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The Woman Putting The Hope Back In Hopewell

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Hopewell Mayor Jasmine Gore wants to reinvigorate the civic spirit of Richmond’s southeastern neighbor by involving and inspiring its community.

Hands full of a stack of binders as she rushes out of the small, mid-century elevator of Hopewell’s Municipal Building, Mayor Jasmine Gore gives the immediate impression that she has a lot to do and little time to waste. At just 32, Gore is the youngest mayor ever appointed to lead the Wonder City.

The crisp paint and sleek decor of her newly renovated office embody the fresh approach that has earned her the nickname of the “Millennial Mayor.” The fact that this moniker was first coined in a snide Facebook post shows that not all Hopewell residents are excited about the city’s new leadership.

“Since I got elected, I’ve always had to fight to show I have something to contribute,” Gore said. “Some people don’t take me seriously because I’m the age of their children. It makes me question: ‘When does your hard work and track record speak for more than your age?’”

Gore’s history in Hopewell goes back to age fourteen when her military family relocated to the city for her father’s work at Fort Lee. She graduated from Hopewell High School in 2004 and went on to earn dual degrees in Political Science and Biology from VCU.

An internship with then-delegate Jennifer McClellan sparked her passion for public policy and inspired her to set her sights on elected office. Seeing little to keep young people in Hopewell, after graduation Gore returned to her hometown to help build a better future for her younger brother by volunteering on several of the city’s boards and authorities.

The Beacon Theatre. Photo by Wyatt Gordon

Her dedication and eye for detail began to earn her a reputation as a woman who does her homework, and in 2012 Gore ran as an underdog for a seat on the Hopewell City Council. Her choice to create a campaign website and pursue high-profile endorsements from VA NOW and the AFL-CIO helped set her apart from her more established opponents, who relied solely on retail politics. Gore turned her youth into her strength by appealing to voters’ desire for a fresh voice on the council.

With 38% of the vote, Gore defeated two other candidates to become the youngest woman ever elected to City Council, and the first black woman to represent Ward 4. She prides herself on the volunteer work and grassroots engagement that paved her way to the mayor’s office. “You’ve gotta start from the bottom and work your way up to have a perspective at all levels.”

After six years of service on City Council, including a stint as Vice Mayor, Gore’s fellow council members appointed her mayor in a 4-3 vote this February. She isn’t taking her new role lightly. “I’m in a unique position to connect to the community, and my age is an asset to help us improve and modernize,” she said. “We need to think outside the box and meet people where they are.”

Mayor Gore’s push for a new culture of participatory democracy may prove just as controversial as the “Big H” at the city’s entrance on Route 10. “That sculpture was discussed for years before it was put up, but people only talked about it once it was under construction, when it should’ve been known and debated far earlier,” said Gore. “The Big H is symbolic of the change that needs to come in our political culture.”

The Big H. Photo by Wyatt Gordon

Gore’s first aim is to provide this new council with a clean slate to focus on Hopewell’s future by putting an end to the dual sagas plaguing the Wonder City’s improving image: the year-and-a-half long search for a new City Attorney, and the fraud case against the city’s Comprehensive Services Act (CSA) Coordinator.

Mayor Gore hopes an efficiency and technology review currently being conducted by VCU will give City Council a better understanding of residents’ needs and offer a clear set of steps to move the city forward. She has a few ideas herself as to how Hopewell can adapt in the 21st century. “We currently have no online forms in government,” she said. “We can’t have people scanning and faxing stuff in 2019.”

Last year, when the National League of Cities chose Hopewell to be one of twelve municipalities across the country to participate in its Cities of Opportunity program, Gore recognized it as a once in a lifetime chance to revitalize the city. With support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the mayor hopes to focus the program’s grant money and national expertise on four areas key to the city’s future success: health, housing, economic opportunity, and workforce development.

Beyond her policy proposals, Gore hopes her legacy as mayor will be one of a cultural change in Hopewell’s government, towards greater transparency and engagement. A converted storage room turned council office space should facilitate that change by finally allowing council members to host office hours and meet with constituents at the city’s Municipal Building.

“It used to be crickets when council did something,” she said. “But now that we’re seeing bits of progress, more people are getting involved.”

Top photo via Jasmine Gore/Facebook

Best of RVA Missed Connections November 28-December 4

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Hey there, lonely people… are the holiday blues getting you down? Are you looking for love in all the wrong places? Well maybe this week, missed connections is the right place for you.

This will be especially true if you’re a manager at a pizza place, or someone who’d proudly call yourself a redneck. And if you want to meet the man you could’ve been, well… you just might be in luck there, too. Just try not to overuse the exclamation point key too much.

Are you a manager? (Grimaldi’s)

What a beautiful guy. My cheese pizza was “overstretched” lol but you can slice my pizza any day. Hit me up.

To the man…

…I could have been.

I’m too far gone to change now. All the wrong choices along the way, all the epiphanies that came much too late. All the attempts that were made to do better that never found roots.

It doesn’t matter now. Coasting to the finish; full of regret, rage and internalized self loathing.

Sometimes it’s best to accept you are the villain in your own story.

Cute shoes

There’s probably no chance that you will ever see this and it’s probably inappropriate, but…I said that I like your shoes and that I very well may have a foot thing. We both laughed about it. I want you to know that I think you are gorgeous and wish I could see your sexy feet and more.

