U.S. Sen. Mark Warner said Thursday that the FBI headquarterssite selection — choosing Greenbelt, Maryland, over Springfield — was “corrupt” and that he expected better from the Biden administration. Warner’s comments followed a Thursday morning email by FBI director Christopher Wray to the agency’s entire workforce, saying that a former political appointee to the General Services Administration overrode a three-person panel’s unanimous recommendation to build the FBI’s new headquarters in Springfield.
Warner, U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin and almost all of Virginia’s congressional delegation called for a reversal of the decision in a bipartisan statement Thursday afternoon.
In a two-part site selection process, two career GSA officials and a longtime FBI official evaluated two locations in Prince George’s County, Maryland, and a location in Springfield, and the panelists unanimously recommended 58 acres in Springfield already owned by the GSA. However, during the second phase of site selection, a senior executive at GSA who was appointed by the White House recommended the Maryland site.
Wray wrote in the email, which Virginia Business obtained Thursday afternoon, that upon reading a draft of the GSA executive’s report, FBI officials “expressed concern that elements of the site selection plan were not followed. In particular, the FBI observed that, at times, outside information was inserted into the process in a manner which appeared to disproportionately favor Greenbelt, and the justifications for the departures from the panel were varied and inconsistent.”
Also, Wray wrote, FBI officials “raised a serious concern about the appearance of a lack of impartiality by the GSA senior executive, given the executive’s previous professional affiliation with the owner of the selected site.” While not naming the executive, the email states that the person recently worked for Washington Metro Area Transit Authority, which owns the Greenbelt property.
According to an Engineering News-Record article, Nina M. Albert, WMATA’s former top real estate official, was named commissioner of GSA’s Public Buildings Service in 2021. However, Albert left the GSA in October and is now working as Washington, D.C.’s deputy mayor of planning and economic development, according to her LinkedIn page. Albert’s communications director did not immediately return messages requesting comment Thursday afternoon.
Later Thursday, after The Washington Post reported on Wray’s criticism, Kaine, Warner, Youngkin and U.S. Reps. Don Beyer, Gerry Connolly, Jen Kiggans, Jennifer McClellan, Bobby Scott, Abigail Spanberger, Jennifer Wexton and Rob Wittman sent out a statement condemning “political interference” in the site selection decision.
“We are deeply disturbed to learn that a political appointee at the General Services Administration overruled the unanimous recommendation of a three-person panel comprised of career experts from the GSA and the Federal Bureau of Investigation concluding that Springfield, Virginia, is the site best suited for the new FBI headquarters,” the Virginia officials’ statement says. “We have repeatedly condemned political interference in the independent, agency-run site selection process for a new FBI headquarters. Any fair weighing of the criteria points to a selection of Virginia. It is clear that this process has been irrevocably undermined and tainted, and this decision must now be reversed.”
The J. Edgar Hoover building in Washington, D.C., current home of the FBI headquarters
Warner, a Democrat who serves as chairman of the Senate’s Select Committee on Intelligence, had voiced disappointment Wednesday night that Greenbelt had been picked over Springfield, but said in a Thursday news conference that he was “shocked” by Wray’s letter.
“Even I was shocked, when this morning, you see the director of the FBI put forward an unprecedented communication to all FBI employees on how corrupt this process was,” Warner said. “The fact that you’ve got three career professionals … choosing Virginia, only to have that overridden by a political appointee, is outrageous. This is the kind of behavior I expected from the Trump administration, but I think we all expect better from the current administration.”
Warner added that he and other officials will call for a general inspector review, an action he said he hopes will be taken by the Biden administration without additional political pressure. “This whole process needs to be thrown out and restarted,” he said.
The location for a new FBI headquarters, replacing the aging facility in Washington, D.C., has long been under discussion in the Washington region, with Virginia and Maryland officials making cases for why their states would be best for the new office, which is expected to bring in thousands of jobs and an economic boost. In Maryland, two properties in Prince George’s County — the former Landover Mall site, and land near the Greenbelt Metro station — were under consideration, and on Wednesday, the Greenbelt land was announced as the GSA’s choice.
