mobanmarketLOUDOUN COUNTY, VA—Remember the cyclist who gave President Trump and his motorcade a one-finger salute as it was making its way to his golfing resort in Virginia? The one who lost her job because her employer didn’t think flipping off the president was good for business?
That bicyclist, Juli Briskman, has decided to run for office. No, the Democrat won’t be challenging the president in 2020. She instead has her sights set on something a bit smaller. Briskman, 51, intends to challenge Suzanne Volpe (R) in the Algonkian District for a seat on the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors next year.
The reasons for the run are detailed on her Crowdpack page, where she points out she’s been deeply involved in the community for some two decades. She adds that when she sees something that’s not right, she does something about it.
“And now is one of those times,” she says in her pitch. “Over the last eight years, the Algonkian District has been poorly represented by our supervisor, who has repeatedly voted against the interests of so many in our area by slashing school funding, allowing irresponsible development, siding against sensible transportation solutions and putting partisanship above governing.
“I cannot sit idly by and allow this to go on for four more years.”
She also didn’t sit idly by last October after a photographer posted a viral picture of her giving the finger from her bicycle Trump’s motorcade passed. Briskman told her employer, Akima LLC, a government contractor in Herndon, that she was the woman in the photo, leading to her abrupt firing.
She was fired under the company’s social media policy, but she wasn’t wearing anything associated with the company, nor did she identify herself as the individual on her social media accounts. Briskman claims the company made it clear to her they were worried her opposition to Trump would hurt their ability to obtain government contracts.
So she sued, although her wrongful termination lawsuit was dismissed. But as she told the Washington Post, that’s one of the reasons she decided to run for office.
“I’ve gotten some feedback that folks say you should respect the president,” she told the newspaper this week. “Even if you don’t like what they’re doing, you shouldn’t show this sort of disdain. And I simply disagree, and I think the Constitution grants me that privilege.”
Patch editor Emily Leayman contributed to this story
Photos: ©Astri Wee Photography Inc.
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