Business success and politics form a cozy relationship

CEDAR BLUFF, Va. – A lot of public officials report assets on their financial disclosure forms – land, houses, investments – but those who own the most are often the ones taking the biggest risks: the entrepreneurs.
The 2009 financial interest disclosure forms reveal that a large number of elected officials throughout Southwest Virginia are business owners – from a partnership in a tiny mom-and-pop shop to ownership of a company that has employed hundreds.
The businesses they own cover a broad cross-section of industry, from trucking and equipment, oil, coal and natural gas to pharmacies, grocery stores, gas stations, an animal clinic, a barber shop and a funeral home.
“One of the reasons I got into politics is because I have been successful in business in Southwest Virginia, and I believe in giving back to the people and the community that have made this possible for me,” said Jon Bowerbank, a member of the Russell County Board of Supervisors and owner of a natural gas infrastructure business. “To me they go hand-in-hand together.”
Bowerbank is one of many of the region’s elected officials who could be called a walking example of the American Dream.
An immigrant who came to the United States from England at the age of 11, Bowerbank worked in the oil and gas fields down South before coming here and starting a company. Now, his disclosure forms boast six businesses, three of which generate more than $250,000 a year, and a nonprofit foundation.
But ask him about his business, which builds infrastructure for the natural gas industry, and he’ll tell you about what seems to be his proudest accomplishment: the two synthetic turf football fields he’s been able to donate to area high schools.
Dickenson County Clerk Richard Edwards, who owns two grocery stores and three radio stations, said he is not surprised that many entrepreneurs go into local politics.
“It’s people that have been in business … and they see a need and they want their communities and their counties to do well,” Edwards said. “If you can help it in some ways, maybe you want to venture out and help in other ways.”
Edwards said he’s also the kind of person who can’t stand to sit still. So when an injury prevented him from doing the kind of physical work he’d always done at his grocery stores, he decided to take on another challenge: serving the community as circuit court clerk.
Not everyone who has a business in the region has a large one. Most commonly listed on the forms are businesses that generate between $10,000 and $50,000 of gross income. Among them are such places as the barber shop owned and operated for decades by Abingdon Town Councilwoman Cathy Lowe and the small coal company that Wise County Clerk Jack Kennedy inherited from his father.
“To be honest with you, there’s nobody making the big bucks in this,” said Billy Brooks, a member of the Washington County School Board and vice-president and general manager of a trucking company in Kingsport, Tenn.
“We’ve been here for 20 years, and if you look at the books and the bottom line on the money, there’s not any money, but if you look at the 20 years of having a place for 25 or 30 people to be and have an opportunity to work … that’s a big thing right there.”
Bill Weisiger, a Wytheville town councilman and part-owner of three pharmacies, said business owners often get involved in local government to give back to the communities that support their business – and also because they have a stake in helping those communities prosper.
“Your livelihood is derived from people who live in this town and I think you should do anything you can to help the town progress and stay alive,” Weisiger said. “Many towns have turned out to be downtown is just a dead area, nothing going on, and it’s really in our interest to keep the town alive.”
Bowerbank credits his success in business with work ethic, drive and commitment, hard-working people and a willingness to take a chance on success in a world that has more nay-sayers than believers. He said those are good qualities to have whether your goals are in business or in politics.
“I think with every problem that’s presented to you there are opportunities,” he said of the challenges of working in business and local government. “Business people are the eternal optimists, I guess.”
If nothing else, the prevalence of entrepreneurs in local government could be a sign that, in America, the path to success is still through self-initiative.
Bowerbank said government should work for the same.
“Government is about providing benefits to the stockholders,” he said, “and the stockholders are the citizens.”

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