The decision to relocate the Washington-based headquarters was delayed during the Trump administration, but a report in October from the Justice Department’s Office of the Inspector General said that the evaluation of sites was not impeded by the Trump White House, despite allegations that the president wanted the headquarters to stay put over concerns that a new hotel competing with the Trump International Hotel could be built on the former FBI headquarters site.
In the past two years, the Springfield site has been promoted by Kaine, Warner and Youngkin as a natural fit for the headquarters, where between 750 and 1,000 people would work, due to its proximity to the FBI’s Quantico training facility and other intelligence sites. Wray’s email says that the three panelists came to a unanimous recommendation for the Springfield property and wrote a “detailed consensus report articulating the basis for its recommendation of Springfield.” Wray added that the rejection of the panel’s unanimous recommendation, “while not inherently inappropriate, is exceedingly rare.”
Democrats regained control of the Virginia Senate and the House of Delegates in Tuesday’s elections, likely putting a damper on Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s legislative agenda and potential 2024 presidential aspirations. As of 11:45 p.m. Tuesday, according to the Virginia Public Access Project, Democrats won 21 out of 40 seats in the state Senate and 51 seats in the House, which has been held by Republicans for the past two years.
This electoral outcome will likely prevent Youngkin from passing most of his agenda, including placing a 15-week limit on abortions, which was a significant issue for many voters, particularly Democrats and women. It may also at least temporarily lessen his national standing, as he failed to deliver a red wave as he did during his 2021 election, which saw Republicans elected to the state’s top three offices and the GOP take control of the House.
The election also sets up Virginia House Minority Leader Don Scott Jr. of Portsmouth to become the first Black speaker of the House in the Virginia legislature’s 400-plus-year history, replacing GOP Speaker Todd Gilbert, who has presided over the House of Delegates since January 2022.
Republicans won 19 Virginia State Senate seats. The Associated Press called a Williamsburg-area nailbiter at 2:15 p.m. Wednesday in favor of GOP challenger Danny Diggs, who defeated Democratic incumbent Monty Mason. The final count saw Diggs with 32,764 votes, or 50.69% of the total, and Mason with 31,742 votes.
In the House, Republicans held 48 seats as of 2:45 p.m. Wednesday, with one race not yet called. Republican Del. Kim Taylor’s race against Democrat Kimberly Pope Adams in Petersburg and Dinwiddie County was too close to call, with Taylor ahead with 50.23% of the vote and less than a 200-vote margin over Adams. Taylor declared victory late Tuesday, but Adams had not conceded as of Wednesday afternoon.
Two other close House races went in Republicans’ favor: District 57’s contest in Henrico County between Democrat Susanna Gibson and Republican David Owen, a race that received national press following revelations that Gibson had performed sex acts with her husband on a live streaming pornography website while soliciting tips from viewers. Owen won with 51.16% of the vote, gaining 17,878 votes to Gibson’s 16,912. In James City County and Williamsburg, Republican Del. Amanda Batten won a third term with 51.93% of the vote over Democrat Jessica Anderson.
Voters went to the polls Tuesday to fill all 140 General Assembly seats. Many candidates were new faces or, at least, less experienced than those who previously filled the legislature, thanks to the December 2021 redistricting process, which redrew political districts without prioritizing the residential addresses of incumbents. That led to an unprecedented wave of retirements and some primary defeats of longtime legislators.
Blue wave
In several of the most hotly contested races, Democrats came up victorious Tuesday night.
In Loudoun and Fauquier counties, Democrat Russet Perry, a former CIA officer and prosecutor, won Senate District 31 with 52.5% of the vote as of 10:28 p.m. Tuesday, according to unofficial results from the Virginia Department of Elections. She defeated Republican Juan Pablo Segura, a health care tech entrepreneur who founded a local doughnut chain. Segura received 40,835 votes compared to Perry’s 45,350 votes, and the Associated Press estimated 92% of votes had been counted by 10:25 p.m., when it called the race.
