The News & Advance
Monday, May 9, 2016

Jane Dittmar with Prince Edward Democrats Chair Taikein CooperWhen Jane Dittmar was knocking on doors during her campaign for Albemarle County supervisor in 2013, a future constituent asked about her stance on the Internet.

At that point, Dittmar had no idea about students in the Scottsville area being driven 30 minutes into town to do their homework at night or people who could not apply for jobs because of a lack of reliable and affordable home Internet service.

“That was when I went. ‘Whoa, that’s not fair, because now we’re choosing by address which kids are going to be able to do their homework, which kids are going to be able to do well in school,’” Dittmar said Monday in an interview with The News & Advance.

The “last mile” broadband issue — the point at which Internet providers say customers are too scant to make investing in infrastructure worthwhile — became a focus of her supervisor stint and is now a major plank of her campaign for Virginia’s 5th Congressional District.

The Democrat released her “Jane for Jobs” plan Monday, commencing a press tour as the district party’s nominee, made official Saturday in Nelson County.