What Is It About Adam Ebbin?

Sen. Adam Ebbin
Photo credit: Washington Post

by Dick Hall-Sizemore

Governor Youngkin seems to have it in for state Senator Adam Ebbin, D-Alexandria.

Of the 26 bills from the 2022 Session that the Governor vetoed, nine (35 percent) were bills sponsored by Ebbin. (Midnight yesterday was the deadline for the Governor to take action on bills passed in the last session.) From another perspective, the Governor vetoed all of Ebbin’s bills that passed, with one exception, which he sent back with amendments.

It is not that Ebbin’s passed bills were highly controversial and the Governor’s vetoes are an expression of partisan disagreement. Of the nine bills vetoed, four passed both houses unanimously.    The most opposition that any of the nine bills encountered in the Republican-majority House of Delegates was 28 votes against one of them.

The reasons given by the Governor for these vetoes have not been posted yet on LIS.  Several were duplicates of other bills, which ordinarily might be a valid reason for a veto, especially if the patron of the other bill was a member of the party of the Governor. However, there were lots of bills which had duplicates and those of Ebbin seem to have been the only ones vetoed. In addition, the duplicate to one of Ebbin’s bills (SB 278) was HB 450, sponsored by a Democrat and which the Governor returned to the General Assembly for an amendment.

Clearly, the Governor is upset with Sen. Ebbin.

Could it be that his displeasure traces back to Ebbin describing publicly how Matt Moran, the lobbyist on paid leave of absence functioning as deputy chief of staff in the Youngkin administration, had threatened that all of Ebbin’s bills would be vetoed? It certainly looks like the Governor followed through on Moran’s threat.