Segura conceded about an hour later. “We were outspent but not outworked,” he said in a statement. “We knocked on more than 100,000 doors and talked to many, many thousands of voters about their hopes, dreams and concerns. … I also want to congratulate Russet Perry on a hard-fought race, and I wish her the best of luck in representing this special place. Lessons are learned in losses, but I heard very clearly the deep desire from so many in this district for better representation from their government.”
Both were first-time candidates, and Perry outpaced all other state legislature candidates in fundraising more than $6 million by Oct. 31, while Segura raised a bit more than $5 million.
Del. Danica Roem, another Democratic delegate seeking a Senate seat, beat Republican candidate Bill Woolf for the 30th District seat in Manassas and part of Prince William County with 51.51% of the vote. Roem, who became the nation’s first openly transgender state lawmaker upon her 2017 election to the House of Delegates, won 29,713 votes to Woolf’s 27,794 as of 10:13 p.m., according to unofficial results from the Virginia Department of Elections. A former journalist, Roem currently represents House District 13, which includes Manassas Park and part of Prince William County. Woolf was formerly a detective with the Fairfax County Police Department.
“I’m grateful the people of Virginia’s 30th Senate District elected me to continue representing my lifelong home of western Prince William County and greater Manassas,” Roem said in a statement. “The voters have shown they want a leader who will prioritize fixing roads, feeding kids and protecting our land instead of stigmatizing trans kids or taking away your civil rights.”
In another key seat, Democratic Del. Schuyler VanValkenburg won Senate District 16 in western Henrico County with 52.69% of the vote as of 9:38 p.m. Tuesday, according to unofficial results from the Virginia Department of Elections. The Associated Press estimated more than 95% of votes had been counted by 9:33 p.m.
VanValkenburg received 27,469 votes to Republican Sen. Siobhan Dunnavant’s 24,544 as of 9:43 p.m. Although the incumbent, Dunnavant was redistricted into a slightly bluer district than her previous district, which had included part of Hanover County. The race was considered a key contest to watch this year and saw some of the largest fundraising among Virginia’s legislative races.
The Associated Press called House District 58 race in western Henrico County in favor of the Democratic two-term incumbent Del. Rodney Willett, a tech consultant and small business entrepreneur, who took 11,897 of votes, or 53.1%, over Republican challenger Riley Shaia, a physical therapist, who won 10,496 votes, or 46.9%. AP called the race with 95% of votes counted.
Off-off election year
Numerous incumbents retired or lost primaries after being drawn into the same districts as other incumbents. Particularly in the state Senate, longtime party leaders chose to bow out rather than face a primary battle, leaving younger and less moderate candidates running for office this fall.
Although 2023 was, at least in name, an off-off election year with no presidential or statewide races topping the ballots, legislative candidates in competitive districts saw a massive influx of money and heated rhetoric from both parties. High stakes, including Virginia’s status as the only Southern state without significant abortion restrictions, were riding on whether either party can take control of the commonwealth’s legislature, which is currently split, with Republicans running the House of Delegates and Democrats controlling the state Senate.
Although his name wasn’t on ballots, Youngkin’s presidential hopes also rested on Tuesday’s results, drawing national attention. If Republicans had won back control of the General Assembly, Youngkin could have mounted a plausible last-minute campaign for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, politicos forecast. But with Democrats regaining power of just one of the legislative bodies, Youngkin will be unlikely to pass much of his stated agenda through the General Assembly, including a ban on abortions after 15 weeks and tax cuts for corporations, with the blue wave likely putting any presidential ambitions he has on hold, at least for 2024.
In a press conference Wednesday, Youngkin called the outcome “a razor-thin set of decisions” made by voters and noted the commonwealth’s recent history of changes in party control, downplaying Republicans’ disappointing results. “I think what that reflects is that we are a state that is very comfortable working together, working across party lines to get things done.”
