Senior Vice President of Special Projects, Atn
Search every verified William O'quinn interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. In a September 2020 floor speech, William O'Quinn, then a delegate and now Senior Vice President of Special Projects at Atn, argued that Southwest Virginia's economy is vital to the state and criticized what he described as a disregard for the region. He stated that the area has "been absolutely hammered since the Great Recession" and faces challenges including schools in need of repair, unpaved roads, and a lack of broadband. O'Quinn expressed skepticism about promised green energy jobs, saying the region would accept them "if and when they materialize," but questioned asking workers to give up "$90,000 blue collar job[s] for a $15 hour job." O'Quinn noted that Southwest Virginia has worked to diversify its economy and that the region's exports account for over half of Virginia's total export volume, supporting a $350 million port expansion. He warned that certain policies could put localities on the "verge of bankruptcy," citing one locality that could lose $8 million from a $50 million budget, affecting schools. He urged lawmakers to visit the region and consider the impact of their decisions, stating that "Virginia only works correctly and justly if every region is lifted up."
“We have been absolutely hammered since the Great Recession and we've really never pulled out of that. We have schools that are in bad need of repair, hundreds if not thousands of miles of unpaved state roads, and areas with exactly zero broadband capabilities.”
“With the promise of the green energy jobs that are purportedly coming, we will take those if and when they materialize. We're a little skeptical about that as these promises have been made for a long time and have never ever come to fruition.”
“You try looking someone in the eye with a straight face and saying you need to give up your $90,000 blue collar job for a $15 hour job that you don't want to do. It's a little more difficult than you might think.”
“Southwest Virginia seems to work the hardest to diversify its economy. Our delegation, local governments, and economic developers have taken this on head-on to try to make things better for the people that we represent.”
“We are in the process of spending 350 million dollars, and it may actually be more, to expand the Port of Virginia because the top export commodities in Virginia in large part come from Southwest Virginia. They are ten times that of the second largest export and over half of the entire export volume.”
“Barreling forward at a hundred miles per hour, you put entire localities on the verge of bankruptcy. One locality in particular stands to lose eight million dollars from about a fifty million dollar budget, which means our schools are going to suffer mightily.”
“Before you throw an entire region under the bus, please stop and think about this. I've visited every locality in Virginia and it would be nice if you take the time to come and look at the region, look the people in the eye that you're getting ready to affect, listen to the stories and see firsthand the drastic hardshi...”
“This is a bad move for rural Virginia and subsequently a bad move for Virginia at large. Virginia only works correctly and justly if every region is lifted up and we need all parties to come together and truly think this through and come up with a solution that works for everyone.”
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