when you talk about Affordable Care Act that's caring for each other that just fits right in with absolutely and sometimes I don't understand how politicians can say and they did it they I don't know it was 40 80 times they tried to repeal this thing just to me just because Obama put it in and no other reason right be against him and that hurts people that's right okay and and and Vernon absolutely and you mentioned co-ops which are you know so important Nationwide and and also again here in in Virginia and you mentioned the various types of co-ops uh that we do have uh you know Credit Unions uh agricultural uh Insurance uh they really play a significant role uh in the lives of uh many Virginia of many of our small uh businesses and large businesses uh and as you mentioned there are values that underly them that I think are really American values as you mentioned of Integrity honesty you know ethical uh Behavior also again making sure that everybody gets an equal and fair opportunity um that's something that underg guards uh the the Spirit uh of what co-ops uh are all about uh and so you know we need you know people to have more you know opportunity in this in this economy and in this Society uh not less we don't don't need to be cutting people out uh and shutting them down we need to be opening up uh opportunities and so uh you know I think co-ops are really a great way um to you know democratize opportunity uh to really make sure that the people no matter where they start uh that they get a shot uh in life an aair shot in life and frankly you know ver I have a story that probably is like many people's stories where I've gotten to live a tremendously you know Wonderful Life uh but it you know started from a very difficult place uh where I was raised you know primarily by a single mother in inner city Washington DC so you were raised you were raised in DC I was I was in fact uh my I was born in Pittsburgh but uh my parents got divorced uh when I was about five or six years old and so we moved in with my late maternal grandparents we lived in Northeast Washington DC I grew up right on Evart Street off North Capital Street I'm very proud of of Our Roots there and you know my mom despite you know that hardship and and you know uh the the economic havoc in particular uh and in security that your divorce could create uh particularly with four kids you know but she was able to regroup uh she is a brilliant woman a pharmacist and because we had that security uh blanket of our of our grandparents uh grandfather was a postal worker for 45 years grandmother was a nurse at frean hospital for 40 years uh we got to regroup my mom then sent all four of her children to college and two of us to law school I you know my oldest brother went to Harvard University Harvard Law School he was on the law rview there he is now the vice Dean at GW law school I have a sister uh Virginia irginia who is a labor and delivery nurse she went to University of Maryland I a brother Chris who went to Syracuse University he is a brilliant engineer in the defense industry and you know I went to Duke University on a partial academic scholarship and then I went to Columbia Law School I was on a law review at Columbia and I've gotten to work at you know some wonderful law firms and I was a federal prosecutor uh and now I'm running for lieutenant governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia uh that is a story that's made in America and and that is a story that is a result of people giving us opportunity um despite where we started and I want that for every single person in the Commonwealth of Virginia no matter where they live and I really want it for everybody in the country as well and I've Le I say what people gave to us we didn't have a lot of money but they gave us something I like to call spiritual wealth y uh they gave us Faith and Hope uh high quality education they kept us safe they gave us opportunity and I believe that when you get that kind of spiritual wealth in your life you then have a spiritual debt that you must repay and for me that's what public service is all about not about money where much is given to where much is expected y That's right to whom much is given of who much is required 100% wonderful story you have a wonderful story and God bless heads off to your grandparents and your mom thank you and uh and and and and and I'd like to say this too ver I know you have a great story as well I truly believe to my core and I've got to talk to so many people uh we we all have different versions of that exact same story uh where someone you can you know replace my grandparents with someone's Aunt Uncle father mother a pastor a coach a teacher a complete stranger but we've all had people who have come into our lives and done something special given a spiritual wealth and change the entire trajectory of our lives and so because we all have that different version of that same story uh I believe we all can repay the spiritual debt together and and again that's what this campaign uh for lieutenant governor is all about it is creat creating those Avenues of opportunity for other people and I like to say that opportunity is the oxygen of a democracy where it exists people thrive and communities Thrive uh where it does not exist you literally see communities and people die and so we have got to pump more oxygen into this democracy in the form of opportunity uh make higher education and vocational training more affordable uh allow people to buy afford keep and pass down their own homes uh throughout the generations uh get access to Capital to start and grow a small business my wife Dr Serena Fairfax and I are small business owners we bought a family dental practice 10 years ago uh in Fairfax Virginia it's changed everything