Gov. McAuliffe Clueless on Jobs But Not Pork

By Lewis Loflin

On March 8, 2017, the Bristol Herald Courier reported that Mountain Empire Community College (MECC) in Big Stone Gap received a $200,000 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) to establish a Power Line Worker training program. The announcement, a rehash of a press release, claimed the program would create “a new career pathway for high-demand, regionally available jobs.” I grew up in Norton, just 7 miles from Big Stone Gap, and I’ve seen how these promises often fall flat in Wise County, where economic opportunities remain scarce despite decades of government funding.

The CDBG Grant and Its Promises:

The CDBG grant, administered by the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), allocates $17–$20 million annually to Virginia for community development projects. In 2017, MECC received $200,000 to launch a 14–15 week non-credit program to train power line workers, offering certifications like OSHA-10, CPR/First Aid, and a Commercial Driver’s License (CDL). The program, still active in 2025, enrolls 10–15 students per cohort, but the claim of “high-demand, regionally available jobs” doesn’t hold up under scrutiny.

Lack of Local Job Opportunities:

In 2017, I searched for lineman jobs through American Electric Power (AEP), which supplies most of Southwest Virginia’s electricity, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), which serves Bristol, Virginia, and the Virginia Employment Commission (VEC). I found just one lineman job in Coeburn—hardly evidence of high demand. AEP listed 83 openings, but the only Virginia jobs were two office roles in Roanoke, a 4+ hour drive from Big Stone Gap, and a position in Pikeville, Kentucky, open only to existing employees.

Fast forward to 2025, and the situation hasn’t improved. AEP’s website lists 62 openings as of March 29, 2025, with just one lineman job in Roanoke and two office roles in Richmond—none in Southwest Virginia. The VEC shows two lineman jobs in the region: one in Coeburn and one in Abingdon, both requiring prior experience. Nationally, lineman jobs pay a median of $81,000 annually (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2024), but locally, opportunities are scarce. Graduates of MECC’s program must relocate to find work, drop out of the labor force, or settle for low-wage jobs like fast food.

Redundancy in Training Programs:

I attended MECC and worked in the community college system, so I know the region’s workforce training landscape. Programs in basic electricity, industrial electricity, or even mine electrician training—common in a coal-heavy area like Wise County—already provide the skills needed for lineman work with minimal on-the-job training. MECC’s extensive offerings, including online “virtual” certificates, cover many of these areas. Adding a Power Line Worker program is redundant when the real issue is the lack of local jobs, not a lack of training.

The Literacy Barrier:

A deeper problem in Southwest Virginia is functional illiteracy. In Wise County, 20–25% of adults read below a 5th-grade level (National Center for Education Statistics, 2023). At MECC, 45% of incoming students in 2024 required remedial math or reading courses, down slightly from 50% in 2017. I fought for years to address this issue, but community colleges often operate as diploma mills, issuing certificates that mean little without addressing foundational skills. Without literacy and math proficiency, retraining for skilled trades like lineman work is nearly impossible, limiting opportunities for many in the region.

A Better Use of Public Funds?:

Despite my skepticism, this grant is a better use of taxpayer money than corporate welfare or funding nonprofits. MECC, as a public institution, offers some accountability and direct access to programs, unlike private entities where cronyism and privacy laws obscure how funds are used. The CDBG program, like the Virginia Tobacco Commission, is often a political slush fund, but public institutions at least serve a broader community. MECC’s focus on career training over four-year transfer programs is commendable, and the presence of fiber optic internet has enabled online learning, though hands-on programs like this one require on-campus attendance.

The Bigger Picture:

These grants often underwrite college operations, saving the state from using taxpayer funds to support institutions like MECC. But they fail to address the root causes of economic stagnation in Southwest Virginia. Wise County’s unemployment rate is 4.8% (VEC, January 2025), above Virginia’s 3.2%, and the region has lost tens of thousands of jobs over the past decade. Without tackling literacy and creating local jobs, programs like this will continue to push graduates to leave the region—or leave them with worthless certificates. I hope MECC’s program succeeds, but real change requires addressing systemic issues through public institutions, not more pork-barrel politics.