Kaine seeks women business owners' input in Roanoke stop

U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine started the second leg of his statewide tour Monday by holding a roundtable discussion with community leaders in Roanoke.

The Democrat talked about facing economic uncertainty, pushing to champion career and technical education, and raising the minimum wage, among other issues. The talk with about 20 women was lively and informal.

Last week Kaine made stops elsewhere in Virginia, including Martinsville, Charlottesville and Newport News.

Kaine said Monday he was interested in talking with constituents to get ideas and hear concerns, as well as sharing what he’s been up to in the Senate. He said he chose to meet with the all-female group in Roanoke because “sometimes women business owners have a particular take on things,” and he hadn’t held such a talk in Roanoke before.

Before the nearly two-hour lunchtime discussion got under way, Kaine greeted participants one by one. Over boxed lunches on the rooftop of Center in the Square, he started by saying he’s focused on the economy.

“The recovery isn’t near what it should be yet,” he said, explaining a lot of that is because of uncertainty stemming from the sequester and government shutdown.

Kaine said it’s difficult for businesses or governments to make spending decisions without certainty.

“We are taking steps back to doing that,” he said. “That’s probably the most important thing we can do with respect to the economy.”

Also important to the economy, he said, is career and technical education, something he’s taken up in the Senate where he saw a void.

Kaine has pushed for greater investments in career and technical education and recently created the Senate Career and Technical Education Caucus. The bipartisan group aims to bolster career tech offerings and access. Kaine has said career tech programs are critical to having a prepared work force. He talked about that Monday.

“We have downgraded career and technical education,” he said, but noted technical skills and training are valuable and critical to creating a qualified work force.

Kaine said he also sees individualized education as the next big development. Afterward he asked why students need a disability to get individualized education.

Special education students have Individual Education Plans, which spell out needed accommodations.

While Kaine was not suggesting IEPs for all students, he said learning should be tailored to individuals, recognizing that every student has strengths and weaknesses.

One of the participants, Tina Bhandari, a psychiatrist and educator, said education can be entrenched and is in need of systemic changes.

Her daughter, a Virginia Commonwealth University student who was also on the panel, touched on a similar vein.

“I guess my biggest thing about education is we’re not doing it right anymore,” Shruti Bhandari said.

Bhandari said school has become about memorizing information, but she found when she got to college, it was not the information she needed but rather the critical thinking skills to make sense of it.

Kaine also discussed efforts to raise the minimum wage from $7.25 to $10.10 an hour, something President Barack Obama has championed. He said the wage increase is likely to pass the Senate, but not the House.

Lauren Ellerman, owner of the River and Rail Restaurant, told Kaine she supported the move.

“Bring on the minimum wage, just give us warning,” she said.

Kaine will continue his statewide tour today with stops in Wytheville, Marion, Emory and Abingdon. On Wednesday, he’s scheduled to be in Bristol.

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