that's possible in our lives and yet we were able to do that because we were given access to Capital treated fairly in the markets given a high quality education and so we want that for absolutely everybody uh and I believe that we can we can provide that for everybody and I'm finding and I got my NBA I went the NBA route and yes absolutely nobody talk to us about this Co-op model and I'm finding this Co-op model can work because you get a number of people three to five people to come together to start that that small business and I'll go over the principles of volunteer and open membership it doesn't make any difference about the gender or racial background political background religious background who you choose to marry or anything else so it's just open and volunteer membership Democratic member control member economic participation and this is what I like you put some money in and there's a surplus or profit you get it back out so you get that that's right equity and that wealth that that you talk about and the fifth one is the main reason that I Started Loving co-ops is education training and information and your whole it looks like a lot of your policies and procedures is on this education piece absolutely it it's crucial education is so important uh and so we want a robust and healthy uh K through2 uh educational system uh but also really starting uh prior uh being in kindergarten early childhood as you know uh Vernon very well you know 80% of a child's uh you know brain is formed by the time they're you know three years old uh and so kids are learning an immense amount of information before they step foot in a school and we have got to nurture and provide them with opportunities we my wife and I we have a seven-year-old son and a 5-year-old daughter uh over the holiday thank you thank you we very blessed we guys to take our first break Justin and I can we could talk for two hours I already see this we got so much without question but we only have we only have 15 more minutes we'll take a break and then we'll come back and we'll have another 15 minutes we find thank you so much for giving us this look forward to it thank so much brother Washington DC's news 1450 a.m. W 9519 FM information is power and that's the reason that W's a great partner to produce this show the national Cooperative Bank is sponsoring so that you can get information about cooperatives perhaps go and start one or go go to uh shop it at a cooperative and you'll get power if you use this information that we give you here today we have Justin Fairfax who's running for Virginia lieutenant governor and on the line who grew up right here in DC uh Justin let's change a little bit to talk about the environment yeah absolutely I know that you believe in climate change right and you want it's real and in fact Vernon uh the fact that yesterday it was 70 degrees uh and a lot of people were out in shorts and today it's snowing uh think should you know give some people Insight uh into what's really happening uh here in the scientific Community uh really uh overwhelmingly uh has endorsed the notion that uh climate change is real that uh it is caused by human AC ity uh and that we've got to do something now uh to preserve our planet and our natural resources and uh and I'm I'm committed to doing that well Donald Trump is speeding up environmental reviews he's right written a to have the Dakota access pipeline the Keystone Pipeline going through seemed like the Republicans and him and other Republicans don't believe the scientists I don't get it yeah I mean and there there are so many and I I'll tell you uh one thing that I've been I've been struck by is that there there has been uh a growing uh you know consensus among a number of people including you know people in the faith community who believe again that you know our you know natural environment Planet are a sacred trust uh and something that we have to preserve and you know we we don't really own you know our environment we we are borrowing it from our children and our grandchildren and so we are we have to pass that down to them and be caretakers of the environment because it really is about them you know in our campaign we uh often talk about uh the future is now uh and that really is a policy prism uh that we look at a lot of uh you know policies through and the environment is a is a is a key example of that I mean the future is now what we do today will dictate uh what our um environment natural resources uh look like in 30 40 and 50 years the lieutenant governor of Virginia uh sits on a number of boards and commissions in the State uh including the uh Governor's Commission on climate change and and res resiliency and again one of the roles uh is to make sure uh that we are doing the things today in terms of carbon mitigation a reduction looking at renewable sources of energy uh and fuel cleaner burning you know alternatives to what we have uh and again in an effort to preserve the environment uh for our kids and for our grandkids and uh it has uh environmental impacts but it also has significant economic impacts I spent a lot of time in Hampton Roads Virginia uh nuk port smth uh and other areas uh if you get a modest rain often times in those areas uh you will get flooded and we if actually seen the school systems close due to that flooding and you know you can't have h a robust economy where you're constantly under the threat of environmental disaster we have seen what's happened in in other states around the country uh and so we have got to head that off again both for economic reasons but also really for you know moral reasons as well then we are borrowing this uh environment uh and our natural resources from our kids and from our grandkids and we have to leave it to them in good stad