In response to a reporter’s question about his presidential ambitions, Youngkin was predictably coy. “I have answered this question the same way for a long time. I am focused on Virginia. I have been in Virginia. My name is not on the ballot in New Hampshire. I have not been in Iowa. I am not in South Carolina. I am in Virginia, and I look forward to staying focused on Virginia, just like I have been.”
With issues such as parental influence in schools, reproductive rights, cannabis retail sales and corporate tax cuts in the balance, Democratic- and Republican-affiliated PACs sank millions into legislative campaigns this year. According to an Associated Press story, money raised by Virginia State Senate and House of Delegates candidates this year eclipsed totals from 2019. As of early November, Senate candidates had raised $80.8 million, compared to $53.6 million at the same point in 2019, and House candidates raised $77.5 million, compared to $67.5 million in 2019.
Both Republicans and Democrats emphasized the historic nature of the election, which could determine the state’s abortion, clean energy, education and tax policies for decades to come — although the parties differ widely on their overall goals.
Youngkin and state Republicans advocated to enact limits on abortions after 15 weeks, a rollback of Virginia’s current laws allowing abortions up to 26 weeks, although, in the third trimester, three doctors must sign off on the procedure as medically necessary. Democrats, meanwhile, have argued that the 15-week limit, posed as a reasonable compromise by Republicans, would be the first of many restrictions on abortion following the U.S. Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade last year.
Parents’ involvement in their children’s K-12 education remained a hot topic, carrying on from Youngkin’s winning gambit in 2021’s gubernatorial race, when he focused attention on a Loudoun County sexual assault case, in which a 14-year-old male student sexually assaulted a female student in a school restroom and then was allowed to transfer to another high school, where he abducted and assaulted another student. The teen was later convicted in juvenile court, and in September, Youngkin pardoned one of the victims’ fathers, who had been arrested and charged with obstruction of justice and disorderly conduct at a county school board meeting.
Republican state Sen. Siobhan Dunnavant greets voters at a Henrico County polling place on Nov. 7, 2023. Photo by Katherine Schulte
Last week, the governor issued an executive order mandating that school districts inform parents within 24 hours of any overdoses involving their schools, after Loudoun County Public Schools waited more than 20 days to report that nine high school students had overdosed on pills suspected of containing fentanyl. Youngkin also has ordered schools to inform parents if their children use a different gender identity at school than is their assigned sex. He has also required that students participate in sports and use bathrooms based on their assigned sex, a mandate some school systems have refused to enforce — particularly in Northern Virginia.
A Washington Post-George Mason University Schar School of Policy and Government poll, conducted Oct. 11-16, showed a divided commonwealth going into the elections, with 47% of registered voters saying they would vote for a generic Democrat for delegate, and 43% for a Republican. Meanwhile, 70% of voters said education was the most important issue for them this year, followed by the economy at 68% and abortion rights at 60%.
According to VPAP, 789,848 people voted early across the state as of Monday, with Democratic voters making up about 60% of early voters, compared with about 40% for Republicans.
Virginia Department of Elections Commissioner Susan Beals said Tuesday afternoon that some localities’ ballots were longer than usual, with county supervisors, sheriffs and other local offices included, as well as state legislators. There was an issue with poll books reported at some Chesterfield County locations — but those were resolved by early afternoon, Beals said. At Williamsburg’s Matoaca precinct, where locally registered William & Mary students can vote, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported “long lines all day.”
In Loudoun County, during Tuesday’s lunch hour at the town’s Ida Lee Park Recreation Center, West Leesburg voters turned out in a steady stream, which precinct chief Kevin Smith described as “one in, one out.” Morning was busiest, and 536 voters, out of a district of about 3,100, had cast their ballots by a little after 12:30 p.m., Smith said. Voters reported no issues or problems with machines, and the atmosphere outside, where the Loudoun County Republican Party had set up a tent to shade volunteers from the sun, was congenial as volunteers from either side of the aisle offered up sample ballots to would-be voters and shared occasional, friendly conversation across the sidewalk from folding chairs.
