Loose Leaf Notes

Born and raised in Southwest Virginia, Derek Kitts is a decorated veteran and small business owner who is running for the 7th District Delegate seat on the Democratic ticket. He was recently hosted to attend a business roundtable luncheon at The Hotel Floyd by hotel owners Kamala Bauers and Jack Wall.  Special guest Mayor Will Griffin was also in attendance.

“I’m here to work with small businesses. I’m here to work with communities, to sit down and hear your concerns and be your representative,” Kitts told the room of  attendees.  He introduced himself by giving some background for those who didn’t already know him.

Born in Roanoke, raised in Lynchburg and currently residing in Christiansburg with his wife and two daughters, Kitts’s family goes back about six generations out of Bland County.  He served in the U.S. Army for 24 years, headed up the ROTC program at Radford University and taught classes at Virginia Tech’s Corp of Cadets.

Kitts had hoped to become a police officer following his military career but injuries sustained during tours in Iraq and Afghanistan prevented that. Looking for other ways to serve, he ran for Congress in 2016 against Morgan Griffith, who prevailed. Kitts started his small business, Virginia Blue Star Printing, in Fairlawn in 2017.

Addressing the group, Kitts spoke about his work ethic, knocking on doors and traveling all over Southwest Virginia during his run for Congress and his current campaign, which got underway after Republican Delegate Nick Rush announced in March that he would not be seeking re-election.

Kitts stressed the importance of being a strong voice for rural communities and small business. “We need to promote it. We need to drive it and we need to make access to funding a lot easier,” he said. He listed his Big Three issues: Education, Infrastructure and the Economy. “The pipes in Pulaski and Floyd are borderline original and need to be replaced,” he said.

Mayor Griffin, who was invited to open the meeting up to questions and comments, agreed. He began his remarks by thanking Bauers and Wall for their hospitality, saying, “Regardless of political lanes, you two always do right by Floyd and are very much appreciated.”

“I’ve been a Nick Rush fan, if for no other reason than if I called Nick, I would get a call back,” Griffin said. “And I never worried about right or left. We always tended to focus on right or wrong.” He reported that he had reached out to both candidates for Delegate, Kitts and his Republican opponent Marie March, but March declined to speak with him.

“Our PSA (Public Service Authority) is in disrepair,” Griffin continued. “The only way we can get this system right, ensure the future of our town and get our town to grow is with infrastructure.” He spoke of the help small businesses in Floyd need. “When you get behind the curtain, everyone is peddling just as hard as they can. It’s tough.”

Several attendees gave a cheer for Citizens Telephone Cooperative when Kitts raised the subject of broadband internet being important.  One woman said she was able to move to Floyd and work from home because of Citizens, which has made Floyd one of the most connected counties in Virginia. Another attendee asked Kitts to comment on the divisive climate at recent School Board meetings that has her family considering moving away from Floyd to someplace more welcoming and inclusive.

Kitts noted that politics has become more partisan than ever and aggressive. “When did it happen that a person has to worry about being threatened by someone they disagree with?” he posed. “If you have no clue about governing, if you alienate specific groups, how are you supposed to work with others? How are you supposed to govern? How do you think divisive rhetoric effects the recruitment of businesses to the area or effects getting funding from the state?”

Griffin weighed in. “We’ve allowed national hot plate issues to come into our community, and the people who are bringing them here are only doing it to divide. I think as the majority that has remained silent, we need to start standing up to those people and tell them they’re not going to win. Then, Floyd can, hopefully, go back to what it was, a widely accepting community. You did your own thing and didn’t worry about it.”

“I do think Floyd has a strong community of people who really care about each other and work together,” said Jack Wall, who outlined some of his interactions with business start-up partners and in his men’s prayer group where people of different political persuasions are dedicated, practical and get along.

Kitts addressed the danger of the privatization of public services, which his opponent supports. “It would affect the police, the firemen, public education. “We can’t allow them to let them defund public education.  We can’t allow them to control a narrative of fear,” he said.

“If we don’t do the right things, we’re going to lose the opportunity to fight for the soul of our area. We need to be able to protect the interests we have,” Kitts continued, adding, “I’m passionate because this is home.”  ________Colleen Redman