Northern Virginia casino supporters form political action committee
Backers of bringing casinos to northern Virginia through Fairfax County have formed a political action committee to raise money for the 2024 initiative.
Virginia Sen. David Marsden (D-Fairfax) plans to reintroduce legislation that would allow Fairfax County to consider a gambling referendum that would require local voters to approve a single commercial casino resort license. Marsden introduced a similar bill this year but "quickly withdrew it."
Marsden and others support giving the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors the right to challenge the casino vote. They believe Northern Virginia should now stop subsidizing K-12 public schools in Maryland, where casinos are located. Maryland's gambling tax goes primarily to public schools.
Marsden, a longtime state lawmaker, said he's not necessarily a fan of gambling, but doesn't want Virginia's wealthiest region to continue gambling in Maryland.
I don't like lotteries. I don't like any of them. But we have to be pragmatic and not naive," Marsden told The Associated Press this week.
Del. Lane Williams (R-Stuart) said he would draft legislation similar to Marsden's in his chamber to increase Fairfax's chances of being designated as a legal casino host.
PAC established
Marsden and Williams are in discussions with Comstock, a mixed-use real estate developer interested in applying to become Fairfax's preferred gaming developer. That's when the county had a casino opportunity.
Comstock has made political donations to Williams, a 34-year-old congressman with longstanding ties to the family that owns the real estate company. While Comstock limits the amount of contributions it can make to Williams and others' political campaigns, political action committees can donate much larger amounts.
Backers of the Fairfax casino push formed a political action committee this fall called Building an Excellent Virginia. The PAC has raised $277,000, nearly all of which came from Comstock or people associated with the company.
Comstock CEO Christopher Clemente donated $25,000. Comstock Chief Financial Officer Christopher Guthrie, General Counsel Jubal Thompson and Executive Vice President of Development John Harrison each donated $2,500. Comstock senior vice president of human resources Paul Schwartz donated $1,000.
A website called "Building Excellence in Virginia" is soliciting donations but makes no mention of supporting casinos, instead focusing on the assets the construction industry provides to Virginia.
“Building Excellent Virginia is a bipartisan coalition that supports policy goals and candidates who understand the industry’s positive impact on Virginia’s economy and the lives of Virginians,” the website states.
The PAC has $17,000 cash on hand after making large donations to state lawmakers, according to its latest campaign finance disclosure report filed with the Virginia State Board of Elections. Marsden received $24,000 in October.
A lot of resistance
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors has not yet voted on whether to support the creation of a casino. Marsden and Williams wanted to open casinos in counties along the Silver Line, where local councils opposed ordinances banning gambling.
A state study conducted in 2019 found that casino resorts in northern Virginia could generate $155 million in annual tax revenue, nearly double what the Virginia Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission found for the Richmond casino. Last month, Richmond voters rejected a proposal to build a casino in the Capital Region for the second time.
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Source: www.casino.org