Steven Ritz, a retired Navy lieutenant commander voting at the recreation center, said he’s ordinarily a Republican but felt the party has strayed from the one he had known in the past, which he deemed “fiscally conservative, not rabid.” While he likened both parties to “monkeys flinging feces at each other,” he voted for Russet Perry, the Democrat who won the 31st District Senate seat. Perry, a former CIA officer who has also served as a county prosecutor, defeated Leesburg health-tech entrepreneur and District Donut co-founder Juan Pablo Segura in a race that focused largely on abortion and crime. Perry cast Segura in television ads as a “MAGA Republican” who wants to ban abortions; Segura volleyed back, casting his opponent as soft on crime and backed by “defund the police” groups.
Ritz voted with his gut. “Juan hasn’t been here in Leesburg that long. It looked to me opportunistic,” he said of Segura’s candidacy.
Other voters said they turned out particularly because of the abortion question. Shaun Meredith and his daughter, Rachel Meredith, said they voted for Perry. “Every woman should have a choice for her own body, to make that decision,” Rachel Meredith said.
In Virginia Senate District 16 in western Henrico County, voter turnout was steady overall with slight fluctuations throughout the morning in at least two precincts.
At about 12:50 p.m., the Echo Lake Elementary School polling location in the Coalpit precinct in Glen Allen had received 791 votes. “It’s been steady since we opened. There’s some periods where … we had a good little crowd for a while,” said Maurice Talley, a volunteer poll worker at the elementary school.
Incumbent Republican state Sen. Siobhan Dunnavant stopped at the school to greet voters as she campaigned at multiple polling locations during her ultimately unsuccessful battle against her Democratic challenger, state Del. Schuyler VanValkenburg. Voters who recognized Dunnavant or her name after an introduction were enthusiastic, she said. “They’re excited to be turned out. They say, ‘You’ve got this. This is great,’” she said.
Angie Madison, a Glen Allen Pilates instructor who said she isn’t loyal to one party and goes back and forth depending on the issues, said she voted for Democratic candidates Tuesday. “I’m trying to do my part by voting Democratic and trying to vote for abortion rights and all that stuff,” she said. “It feels like we’re going back in time versus forward in time, so I want to go forward in time.”
High stakes, high rollers
According to VPAP, the following state Senate candidates raised the most money, as of Oct. 31:
Democrat Russet Perry — $6,071,414
Republican Sen. Siobhan Dunnavant — $5,104,711
Democrat Del. Schuyler VanValkenburg — $5,069,960
Democrat Sen. Monty Mason — $5,043,533
Republican Juan Pablo Segura — $5,003,665
Among delegate candidates, Democrats dominated fundraising:
Democrat Joshua Cole — $3,816,605
Democrat Michael Feggans — $3,255,257
Democrat Josh Thomas — $3,198,811
Republican Del. Karen Greenhalgh — $2,778,182
Democrat Kimberly Pope Adams — $2,706,971
Not surprisingly, familiar names were among the biggest donors in the elections. The Virginia Senate Democratic Caucus donated $7.5 million for Democratic candidates, while Youngkin’s Spirit of Virginia PAC doled out $4.8 million to GOP candidates. Dominion Energy and the Clean Virginia Fund — a fund created by Charlottesville millionaire Michael Bills to dilute the political influence of Dominion — gave just over $4 million each to Senate candidates this year.
In the House races, the House Democratic Caucus donated $10.8 million, while the Republican Commonwealth Leadership PAC gave $4.1 million. Dominion and the Clean Virginia Fund made donations of $3.8 million and $3.6 million, respectively.
For those watching broadcast television in the days before the elections, negative ads ran thick and fast in competitive districts, and Youngkin blazed a trail across the state to get out Republican voters to the polls for early voting in October and early November. Democrats, meanwhile, called on Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and gun-control advocate David Hogg to get out the vote.
In Richmond’s casino battle redux, Churchill Downs and Urban One, corporate backers of the proposed $562 million Richmond Grand Resort & Casino, sank more than $10 million into their campaign to pass the city’s second casino referendum, almost four times the amount spent in 2021 and more than for any individual candidate running this year. Ultimately, the second referendum failed by a 58% to 42% margin.
