Northern Virginia

Delegate Lee Carter Hates the Amazon Deal. We Asked Him Why.

Stephen Wood | December 11, 2018

Topics: Amazon, DSA, General Assembly, house of delegates, HQ2, Jeff Bezos, lee carter, Northern Virginia, socialism

“We’re taking on the wealthiest man that’s ever lived. There’s more of a disparity between Jeff Bezos and the average American than there was between the Pharaoh and the average Egyptian. It’s going to be a hard fight.”

Delegate Lee Carter (D-Manassas) made national headlines in 2017 when, running as an open socialist and member of the Democratic Socialists of America, he upset the then-majority whip and won election to the General Assembly. Despite mockery from Republicans and members of his own party, he seems to relish his status as the de facto poster-boy of the Left in the Commonwealth.

Most recently, that meant coming out against the deal that would place a new Amazon headquarters in Northern Virginia, something most politicians have celebrated. RVA Magazine caught up with Carter to hear more about his problems with the Amazon deal, his thoughts on the midterm elections, and his reaction to seeing asylum seekers tear gassed by federal authorities.

You’ve been vocal in your opposition to the Amazon deal. The State Secretary of Finance says this deal holds “zero financial risk to the Commonwealth,” and the state estimates a net return of $3.2 billion dollars and 25,000 new jobs from this deal. That’s a ton of money and a ton of jobs – how could that not be good for Virginia?

Well, I think they need to remember that we don’t represent a tax base. We don’t represent a line-item on a budget. We represent real people who have real lives, and this is going to massively increase housing costs in Northern Virginia.

Northern Virginia is an area with very low unemployment right now. We don’t have a joblessness problem – we have an affordability problem. In fact, we have more people than jobs. We have people working two or three jobs just to make ends meet. So piling more jobs onto that is not only not going to make it better, it’s going to make it worse, because you don’t have anyone here to fill those jobs.

You read the memorandum of understanding between VEDP [Virginia Economic Development Partnership Authority] and Amazon, it’s pretty clear that transfers count as a new job under this deal. Amazon can just move people in from Washington State. They can move people in from across the river in Maryland. And that counts as a new job. That’s one more person fighting for the same amount of housing. It’s going to drive housing costs way up, it’s going to displace people out of their homes, and it’s going to make life worse for quite a lot of people in the Commonwealth.

So why do you think it is that so many politicians are wooed by the idea of high-paying jobs and all this money that’s going to be injected into the economy?

Because it’s easy politics. I’ve got to admit – it’s hard, going out on a limb, standing out there and saying, “No, we don’t need more jobs.” There’s this conventional wisdom that says “More jobs magically fixes everything.” That’s not what we need. We need the jobs we have to pay better.

Another selling point is a promise from Amazon to fund new higher education programs and expand others at Virginia Tech and George Mason. They’re going to be bringing tons of opportunities for computer science education to Virginia – isn’t that going to help people?

They can say what they want – it’s not in the memorandum of understanding. The transportation project that people are touting? That’s going to have to be state money, because it’s not in the MOU. The new campus for Virginia Tech? That’s going to have to be state money, because it’s not in the MOU. On and on and on down the line, the only thing that Amazon has to do to get the money is just “make jobs.” But again, they can just transfer people in.

And the absolute worst thing in that contract is there is no escape clause for the Commonwealth of Virginia, but Amazon can cancel it on five days’ notice for any reason and keep every penny that they’ve gotten up to that point. There is not a single lawyer in America that would let their client sign that contract.

[Note: Carter is correct in saying that the MOU contains no commitment from Amazon to pay a dime for transportation projects and education initiatives, and about the one-sided escape clause. The MOU also stipulates that the state must give Amazon a heads-up whenever a request is made for public records regarding the company. The state has taken a firm line on one issue, however: Amazon must pay for its own helipad, though the VEDP promises to help get it approved.]

So what makes you wary about the government working so closely with a corporation like Amazon?

You don’t have to look any farther than what’s going on with GM right now. GM is talking about closing down a number of plants around the country. One of them, the Detroit-Hamtramck Plant? Thirty years ago, Detroit did the same thing for GM that we’re doing for Amazon right now. They displaced thousands of people. They funneled GM tons of public money on the premise that GM would bring jobs and revitalize downtown communities. The jobs never materialized in the kinds of numbers that were promised. There was no benefit for the communities around the plant. And now the plant’s closing, and they’re going to have an empty factory for who knows how long.