Justin how can people get a hold of you or hold of your campaign if they want to contribute some money or man the phones or how would they yeah we and we will be honored uh to have the support of everyone for the June 13th primary uh they can visit our website uh which is at www.f Fairfax my last name f AI RF ax for spell out F rlg uh as in Lieutenant governor.com so that's Fairfax for lg.com uh we are also on Twitter uh Fairfax 4lg and Fairfax Justin and we're on Facebook and Instagram as well we will be honored to have your listeners support have them come visit our website learn more about you know our our our focus on economic security and opportunity on expanding rights and protecting voting rights women's reproductive uh health care and really just making sure everybody uh in this Commonwealth and really in the country uh gets the same shot at the American dream that we got uh it is the spiritual debt that we're repaying and and uh we're having fun uh on this campaign we have seen so much support hundreds of people have come out to our campaign kickoffs I've done 20,000 miles in the car uh in just the last 10 months all around the Commonwealth and we're visiting uh every part of the Commonwealth Southside Southwest Hampton Roads Richmond the shennel valley Northern Virginia uh and people are very excited about this opportunity and about the hope and optimism that we're bringing uh and in what otherwise is a pretty dark political time I think people see a ray of Hope here uh in this race in Virginia uh and the opportunity to really get involved uh and to do something special you know um I grew up in Bluefield West Virginia and there is a Bluefield Virginia right next door to each other yes absolutely absolutely so you know uh you know uh that's the you know great part of the country uh you know you have people there who who are tough you know who do believe in in a lot of those tenants that you mentioned of of co-ops of know working together of of giving people opportunity giving people a fair shot in this country and uh you know I was just featured in an article by UVA y uh the student newspaper uh the Highland Cavalier and and we talked a lot about those issues that affect and impact really all of us but certainly those areas uh you know there are 175,000 unfilled middle skill jobs today in the Commonwealth of Virginia uh where people need certification and training uh that they you often times can't afford uh and so we have got to you know connect people up with those opportunities use our community college system uh to get them that training and certification make it affordable so they can go from you know uh primarily uh you know service industry jobs where they may not be able to support their family uh to making a livable wage and and frankly starting to get ahead to to make the money they need to buy a home support their family get access to Capital to start and grow a small business send their kids to a community college or four-year College and you know people want again that that oxygen that is the opportunity and we want to give more opportunity including in places like Southwest just been hit so hard and you see these economies that are struggling we want to start to help jump start uh those those economies by building infrastructure bringing Broadband you know making sure the roadways are there making sure that our Hospital systems are strong uh it's hard to try to get a company to relocate a manufacturing facility uh to a place that doesn't have a hospital because if you're work workers get injured or you have employees that want to you know have children and not families uh you know you really need that infrastructure of a hospital roadways uh Broadband so that companies can do business uh and kids can learn you know get their assignments online and and and really keep ahead uh in their schoolwork and that's really what we're focused on uh it's not been a you know bitter partisan battle some people love to be negative in politics and to fight other politicians I'd rather fight our problems uh than fight other politicians I think that's how we make progress you know uh do you have any Sanctuary cities in Virginia um not that I know I know there was a debate with some cities Richmond being one uh and some others uh but but I think that folks in light of the executive order uh that just came out you know are starting to you know think about policies where they can you know make sure that people are not you know being ripped apart from their families that we you know don't become a you know a police state and so you know we're seeing that you know happen around the Commonwealth and around the country I also uh as you may know a couple weeks ago I went out to Dallas Airport uh it was a Saturday night and we saw uh what was happening uh at that airport and you know families again being unlawfully detained children being separated from their parents and grandparents and uh felt like we had to do something so we just hopped in the car went out to the airport and I'm a lawyer so I joined with dozens of other lawyers and hundreds of protesters and we made it clear to the CBP officers there uh that we were there to you know be the lawyers for every person who got off that plane and to make sure that they were not unlawfully detained uh there was a federal court order that was issued uh that night uh that prevented CBP from deporting uh people for for seven days and also that order CBP to allow those being detained to see uh their lawyers so I was very proud uh to have been there with so many other people and proud you know to report that everyone was able to make it off the plane and be reunited with their families but you know we have just got to be a more caring Society I know that we are uh better