Richmond’s do-over casino referendum failed at the ballot box Tuesday by a much larger margin than the first casino referendum did in 2021, as about 61% of Richmond voters said no to the $562 million Richmond Grand Resort & Casino.
The pro-casino PAC Richmond Wins, Vote Yes issued a statement Tuesday night about the second Richmond casino referendum’s defeat: “We are proud to have run a community-centered campaign to create more opportunities for residents of this great city to rise into the middle class. We are grateful to the thousands of Richmonders who voted for good jobs and a stronger city, especially those in South Side who poured their hearts into this project.”
Everything was bigger this time, especially spending by the proposed Richmond casino’s corporate backers, Urban One and Churchill Downs, which sank more than $10 million into advertising and get-out-the-vote efforts that included a free Isley Brothers concert next to an early voting facility and subsidized food truck meals for voters through October and November.
But the controversy also was bigger, as the pro-casino side was dogged in recent days by reports of antisemitic and racially insensitive speech on Urban One-owned radio stations in Richmond.
In the end, the gap between “no” voters and “yes” voters was much bigger in 2023, after a narrow defeat of about 1,500 votes in 2021. This year, 64,533 people voted in Richmond, compared to about 79,000 in 2021, although the referendum’s geographical and demographic divide remained similar. With 72 precincts reporting Election Day votes and about 13,506 early votes and 4,705 absentee ballots counted, 39,768 Richmonders voted no and 24,765 people voted yes, a 61.62% to 38.38% margin, according to the Virginia Department of Elections‘ website Wednesday.
In 2021, more of the city’s North Side and West End voters — typically whiter and wealthier — voted against the casino referendum, while more South Side and East End residents, in majority Black districts, voted yes. The divide was similar in 2023, with South Side precincts and a few others in Richmond’s East End with a “yes” majority.
Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney, a casino supporter who had put forward a plan to dedicate some of the casino’s tax revenue to providing child care in the city, said in a statement: “I will continue to be a voice for communities that have been historically overlooked and underserved. I will work for more accessible and affordable child care, for good-paying jobs, and for an abundance of opportunities for ALL Richmonders — no matter their zip code or socioeconomic status.”
Paul Goldman, a former campaign manager for Gov. L. Douglas Wilder and a key casino opponent, made a statement Tuesday night that included a jab at Stoney.
“The people of Richmond have made the following clear: You can’t build a new city on old resentments. For too long, the politics of Richmond has been controlled by politicians and their allies who put their own self interest before the public interest. Today, the people of Richmond said clearly those days are over. Those who can’t put aside the politics of resentment need to step aside, and I think we all know who they are. Richmond can afford right now to fix our schools, provide affordable day care, achieve equality for all and reduce the tax burden on the citizenry,” Goldman said. “The losing side tonight said the only way to do that is to fleece the poor. The winning side — a team effort of which I was one of many — said the way to do that is for all of us to work together for the common good. I’d like to think we can start on this new path tomorrow.”
On Wednesday just before closing of the stock market, Urban One’s shares were worth $3.45 each, down 38.94% from closing Tuesday, before the referendum results came in.
The proposed casino would have included a 250-room hotel, a 3,000-seat concert venue and a soundstage where Urban One pledged to invest $50 million over 10 years in TV, movie and audio productions. Casino backers estimated that the project would have created an estimated 1,300 permanent jobs and generated $30 million in annual tax revenue.
Unlike in 2021, Urban One joined this time with Kentucky-based Churchill Downs, which last year purchased the assets of Urban One’s previous casino partner, Peninsula Pacific Entertainment. Urban One and Churchill Downs were equal partners in the venture, and the companies spent about four times the amount Urban One spent in 2021, according to campaign finance reports.