You broke my heart (NN)

You broke my heart when we broke up! I thought it was due to me being broke! What broke the bond was my refusal to “have a sleepover” with you and your BFF! I’ve changed my mind, please take me back! I’ll “hang out” with you both for now! Or if you’ve found another bloke, the news of that would make me choke! Let’s get together, talk it out, I’d be glad to buy you a Coke, or have a smoke, or take a toke, or we could even sail my boat! Just make me smile, say yes for a while, oh baby when I say to you, that I’d be glad to make you 2, if not then I will be so blue, but I will find a love anew. She may not have a friend like yours, and if that were true life would be a bore. But we would have to face the facts, and just go home and do it!

pool n darts (Richmond)

you were playin meat puppets and of montreal while playing pool/darts. seemed like your tinder date wasnt going so well. would like to hang sometime. u rock

Redneck in white Chevy at 7-11 (south Stafford)

You were leaving as I came in you nodded to me. I’d like to check out your truck and see what’s under the hood and check that big thing out.

lonely girl

I get off at 6

wanna hang out

xooxoo

Missing you Christina (Hopewell)

I miss you. The times we spent listening to music and talking about deep, deep stuff. I’m sorry of how everything went, I was scared of falling for anyone that soon after my divorce. I know I hurt you, and I didn’t mean to. Every time I go to mun cheese I think of you. Or when I listen to pink floyd

I saw you looking

If you ever want to chat or get together, let me know. I saw you sitting on your front porch indian style like you do every day smoking a cigarette. It was early in the morning and I was wearing my shorts and a t shirt and I was adjusting the good ole morning erec… while standing on my porch. I saw you looking through the cars. If you liked it lets talk.

I spanked you – prior military M4M (Stafford)

We met about a year ago, you answered my ad about spanking. I came to your house in Spotsylvania. You prior military guy, str8 but with kinky side. Similar here. Had great time, up for a repeat. Hope to hear from you.

Honeymakers Turn to the Sweet Business of Mead

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The city of Hopewell is abuzz with the sweet news of its first meadery coming this fall.

Grown from a longtime family-run honey business, owners and beekeepers Tonya and Mike Haley plan to convert a historic building near the Beacon Theatre to open Haley’s Honey Meadery, with space for a production facility, tasting room, and patio.

For those who haven’t had a chance to try mead or heard of it, it’s essentially fermented honey, yeast, and water. While not making as big a splash as craft beer in Virginia, it’s starting to slowly ooze its way into the market with Black Heath Meadery opening in Richmond in 2015, along with Silver Hand Meadery in Williamsburg. and Blacksnake Meadery, the only one in Southwest, Virginia. 

The husband and wife team, who live in Colonial Heights, have been making and selling honey for over 17 years. Their business, Haley’s Honey, frequents local farmers markets, state and county fairs, Randolph Market, Ellwood Thompson’s, and at one time sold their honey in 10 Ukrop’s locations. 

The couple also provides bee colonies to farmers from Nelson County, to Prince George, to Chesterfield for crop pollination.

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Mike Haley

“We bought 60 hives, all the equipment, and started harvesting and selling,” Tonya said of getting into beekeeping.  

And their honey was in such high demand that Tonya, a Colonial Heights Middle School teacher, and Mike, an X-ray technician at Fort Lee, started having to scale back.

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“When I got home I had 25 to 30 messages of people wanting to buy so we had to pick and choose who we wanted to sell to,” Tonya said. 

But two years ago, the couple decided to sweeten the pot and expand into mead after seeing many of their customers buy their honey in bulk. “One summer, a ton of people were coming to us to buy bulk honey and I was like, ‘what are you doing with it and they said, ‘making mead,’ and I knew what it was so I went home and did some research and we started making it ourselves,” she said.

And Tonya admits the process wasn’t so smooth when they first began making it at home.

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“It was like rocket fuel,” she said laughing. “I was like, ‘oh my god this is going to knock someone out, it was like 18 percent alcohol, I was putting too much honey in it.”

After tinkering with recipes and learning more about the mead-making process, the two started to get the hang of it. “In the beginning, it was an experiment, but then it got better and better, and we had all the resources at our fingertips and we knew where to get the jars and the labels,” she said. “We had everything we needed so I said, ‘let’s jump in and do it.”

After a year of planning, and a $12,000 grant from the Agriculture and Forestry Industries Development, the two signed the lease on their meadery space at 235 E. Broadway Ave. in March. Haley’s Honey Meadery will serve up small-batch mead in a variety of flavors such as blueberry, blackberry, strawberry mint, pumpkin, root beer, and apple cinnamon. Customers will be able to purchase glasses of mead for around $7 and 357 ml bottles for $13-$18.

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“We have a Five & Dime Warrior [mead] for Route 10, Virginia Peach, and Blue Devil, after Hopewell’s mascot,’ she said. The two plan to purchase $120,000 in Virginia-sourced honey over the next three years and source fruit for their meads from regional farmers.

“All Virginia farmers. Adams Acres, Hanover Peaches, Well’s Produce and Jared’s Produce,” she said. “Our plan is to purchase the majority of our produce from them.”

In addition to a tasting room, Tonya said they also plan to sell products from regional companies in their space such as JJ’s BBQ Sauce, Verde, and O’Wow Lip Gloss.

“I want to include some Virginia companies, family businesses that produce products and have an area just for them,” she said. My whole goal was to help Virginia small businesses and families.”

The couple’s goal is to eventually get their mead in ABC stores, farmers markets, and events like the Powhatan Grape Festival. Haley’s Honey Meadery is slated to open sometime in October.