than what that executive order represents it is it is shameful in my view uh and it's a a dark moment in history I was hardened by the fact that people are ready to resist and they're ready to fight back and they're ready to reaffirm and reassert our American values of inclusiveness of kindness of caring of making sure that everybody again gets an opportunity uh in this society and I'm committed to doing that in our race for lieutenant governor of Virginia as well so you went out to Dallas and that worked lawy to support people that were detained absolutely I did I did indeed and we I was proud of joined with dozens of other lawyers it was totally organic you know there was no email that went out it was you know we saw what was happening it felt like we had to do something and uh and again I'm proud to say that that that all those families that night uh were able to make it off the plane and and to be reunited with their families and to get to their destination uh you know these families were scared you know many of them had taken off their country of origin yeah and mid midair you know life changed for them and I felt like we had to be there for them to support them uh and I've been out to the airport subsequent to that uh we actually did a Facebook live video uh the first night I was out there which has now been viewed by you know over 21,000 people and I met up with a Columbia Law School classmate of mine who I had not seen in probably a decade but that just shows the amount of uh energy of caring uh that we see in this in this country and it's not going to go away it's only going to grow and I predict that in Virginia which we have one of only off year elections after Donald Trump's inauguration uh Virginia is going to be the match that lights the Wildfire of progressive change all across this country uh and we are going to see a growing Spirit uh and see see victories for people to make sure that they have more opportunity now do you have any more time because we've got to take our next break but do you have any five 10 more minutes or you have yeah I do I do absolutely I'm happy happy to stay on okay please please stay on Justin Fairfax we'll be we'll be right back [Music] Washington DC's News Talk 1450 a 95.9 FM welcome back everybody this is Vernon OES program Ober them Cooperative we have Mr Justin fairfa on the line who's running for Virginia lieutenant governor this program is sponsored by the national Cooperative Bank the NCBS mission is to help cooperatives grow by supporting and being an advocate for America's cooperatives and their members placing special emphasis just as listen to this placing special emphasis on serving the needs of communities that are economically challenged and you got a lot of rural communities in Virginia and I've had people on right Rural and they say that 80% of those uh communities that are economically challenged are rural communities and then you have inner city as you know that mainly blacks and Browns live in that are economically challenged and NCBS mission is to loan money to these organizations I mean these communities to help uh create co-ops or or expand co-ops because co-ops I found in doing this program they're they are developed to solve a community problem and one guy said if there's no Community problem there's no need for a Cooperative uh where people come together to solve Community problems there's a book out and Richmond is in that book uh it's called cities Building Wealth and it was produced by the Democracy collaborative out the University of Maryland and he said Virginia has a a u i don't know a committee an organization a group that the government put in place called Building Wealth uh out of this book and it's talking about the things you were talking about creating small businesses and I would like to see them be cooperatives oh did you know that most co-ops uh they don't uh they don't fail uh like you do when you start a a a guy comes and says or woman comes and says I want to start this business they go started and there's a 70% chance it's going to fail in the first five years because 70% of them do not in coops I think there's only like 20% it's either 10 or 20% fail that's because there's a lot of emphasis on the education a lot of emphasis training and you get a group of people working together with different skills which causes so what are your thoughts about putting more money and more effort into building co-ops within Virginia to help these economically challenged communities uh yeah I mean I absolutely support it and uh as you mentioned in Richmond uh there's a you an Innovative idea that was implemented you know several years back uh the office of community wealth building and that may be what's referenced in that book to which I or to reading uh and again like you like you mentioned it really does tackle you know these issues around you know economically impoverished and challenged uh communities and and making them you know more viable pumping more of that as I mentioned that oxygen of opportunity uh into these communities helping more people you know afford uh to buy and keep and pass down you know a home uh as we know that that is often times the largest investment that most families will ever make uh it also forms the foundation of most families uh intergenerational wealth uh building opportunities uh and so we want to make sure that more people have access to home ownership the responsible home own home ownership uh again starting and growing small businesses particularly as you mentioned co-ops are are great examples uh of of of businesses that do well uh and that again educate along the way uh I'm an attorney uh my wife is a is a dentist as I mentioned and uh we both in our professions have you know continuing uh learning