The outcome? Extensive door knocking, TV ads, campaign mailers, free music and free food. Urban One-owned Praise 104.7 FM aired a daily “Richmond Grand Update” show that regularly included Cathy Hughes, founder and chairman of Urban One, promoting the project in conversations with host Gary Flowers, and in the final weekend before Election Day, the casino’s backers hosted parties in Richmond’s public housing neighborhoods.
Lushan Phang, owner of the Taste Good Authentic Jamaican Flavor food truck, was at the city registrar’s office parking lot on Nov. 1, handing out meals to a few takers. He said that at the end of the day, he would invoice the casino campaign $15 per lunch distributed. Phang noted it was way busier at the South Side location the previous week, compared to the registrar’s office north of the James River.
With a budget just below $200,000, casino opponents — including Paul Goldman, the Ukrop family and NewMarket Chairman CEO Thomas E. Gottwald — made their cause visible with yard signs and letters sent to city residents, as well as an airplane carrying a sign reading “VOTE NO CASINO … AGAIN” flying over the Richmond Folk Festival in October.
This year, casino proponents used their large budget and platform to get out the vote — but also contributed some negative commentary against casino opponents.
In October and early November, Hughes and two Urban One radio hosts used their radio broadcasts not only to promote the project but also to denigrate casino opponents. Speaking on the Praise 104.7 FM “Richmond Grand Update” program, Hughes criticized U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, who opposed the 2021 referendum, and two Black activists who have spoken out about the casino, Allan-Charles Chipman and Chelsea Higgs Wise, whom Flowers called “self-hating Black people.” Hughes, in an Oct. 18 clip, characterized middle-class Black Richmonders who oppose the casino vs. working-class Black Richmonders who support it as “house n——s and field n——s.”
Competing Richmond casino signs outside the city registrar’s office, Nov. 1, 2023. Photo by Kate Andrews
In another instance, guest radio host Preston Brown was banned from Urban One’s 99.5 FM The Box for using “antisemitic language” to criticize a casino opponent, according to a statement from the Richmond Wins, Vote Yes PAC. The No Means No Casino website posted an audio clip of Brown saying on air, “Paul Goldman is a Jew who got the same trait as Judas. He’s a white Jew with the background of Judas. I’m talking about one person, and his name is Paul Goldman, and he’s a Judas. And I think somebody might have heard me say ‘Jew.’ He’s a Judas, and Judas was with Jesus.”
In a statement released Friday, Goldman accepted an apology offered by Hughes’ son, Urban One CEO Alfred Liggins. But Goldman added, “The whole pro-casino side seem oblivious to the damage they have done to Richmond. … It isn’t merely their failure to apologize to all the people individually singled out, but to our city as a whole, to our people as a whole. For the love of money, for personal gain, they are willing to turn their casino project into a wedge of division, to attempt to win by a divisive strategy serving only their selfish interests.”
However, several prominent Richmond leaders and organizations gave the project their approval, including ChamberRVA, the Metropolitan Business League, Richmond Region Tourism, former Richmond Mayor Dwight Jones and the Richmond NAACP, and several local union chapters joined the pro-casino side, focusing on jobs that casino officials said would provide an average of $55,000 in annual compensation — although that was likely to come out to about $16 an hour, depending on health care coverage, according to a VPM story.
Columbia, Maryland-based BigBear.ai Holdings is acquiring Pangiam Intermediate Holdings, a McLean-based facial recognition and biometrics solutions provider for the trade, travel and digital identification industries, in a $70 million, all-stock deal, BigBear announced Monday.
The move will combine Pangiam’s technologies with BigBear.ai’s computer vision capabilities and allow BigBear.ai to expand its customer base and offerings to airlines, airports and identity-verification companies, as well as within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2024 and is subject to regulatory approval.
BigBear.ai has more than 20 federal defense and intelligence customers and 160 commercial customers.
“Vision AI [artificial intelligence] has long been considered the holy grail of applied AI because of its potential to perceive and interact with the world in a human way,” BigBear.ai CEO Mandy Long said in a statement. “BigBear.ai’s acquisition of Pangiam will create a full-vision AI portfolio — among the first in the industry — leveraging near-field vision AI in support of localized environments and far-field vision AI in support of global-scale environments.”
