Virginia Gubernatorial Race Heats Up As Candidates Spar Over How to Reduce Traffic in the Chinquapin Circle
Peerawut Ruangsawasdi
Staff Writer
The Chinquapin Circle is known for its highly congested after-school traffic. Every day around 3:15 p.m., flocks of cars patiently wait in line to leave the school. The wait time can be anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes, regardless of the day. Students, teachers, and the public alike have to endure the traffic jam until the traffic light, assuming there is no one crossing the road, permits them to exit the facility. As the highly competitive gubernatorial race enters the final stretch, with recent polling showing a high number of undecided voters, this is truly a race where every vote matters. Republican Glenn Youngkin and Democrat Terry McAuliffe, former Virginia governor, took to Twitter to woo some of those voters by proposing their ideas to ease the congestion in the Chinquapin Circle.
During his visit to Alexandria City High School on Friday, as part of his “#WinWithGlenn Bus Tour,” Youngkin told a group of students that he was not going to announce his Chinquapin plan publicly: “I’m going to be real honest with you. The short answer is in this campaign, I can’t. When I’m governor and I have a majority in the House we can start going on offense. But as a campaign topic, sadly, that in fact won’t win my independent votes that I have to get. This issue is too controversial.”
After talking with students, who, unbeknownst to Youngkin, were members of ACHS Young Democrats, he changed his intention and tweeted his plan to privatize the circle, stating that he would turn to the private sector in hopes of a solution.
McAuliffe quickly responded on Twitter with a video of Youngkin, which was given to him by a member of ACHS Young Democrats, telling students he would not “go on offense” on the Chinquapin Circle situation: “Why has Glenn Youngkin apparently done a U-turn on his approach to the Chinquapin Circle? This just goes to show how Glenn Youngkin wants to turn Virginia into Texas. P.S. Remember that Trump endorsed Glenn Youngkin!” The tweet swiftly went viral, having been retweeted by former President Bill Clinton, and thus, launched the debate into the national conversation.
What followed was a series of tweets by both candidates, exchanging attacks to one another. “When I am governor, there will be NO COLLUSION in the Chinquapin Circle! And, by the way, Terry, what’s your plan? You were governor for four years, what were you doing?” Youngkin tweeted.
In a statement rated “Pants on Fire!” by PolitiFact, McAuliffe gave a sharp response: “The Republican majority prevented me from getting anything done in the Chinquapin Circle, that’s why! I inherited the worst congestion in the history of the circle from the Republicans. In just four years, I worked with Alexandria, I turned it around and gave it a nice tree. I’ve led Chinquapin out of crisis before and I’m ready to do it again. I am going to make life difficult for those who don’t comply with the rules, that is how we must go about reducing congestion in the Chinquapin Circle.”
Due to the stark contrast between the plans, as Virginians head to the polls on November 2 to decide who they will send to the Governor’s mansion in Richmond, they will be confronted with a tough decision. Everyone who travels daily through the Chinquapin Circle welcomes increased attention to the topic. “[It is] nice to see it discussed nationally,” said junior Rita Metermaid, “Hopefully, it will get fixed soon, given all this attention, you know? Perhaps, this is a movement. Perhaps, this is the momentum that has always been needed.”
Photo by Peerawut Ruangsawasdi