education requirements yep uh so you know you get your degree but you also have to every year learn something new and and stay a pace and so we think that co-ops really form uh you know an opportunity for people to do that in business and and in life as well uh to continually grow uh in their knowledge base and to learn from so many others and we know that diversifying uh is always a positive thing whether you're talking about investing in the stock market or uh you know in various businesses or in you know the representation that we have in our leadership uh Statewide and across the country uh so I I absolutely support opportunities to um you know to to further uh you know support co-ops and small businesses and wealth building opportunities and and educational opportunities as you mentioned it's key uh there have been a lot of people who haven't started with very much in terms of uh you know economic resources but because they got the education and frankly we we are you know an example of that because they were given the educational opportunities and and then given economic opportunities down down the line you know you really get change the entire trajectory uh of your family circumstances and we really want that for everybody no matter again where they start uh what their last name is color their skin we want them to get that exact same shot at the American dream and co-ops are a great way to do that there's uh some research out about housing co-ops and it says that house they looked at the hud-funded housing co-ops compared to the hud-funded apartment buildings and the HUD funded co-ops outperform the apartment buildings in every varable the rent was or there was less foreclosures people felt better about their living conditions the housing was better quality it was better up and they were able to create Financial wealth so the I always ask the question why doesn't HUD put more money into housing co-ops I've got a couple of answers to that but I'd like to the housing co-ops are phenomenal way to get people educated because I'd like to see where everyday people learn how to run a business and this is all a multif family housing is is a business so that 200 unit business may bring in a million to $2 million a year so they're running a million $2 million a year with all of the problems of any other business and they learn and I've had people on this program that go The Limited Equity co-ops they say the training they got in how to run a business they took in their home like savings budgeting uh how how to solve problems when there's a conflict yes absolutely Justin absolutely you would like this one on this program I've learned I mean in the Bible it says where uh two or more are gathered God is there also and I've have said it I've learned in this Co-op I I do Property Management that's what I do that's where I learned of this managing family that's tremendous so so in in going to board meetings and and work there's always a problem there's two people that have different issues okay right and learning how to solve those issues you need God so I said where two or more are gathered you need there's God because there's going to be conflict and co-ops you learn how to solve those conflicts you you you really learn how to listen to each other and learn how to solve conflict and also in co-ops there's social wealth that's developed because people in co-ops learn how to work with police and learn how to work with Lieutenant Governors which you will abely with with our with our uh listeners support so so they learn how to work and they build social wealth not only Financial social wealth absolutely it's it's such a that's brilliant fantastic point and I completely agree and you know and frankly you know it would be great if we can start to you know Implement some of that in our you know political life in discourse and I think that that's the opportunity that we have here I mean you talk about that level of cooperation in terms of Building Wealth for everyone resolving conflicts that you know invariably come up but doing so in a way where we you know disagree without being disagreeable and uh you know always focused on how do we create more opportunity for others you know co-ops uh what I love about them is that at their heart they can't be selfish right uh you know it can't be about me me me and just myself and my family it's got to be about you know hope uh and that's how they succeed and I think that our politics would benefit from that our public and civil discourse would benefit uh from that and uh I think it's a great thing and a great example and and I hope it continues my my family we you know we have uh finance things uh through uh Credit Union uh here uh in in Virginia and it's been a great experience and and that's just one example again of of how co-ops can can really powerfully create opportunity for people and and build as you mentioned U actual economic wealth but also uh social wealth as you called it I think it's a fantastic fantastic point and model there's a co-op in Cleveland run by a black lady that was formed several years ago she is and I wish I could call her name right now but the uh Co-op Hall of Fame she's going to be induct this year but just talking about you know housing and health care and all of the different things the the credit union can get into and then a lot of time there was one started in El Paso Texas by five white men they they pulled $10 each and now they have over a billion dollars of assets just like the rural electrics are started because the larger companies wouldn't go into rural because it cost too much to put up those poles and wires so people same thing with a co-op in these areas black communities these economically challenged communities whether they're rural or Urban