Virginia’s seen as a moderate state, and the Democrats there are mostly “pro-business” Democrats. How do you convince a Warner or Kaine, Clinton or Northam voter that this project is going to be a net negative?

It’s not something theoretical. The easiest way to convince people this is actually a bad deal for us is, first, have them read the memorandum of understanding. There’s a lot of lawyers in the General Assembly – not one of them would be OK with that escape clause.

Second, the reason Amazon is expanding outside of Seattle is because Amazon’s presence in Seattle has made Seattle unaffordable. This is not a theoretical thing. It’s not charts and graphs. It’s, literally, look at what happened in Seattle. The good, paying jobs in Seattle don’t pay well enough anymore, even if it’s $150,000 a year, because Seattle’s so expensive it’s not worth it to move there for $150k a year.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and a few other socialists have also come out very strong on this issue. How do you feel about the Left’s chances in the fight against Amazon?

We’re taking on the wealthiest man that’s ever lived. That’s something to keep in mind. Not just the wealthiest man right now – literally the wealthiest man that’s ever lived. There’s more of a disparity between Jeff Bezos and the average American than there was between the Pharaoh and the average Egyptian. It’s going to be a hard fight.

But, you know, ultimately it does need to be approved by the General Assembly. So Virginians need to step up and call their General Assembly members and say, “Look, we’re getting put through the ringer on this. It is not worth voting yes. And if you do vote yes, if you vote to raise rent for your constituents, you’re going to have to answer for it in 2019.”

Anything else you’d like to say about Amazon or Jeff Bezos?

Yeah. The reason that I’m so vocal about this is not just fighting for my constituents – I’m fighting for myself here. Delegates don’t get a very high salary, and Manassas is not a cheap place to live. So, my rent’s going to go up. I’ve got a one-bedroom apartment by the train station, the train that basically goes straight from my apartment to the new Amazon headquarters. I’m in the same boat as thousands of my constituents.

A staple of your first year in office has been your willingness to mix it up on Twitter and have debates with your opponents. Is this how our politicians should be acting, getting into fights on social media?

The big thing here is, politics is not some theoretical, some abstract where you get points for good behavior even if you lose. Politics is the business of making decisions about who can eat and who can pay the bills. If you’re not willing to mix it up, if you’re not willing to go out there and throw some haymakers to make life better for people, you’re in the wrong line of work.

So you’re saying it’s OK for politicians to actually identify and call out their enemies?

Absolutely.

How are you feeling about the results of the midterms?

It’s a mixed bag. My wing of the Democratic Party gets put in this position where the national party really only lets us run in races where they think nobody could win, ever. So that’s why you see people going out on a limb in Georgia – in a statewide race in Georgia, going out on a limb and actually standing on principles and making clear, convincing, moral arguments.

You know, the conventional wisdom says that if you’re in a hard state, you’ve got to go right, you’ve got to pretend to be a Republican. It didn’t work too well for Joe Donnelly, it didn’t work too well for Heidi Heitkamp. Somehow it worked for Joe Manchin – I don’t know, he’s got some kind of voodoo magic that I don’t understand. But by actually going out there and making moral arguments to voters and fighting back against corporate power, we put Georgia and Texas in play.

Yeah, I was surprised by a lot of the takes about how Beto failed, or how Stacey Abrams failed to win in Georgia, because it’s like, when was the last time we were even having conversations about winning these races?

Right. And I have my problems with Beto on policy, but he did do a good job of going out there, saying, “I’m not taking corporate money. I’m going to fight for what I believe in.” Just pure campaign strategy. He ran the kind of campaign that folks on the Left would like to run, and he put Texas in play.

For a year there, you were basically the only visible and open socialist legislator out there, other than of course Bernie Sanders. Is it nice to know, going into the next legislative session, that that will no longer be the case?

I was not the only socialist state legislator – there was also one guy in Maine.

My bad.

Going into the 2018 legislative session, we went from one socialist state legislator in the country to two – it doubled when I got elected. Now we’re up to, what is it, a dozen, two dozen, somewhere around there? People going out there and making a strong critique of our economic system, saying that we need radical transformation of our economy from one that serves the interest of billionaire investors to one that serves the interest of working people – that’s something that is expanding exponentially. We’re starting from zero, but there’s nowhere else to go but up.

