Heather Curtis
WMAL.com

WASHINGTON (WMAL) – The woman seen flipping off President Donald Trump’s motorcade in a picture that went viral is now running as a Democrat to serve on the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors.

When she gave the president the finger Juli Briskman didn’t plan on taking any further action, but she said the support she got prompted her to change her mind. Not only did she get verbal support but monetary. Around 60 people donated more than $2,600 dollars to a GoFundMe set up to raise money for her after she was fired from her job as a government contractor.

“That just told me something, and what it told me was that people want change. People don’t want this type of administration running our country right now, and for me it all happens at the local level,” Briskman said.

She explained if “quality” people aren’t serving at the local level, there won’t any serving on the state or national levels either.

The nearly 20-year Loudoun County resident said her qualifications to serve the Algonkian District don’t come from giving the presidential motorcade the bird. They come from her volunteer work at schools and local jobs, which she said have given her a great perspective on the county.

Briskman also what any political candidate needs to win: name recognition.

“I’m fairly well-known already. Flipping off the president definitely helped getting that notoriety,” Briskman said laughing.

Republican incumbent Suzanne Volpe also has name recognition since she’s represented the Algonkinan District since 2012.

Volpe said she had heard rumors for several months that Briskman may run against her, so she wasn’t surprised.

When asked what she thought of her opponent’s action, Volpe said, “That’s not an action that I would do to anyone.” She added, “I wasn’t raised that way.”

Briskman said she doesn’t know if she would flip the president off again. At the time, she said she had no other way to communicate because the windows of the president’s car were rolled up, and she was riding her bike. It was a reactionary situation Briskman told WMAL.

Volpe hopes the finger incident doesn’t distract from local issues in the race. She believes what happens in Loudoun County has nothing to do with national politics.

At this point, Volpe said her focus in not on campaigning but rather doing what she was elected to do including improving the county’s economic situation, easing traffic congestion and fixing problems within communities.

Briskman said the issues that are important to her include school funding and addressing what she calls unchecked development and growth.

Copyright 2018 by WMAL.com. All Rights Reserved. (Photo: Courtesy of Juli Briskman’s Facebook page)