Governor Ralph Northam is launching an effort aimed at forging new lines of communication across local governments in Virginia.
Two mayors walk into a room. One of them is from Norton in the southwest. The other is from Alexandria in Northern Virginia.
“I know you’re trying to control growth. We’re trying to encourage it,” says Norton Mayor Joseph Fawbush.
He’s talking to Alexandria Mayor Justin Wilson, who says, "part of the angst we hear about the growth in the city is that it’s only benefiting small groups of our population.”
Fawbush and Wilson are talking to each other about how their local governments work as part of the Local Government Exchange Program, an idea launched this week by Governor Ralph Northam.
“In Northern Virginia, obviously one of their challenges is traffic and congestion and moving people from Point A to Point B," Northam explains. "Well on the Eastern Shore, we don’t have so much of a challenge moving people we have a challenge moving technology. We don’t have broadband over there.”
Leaders from five communities across Virginia are part of the initial rollout, which is modeled after Dwight Eisenhower’s sister city program, which pairs local governments across the globe.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