Do you think we might be approaching a watershed moment, in terms of having enough socialists in government that people are forced to reckon with it?

Absolutely. And it’s not the first time in American history that this has been the case. From the 1890s to the 1940s, you had socialists at every level of government. You had state legislators. You had, especially, municipal socialists. It was a fact of American life. There were three major anti-capitalist parties in the United States: the Socialist Party of the United States, the Socialist Workers Party, and the Communist Party of the United States all had elected officeholders until the McCarthy period of the 1950s. So this is not new, it’s a reversion to the mean.

Before we wrap up: as a former Marine, how did you feel about the soldiers that were dispatched to the border, the panic around the “caravan,” and the fact that it dissipated magically after the elections?

The folks that were trying to come here are victims of U.S. foreign policy. We have overthrown governments in Latin America left and right, for longer than anyone in America has been alive. How many times did we invade Nicaragua in the early 1900s? As a country, our leaders have always thought of Latin America as a playground for the U.S. military, and there are real human victims on the other end of that.

To militarize the border, to tear gas people in another country who are just trying to come here so they can live in a place where their kids won’t get shot – it’s horrifying.

As a veteran, what would you say to the men and women in the military who are being asked to carry out orders like that?

Right now, the military personnel are sort of just down there doing logistical stuff. It’s Customs and Border Patrol that have been firing tear gas. But the U.S. military teaches that if you receive an unlawful order, you have a duty to not obey it. There are laws regarding the use of tear gas. You can’t fire it at civilians in another country. It’s the law. Obey the law, that’s my message – obey the law around not using tear gas on civilians in another country.

Photos via Lee Carter/Facebook

Ganjapreneurs: The Weed Game Between Washington DC and Virginia

RVA Staff | April 20, 2018

Topics: D.C., Initiative 71, Marijuana, Northern Virginia, Virginia NORML, Washington, weed laws

It’s crazy to think that just 200 yards can be the difference between getting locked up and being fined for enjoying a fatty with friends while overlooking the Potomac. With criminal marijuana laws going up in smoke back in February 2015 due to Initiative 71 – which legalized marijuana for those over 21 – there has been tremendous attention centered around the various distribution loopholes and how that impacts everyone along the DC and Virginia border.

Let’s get one thing straight though, Washington DC is not the wild west of weed. While it has been decriminalized, a person still can’t smoke on public property or sell openly. Nonetheless, some of the district’s more aspirational potheads have started to get pretty creative on circumventing the laws; discovering those loopholes to turn what was once an illegal practice into a legitimate business.

For this 4/20, RVA Mag sat down with some people about their experiences with weed in Northern Virginia (NOVA) since the law in DC has been passed – given their proximity to one another.

Unsurprisingly, they requested to remain anonymous, so we will just call them Cannabis Carl and Stanley the Stoner.

“There is no doubt the vibe around smoking weed is different outside of the border since its decriminalization in DC,” said Carl, discussing the proximity issue. He went on to say that nobody in the weed game is still 100 percent comfortable with the ambiguities “Now that the laws are more accepting of weed in DC, cops digression has noticeably shifted to be more lenient in response.”

Yet there are differing perceptions in NOVA. Stanley spoke to RVA Mag about police stalking hot-boxed cars with Virginia license plates right outside of the District’s boundaries – just waiting to pounce. This speaks to containment and a desire to prevent any kind of cross-border ‘weed-culture bleed’ into the surrounding counties.

“Because it is Washington DC, feds are going to be super narky regardless of what the situation is. Weed is still illegal federally obviously, so you will see the saddest of cops itching to bust someone making a wrong turn and ending up in a federal zone with some weed on them,” said Stanley. “It is most definitely not the same as when other more liberal states had originally decriminalized the drug,”

Carl and Stanley both agreed that the cultural experience of smoking has definitely shifted since Initiative 71. “The thing to do back in the day was to sneak around to our favorite secret outdoor spots, said Carl, adding that the Georgetown bridge was his favorite spot given its “sketch factor.” He went on to say that everyone in NOVA now goes into DC to check out the new vendors, which are essentially “pop up shops where home growers showcase their product similar to a farmers market.”