there too often there's not a food there's a a food desert there's no food or there's no financial institutions and so these co-ops will come in place and you got several food co-ops in Virginia yes that that that's exactly right you know and and everything from as you mentioned meat and poultry Dairy many people may not know but you there there there's information that you know almost a million Virginia homes farms and businesses depend on electric co-ops for electricity something that's been published by The Cooperative Council and you know a lot of the products that we buy um both you know with regard to you know food and agricultural products but but also Financial products and services uh you know insurance and uh and you know savings and checking accounts uh when they're with credit unions I mean they are the product of cooperatives and as you mentioned they are very successful on the whole and so again it it really is a great model uh it focuses people on uh I think exactly the right things which is economic empower education uh wealth building as I mentioned our campaign for lieutenant governor uh our lead you know lead issue is economic security and opportunity uh and everything that falls under that and so we talk about home ownership vocational training higher uh education affordability student loan reform access to Capital to start and grow a small business uh these are all things that the co-ops really promote uh and support and it really helps people change the trajectory of their lives as I mentioned we have been on this incredible and mighty Journey Journey uh in our lives and we have gotten to live the American dream and I feel so blessed every single day to you know be in a country and to have been given the opportunities that I've been given in life and so uh we have a spiritual debt and we're going to repay that by making sure more young people more families get the exact same shot in life that we did well you know Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan and Donald Trump their fathers left them with millions of dollars right and they still say they did it on their own amazing The View that people have okay where when my father died and he gave me a lot of common sense a lot of good knowledge a lot of sort of drive and hope and the things that you talked about but when he died he had $2,000 worth for debt that I paid off and so that was the financial wealth that that he left us and there were six of us so so having to to sort of pull together and come together and get wealth and get knowledge is is we've had to do it a little bit different from Donald Trump ran that's right I mean you have some folks who you know born on third base and thought they hit a triple you know and and that's just you know that's a fact of life for for those folks but you know I think your story again is a great one um and I I appreciate so much what you shared uh you know about your father and and like you said it's a it's a story that so many of us uh have uh but what I what I love about that story um as I mentioned we all have different versions of the same story is that what your father and your family and your community gave you a spiritual wealth yeah and you look at you and look at yourself now not only do have you been able to succeed tremendously in life uh and be a wonderful example for others but you are now helping others to do it and that is the that to me is the it's the secret sauce of America is that opportunity that American dream and it's fueled uh it is fueled by really spiritual wealth in my view uh if you can get people that uh it will lead to you know economic wealth and resources that they can then pass down and we've got to focus ahead on that but just that notion that no matter where you start uh if you're given the right tools uh you can advance and succeed uh in the society uh it's it's a beautiful thing and I think we've got to preserve it and we've got to enhance it for so many people so I had asked you to stay on a few more minutes we had expected a gentleman by the name of KH aunu who's the co-director of cooperation Jackson and Jackson Mississippi but he hasn't called in and I had just wanted you to two to meet each other because you're two great Brothers yeah uh I appreciate that very much and I would definitely welcome the opportunity uh to to connect with him and and thank him for the work that he's doing uh with cooperatives and uh and I thank you for the work that you're doing it really is it's so important and I hope that you know more people will will start to focus in uh on the message and on the resources that co-ops provide uh because it really is a pathway you know to the American dream uh in many ways and so we've got to continue to support our cooperatives and educational opportunities economic OPP unities and I know the American dream is real because I've lived it right uh and so many of us have and I just want to make sure that it is actual and real for more people more people believe that it's not real in their lives we got to take we got to take another break I love talking to you please if you can hang on please do and we'll continue this conversation I only have 15 more minutes of show but we'll be right back please don't touch that great thank you Washington DC's News Talk 1450 aw 95.9 FM information is power welcome back everybody this is Veron Oaks and we have Justin Fairfax on the line with us who's running for lieutenant governor Justin what does a lieutenant governor do yes it's a great question uh that many people have asked uh so lieutenant governor has uh several responsibilities uh first of course to serve in the instance the governor uh is unable uh to carry out uh his or her duties but also per the Virginia Constitution the lieutenant