by Dick Hall-Sizemore

Governor Spanberger has issued her first veto. To add some drama, it was of a high-priority bill sponsored by one of the top Democrats in the Senate.

Sen. Scott Surovell (D-Fairfax), the Senate Majority Leader, introduced legislation that would have authorized a referendum in Fairfax County on the establishment of a casino at Tysons. The bill passed by comfortable margins in both the House and the Senate and was supported by both Democrats and Republicans.

Although the bill was a high priority of one of the leaders of her party in the General Assembly, the Governor has some cover. Unlike casino legislation in the past, which the city councils of the cities authorized to have casino referendums were strongly in favor of, the governing body of Fairfax County is opposed to establishing a casino at Tysons. As a result of such opposition, a majority of the General Assembly delegation from Fairfax County opposed the legislation. Spanberger cited these factors in explaining her veto, “Local governing boards should lead on proposed casino development, as has happened in every locality that now has a casino. But in Fairfax County, the Board of Supervisors has explicitly opposed this legislation, and an overwhelming majority of the General Assembly members who represent Fairfax voted against it.”

Needless to say, Sen. Surovell is quite upset. He issued a lengthy statement which began with:

“I am deeply disappointed by Governor Spanberger’s veto of SB 756. This bill was Northern Virginia labor’s number one legislative priority — supported by every major building trades union in the region — and it carried the endorsement of the Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce. Critically, it earned genuine bipartisan support, passing the Virginia Senate 25-13 and the House of Delegates 55-41 with votes from both Democrats and Republicans who recognized the enormous economic opportunity this legislation represented for Northern Virginia and for the Commonwealth.”

The statement goes on to cite the economic benefits that could be expected from the establishment of a casino in Fairfax and to lament the continued loss of gambling revenue to Maryland.

I am indebted to the Virginia Political Newsletter for its reporting on this story.