Even as DC has progressed into the 21st Century, it is still important to remember that marijuana laws in Virginia are exactly the same. This means everyone repping the DMV will still not be saved from the DEA. According to Jenn Michelle Pedini, executive director of Virginia NORML, “Washington, DC’s Initiative 71 has had no impact on criminal justice reform regarding marijuana policy.” (Check)

When a bill gets introduced, it must be approved by a committee and sometimes even a subcommittee before making it to the full Senate or House for a floor vote. Senior committee members perceive their legislative districts and the District of Columbia quite differently and are not swayed by the District’s loosened marijuana laws. According to Pedini, it is not the legislature as a whole that prevents marijuana policy reform, rather it is due primarily to the majority of committee members who are former or current prosecutors.

Lack of knowledge and the surrounding social stigmas regarding the plant essentially leaves these officials to act as gatekeepers, preventing these marijuana bills from advancing to a full floor vote.

But keep your hopes high as a kite because Pedini predicts that if and when these bills finally reach the Senate and House floors, they are more than likely to pass in our favor.

Nonetheless, RVA Mag talked to a couple dealers from the NOVA area, who once again preferred to remain anonymous, to dig a little deeper into what sort of backlash Initiative 71 has created for the underground weed distribution industry – both inside and outside of District lines.

“Most of the people I serve are still in high school,” said one of the dealers. He went on to say that Initiative 71 doesn’t impact their business because the kids aren’t of age, but they “have such big networks that weed is almost as accessible as water for them.” This means that a lot of people in NOVA would rather stick with the weed they know as opposed to travelling to DC to pay for a more expensive product.

“I did notice a decrease in the older people I used to serve, like businessmen and parents, as well as the guys that pick up weight more frequently and really harp on consistent quality,” said the dealer. “Which makes sense to me because the inflated DC prices are worth a more convenient and legal transaction given their careers and families.”

Proximity doesn’t end in NOVA though, Richmond dealers are also making the trek to the nation’s capital to explore new products and take advantage of the loopholes. After sitting down with a local dealer, “Patrick the Pusher,” over some “coffee”, he described his entire process – from the acquisition of the product – to the curation and transportation across the border, right up until it reaches the hands of the customer.

“It’s much easier to get my shit in Richmond, but when I do make DC runs, I use wheresweed.com,” Patrick said. This app allows a user to see a list of all the specialized vendors in DC, along with a menu of their product.

“Each vendor is a little different, but after you make your selection and put in a delivery address, it usually takes around two hours for them to respond and deliver, which is just enough time for me to make my way up there,” he added.

The weed game is also a business, something not lost on Patric, “Like any business review on Yelp, their response time, efficiency, and professionalism is a direct reference to the quality of their product and made me feel like it was less quality.”

In the end, it is the loopholes that many people exploit in order to get their stuff.

For starters, the District does not permit the distribution of marijuana in exchange for monetary compensation, but there is nothing stating that you can’t just give it away. Most vendors sell a sticker or t-shirt that comes with a complimentary nug as a “free” gift depending on the value of whatever you buy.

Even for something like wheresweed.com, it is only available for people living in DC, but there is nothing stopping an outsider from putting a public parking lot or intersection as their home address.

“I feel a sense of pride buying local,” said Patrick. “It almost reminds me of grocery shopping online, it’s really that easy. I have never used the same service twice, but that’s not to protect me, I hadn’t even considered getting in trouble, it is more just to explore my options.”

Although vendor prices are slightly inflated compared to street prices, it is definitely more consistent. While you can still get great quality weed on the street outside of DC, there are no certainties that it is going to be good every time. That being said, you can’t get more than one ounce at a time, which makes it harder for people looking to resale in Virginia.

Initiative 71 seems like a win-win for everyone, fewer people are getting incarcerated, the economy is growing, and people are happier and higher than ever. This happening in the Nation’s capital also has a certain kind of poetic justice to it. Times are definitely changing.

Although the weed game is still highly unregulated, Virginians are still finding their way around the law. It is to early to tell if this newly adopted democratic “weetiquette” will immerse itself into the Commonwealth or trigger a greater containment effort by law enforcement. But until then, happy 4/20 everyone, and be sure to fix yourself a nice bowl of Weedies and milk before bed.

Photo By: Vivienne Lee