governor presides as the president of the Senate of Virginia so you sit uh in the Senate when they're in session and you break ties uh in the case of a tiebreaking vote we currently have 21 Republicans and 19 Democrats uh in the Virginia Senate uh up until 2015 uh we actually had a tide Senate 20 to 20 and so the lieutenant governor would routinely uh you know cast a tiebreaking vote on you know policies across the board uh having to do with the economic issues uh the budget and the environment uh women's reproductive healthare you know so many other things that come before the general assembly so those are sort of the uh you top responsibilities but uh as mentioned earlier the lieutenant governor of Virginia also sits on a number of boards and commissions including the Council on Virginia's future I mentioned the climate change and resiliency update commission the military advisory commission and uh you so many others the disabilities commission so many others that really deal with you know some of the most pressing issues facing the Commonwealth of Virginia uh and the regional economy as you know we have a regional economy here uh with Maryland DC and in Northern Virginia you know Metro is a is a great example of where you know we have to have Regional cooperation uh and where we also have to use that future is now lens and prism uh unfortunately the system is going through you know so many uh issues uh and you know I think we've got to you know get out of the mode of of sort of kicking the can down the road and having deferred maintenance the Metro system as we know is just over 40 years old started running in 1976 but I think because we kicked the can down the road and deferred maintenance and didn't invest where we needed to along the way uh we then had a collapse in many ways of the system so we want to avoid that want to make sure our infrastructure is strong our educational system uh is strong we have great schools in the Commonwealth of Virginia uh including great Public Schools uh and we want to support those schools and our teachers and our students and our families uh in those communities many businesses before they locate somewhere the top priority and the top question that they ask is how are the schools because they're employees they're going to send their kids to those schools and they have a lot to do with the values home values that exist in areas so uh we just attracted Nestle uh to Arlington Virginia and very proud brought 750 jobs so we want to continue uh to do that lieutenant governor of Virginia uh can play a significant role uh in that regard and and we have you know shown that these are the issues that are top priorities for us and and that we carry out over the four years if we're to be elected and to win this primary on June the 13th and then the general election in November of this year how did you get nesby out of California I tell you you know I know it takes some work and I'll tell you our governor Terry mccul is is doing a great job he's you attracted a lot of uh resources and businesses here to the state uh over 1,00 billion doll I believe in capital investment the last several years about 188,000 new jobs and uh and Nestle you was was another again I think it really goes to the attractiveness of the Commonwealth of Virginia our strong school system our uh strong infrastructure uh and you know we're a business friendly environment we're a place that again really wants to make sure that people uh have opportunity for economic Mobility our you unemployment rate you know is around 4.2% uh the lowest in the Southeast we at one point it dipped down to 3.7% uh so you really saw you know significant you know sort of uh you lack of unemployment which is a great thing uh and job growth and so we want to continue and accelerate that and the things that we focused on again in our lieutenant governor campaign Economic Security and opportunity issues being a welcoming diverse inclusive Commonwealth protecting uh you know women's reproductive healthare but also making sure that uh you know there is uh across the board equality uh you know equal pay for equal work I tell people my mother was a pharmacist raising four kids you know she needed to be paid equally uh to her male counterpart to support her family and because she was given that opportunity again she now has four college graduates two law school graduates and four professionals who have their own families and are are doing very well uh in the society so we have got to make sure that we treat everyone equally particularly women across the panoply of issues uh economic and otherwise uh healthc care and otherwise you know no uh gender discrimination also particularly lgbtq uh Community you know we have marriage equality here uh you know we should always support non-discrimination across the board uh so I think all of those things make Virginia a very attractive uh destination for companies and for families and we want to again accelerate the job growth uh the opportunity growth for for for everyone and uh support our small businesses as I mentioned my wife and our small business owners uh I was a federal prosecutor here uh so dedicated to public service and you know keeping our community safe but also to giving people a second chance uh We've also highlighted Criminal Justice Reform as being a a key policy platform uh we have to give appropriate Second Chances uh we have a system that in many places is broken incredibly expensive uh discriminatory in many ways and you know we spend a lot of money uh locking juveniles up and we could spend a fraction of that providing them with educational opportunities and uh enrichment opportunities earlier on in life and the ROI on that is significant both financial and morally uh I think we can save