Senator Warner is visiting a dozen communities across Southwest Virginia this weekend.

The trip began this morning at the Bristol Public Library with a meeting hosted by the Bristol Chamber of Commerce.

Senator Warner spoke to about 50 business and community leaders about his experiences in Washington so far. As the Bristol Herald Courier wrote,

Speaking to a group of about 75 Twin City business and political leaders, the former Virginia governor said he often gets frustrated by the emphasis on party politics.

“Many of my colleagues seem to wear their Democrat hat or their Republican hat when they ought to be wearing their American hat first and foremost,” Warner said during the event at the Bristol Public Library.

“I think folks are angry at most elected officials, whether Democrat or Republican, because they’d like us to stop bickering and spend more time actually trying to get our country’s problems solved,” Warner said.

Senator Warner also fielded questions from the attendees about the economy and how the recently passed financial reform bill would affect Virginians. According to the Herald Courier:

Attendee Archie Hubbard said he appreciates Warner’s stance.

“He tries to be a centrist, instead of a Democrat or a Republican, and tries to get people to come together in the middle,” Hubbard said. “Right now, the country is totally divided left and right and there’s not a whole lot of middle out there. We need that because neither party has all the answers.

“That’s one down and 99 [senators] to go.”

 

Senator Warner also visited the site of construction of the Heartwood Artisan Center in Abingdon, which is scheduled to open next summer. Heartwood’s 29,000 square feet of galleries, gardens and organic food courts will showcase the cultural and natural heritage of Southwest Virginia, and local officials project it could draw 270,000 visitors per year to the area.

Heartwood is part of ‘’Round the Mountain: Southwest Virginia’s Artisan Network,” which Senator Warner started in 2004 when he was governor.

After the Heartwood tour, Senator Warner met with sixty tourism officials at the nearby Southwest Virginia Higher Education Center to talk about Heartwood, the Crooked Road Heritage Music Trail, and other tourism opportunities for the region.

Later in the day, Senator Warner spoke at a town hall at the Russell County Government Center organized by CGI, one of two leading I-T companies that then-Governor Warner brought to Southwest Virginia in 2006. Since then, CGI has invested $30 million and created 300 jobs.

At an energy discussion at nearby University of Virginia-Wise, Senator Warner talked about alternative and clean energy, according to The Kingsport Times-News:

Rather, the true debate should revolve around economic development with a vibrant energy sector leading the way to a robust national economy [Senator Warner said]. China took the lead in solar energy about a decade ago, he said, and that’s because this nation let it happen.

“Coal used to be the feedstock that drove our economy in the 20th century. Wouldn’t it be great if energy technology will be the feedstock that drives the 21st century?” he asked.

As the finale to a great first day in the region, Senator Warner attended a jam session at the Lays Hardware Store in Coeburn, where he introduced the Center Stage Cloggers, Coeburn’s local clogging all-stars, before hanging out to enjoy a night of great music and dance.