so many more of our young people uh in our communities by investing in them earlier rather than waiting on the back until you until they get in trouble so I just went into Fairfax for LG lieutenant governor f r f ax f o r lg.com fairf facts for lieutenant governor and I see your picture up here you you look like you're about 22 man you're very kind it was a good day a good good photo shoot so you're very kind you got an undergrad and a and a law degree and you have a wife and two children seven and five years old yes yes and and very fortunate and blessed my wife and I actually met in college at Duke University uh we have known each other now for almost 20 years uh we have been married uh this year will be our 11y year wedding anniversary in June I'm also to your point I'm actually 37 uh in about a week uh and a half I'll actually be 38 my birthday is uh coming up on February the 17th so I'll be 38 years old which is the same age of uh some other Lieutenant Governors who ran Bron won uh don Byer who's now a congressman uh in Virginia great was a great lieutenant governor for two terms and uh is now a great Congressman uh Chuck Rob who was a great lieutenant governor and uh governor of Virginia and also senator of Virginia they both were elected lieutenant governor right about the age of 38 39 uh and so you know we we've seen you know folks look to uh that generation of leadership and and and to the new fresh positive ideas as a Way Forward uh we've seen that in the past I think there is a a tremendous hunger for that right now uh people don't you know even think you know along partisan lines as much uh they just want change positivity you know they want to see a ray of hope uh in our politics and I think that that's what we're providing uh as I mentioned I believe that Virginia will be the match that Sparks the Wildfire Progressive change all across this country uh and that's the opportunity we have here uh in 2017 and it starts with the June 13th primary so you can go on Justin for Governor Justin Fairfax F A Fairfax lg.com lg.com and it has here the endorsements and uh news and issues and you can sign up to help work or you there's another dot you can put for donate absolutely and we would you know appreciate it all the support we can get we've had some people give you know as little as a dollar because they said that look we are you know I may not have a lot of resources but I'm going to work and I'm passionate and I want to invest in this uh movement and and people are getting excited in a way that we have not seen for a very long time we as I mentioned have driven 20,000 miles around the conal of Virginia in the last uh 10 months and have met people over the last four years ver at the top actually I ran for Attorney General of Virginia four years ago in 2013 was 33 years old at the time so I probably really look 22 at that at that point but uh I left my job as a federal prosecutor again very passionate about what we can do to support people give them more opportunities through Public Service uh and in that campaign a lot of people said you know you don't stand a chance you're going to lose by 30 points and we'll never hear from you again uh but because we stepped out on faith and and brought that powerful message of Economic Security and opportunity around the Commonwealth we ended up winning nearly 49% of the Statewide vote in the Democratic primary 2013 and we were endorsed by The Washington Post uh in that race so uh it was a powerful response and we are seeing that grow you know by a factor of of 10 uh this time around people are really excited about this because it really is about them uh it's about you know allowing their kids to go to college affordably not be crushed by student loan debt having more people you know buy their own home start their own small business reform our Criminal Justice System save our young people you know from uh incarceration un unnecessarily uh we spend $150,000 per year to incarcerate a juvenile in our state prison system uh imagine if we took a fraction of that uh and gave them jobs earlier in life gave them enrichmond opportunities educational opportunities fully funded K through 12 and uh prek education made it Universal uh we we I'm committed to that it's when you look at how much it cost to put somebody in jail versus to educate them it's just staggering it's it is it's it is it is astronomical what we pay uh particularly when as you mentioned measured against what it would cost to educate them and so I'm I'm dedicated that we're almost out of time and I just want to put this little bug in your ear there are co-ops in prisons in Italy and other places in Puerto Rico around the world we only have one minute so what message would you'd like to leave people with yes so the message I would leave them with is we would be honored again to have your support in the June 13th primary uh for lieutenant governor of Virginia uh you our website is Fairfax for lg.com and we are on a special journey together and everyone who joins us uh is joining us on that Journey uh to really use the spiritual wealth that we've gotten in our lives to repay the spiritual debt that o and to make sure everybody gets the exact same shot uh to live the American dream to have a safe uh you know Journey uh to be educated to have uh Economic Opportunity and that their families and their kids and their grandkids can inherit uh a much better life and do better uh than we did I think that is what the American dream is all about I've just hit the Donate button and so you'll see something in there for you baby thank so very much and God bless all right have a great one thank you you too thanks so much everybody have a Cooperative week we'll see you next time Washington DC's News Talk 1450 am W 959 FM [Music]