Pangiam was created in 2020 by Boca Raton, Florida-based private equity firm AE Industrial Partners through the acquisitions and combination of Alexandria-based software company Linkware and Pangiam’s predecessor company, PRE. In 2021, Pangiam purchased veriScan, an integrated biometric facial recognition system for airports and airlines, from the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority.
“The combination of Pangiam and BigBear.ai will position our combined companies to vault solutions currently available in market,” Pangiam CEO Kevin McAleenan said. “With our shared mission and a complementary customer base and product set, our teams will be able to pursue larger customer opportunities, enhance our technology development and accelerate our growth. We’re thrilled to soon join the BigBear.ai team.”
With the largest workload it’s had in four decades, Newport News Shipbuilding has had to get creative about how to use the limited footprint at its shipyard in Newport News.
So when an opportunity to set up a second campus not far away — on the other side of the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel, in Norfolk — popped up, the wheels started turning.
The shipyard, a division of Huntington Ingalls Industries that employs about 25,000 people, has started production at a satellite campus at Fairwinds Landing in Norfolk to support its main shipyard.
The Norfolk campus of NNS will span eight acres at Fairwinds Landing, a new maritime operations and logistics hub supporting Hampton Roads’ offshore wind, defense and transportation industries. Fairwinds Landing is located at Lambert’s Points Docks across from Portsmouth Marine Terminal and is a joint venture between The Miller Group, Balicore Construction and Fairlead Integrated. Norfolk Southern owns the property.
“HII’s continued investment in our community is a testament of the strength of our local workforce,” Norfolk Mayor Kenny Alexander said during an event at Fairwinds Landing on Monday to celebrate the satellite’s opening.
For the past few months, about 20 shipyard workers have been constructing steel panels that will make up units on the future USS Enterprise, the third ship in the Navy‘s Gerald R. Ford class of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers.
By the end of the year, the campus expects to have 80 employees, and next year it will grow to 150, said Les Smith, vice president of the Enterprise and Doris Miller aircraft carrier programs. Doris Miller is the Navy’s fourth ship in its Ford class. The Enterprise and Doris Miller are under construction at the shipyard, which is the country’s only builder of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers.
So far, Newport News Shipbuilding has invested about $25 million, but NNS is going to work with the Navy to look for opportunities for future expansion. That could be upwards of $100 million over a five-year period, Smith said.
Though panels for the Enterprise will be produced and stored at Fairwinds Landing, the satellite campus will help free up space at the shipyard’s main campus to support other programs, such as nuclear-powered submarine production. Shipyard executives say they have not ruled out the idea of expanding the campus at Fairwinds Landing.
Workers demonstrated moving one of the panels Monday at Fairwinds Landing. It weighs 8,200 pounds and is 3/8 of an inch thick.
It’s the first time NNS has set up a satellite campus of this kind.
“There is a great need right now,” Smith said. “We’ve got more work than we’ve had over the last four decades … we’ve got 20 ships and boats at the shipyard right now in some form, being built or repaired. So the more that we can expand and augment our footprint frees up our footprint there for other work to be done. So, this is innovation. This is an opportunity for us to think outside the transactional box that we have done in the past and s that’s why we’re starting here …We’re two months into this process now.”
Smith noted that the shipyard already works with about 70 suppliers based in Norfolk and has spent upwards of $309 million in the city during the past five years.
“The new Norfolk campus will help us to grow our business and positively impact Hampton Roads,” he said.
Fairwinds Landing is making waves in its own right, and the addition of NNS is bolstering its early success.
Last week, Norfolk’s Economic Development Authority learned it will receive $39.2 million in federal funding to assist in transforming the property into an offshore wind logistics facility.
The funding was awarded through the Port Infrastructure Development Program of the U.S. Department of Transportation. The EDA jointly submitted the application. The funding will assist in financing the restoration of the aging waterfront infrastructure.
Fairwinds Landing in June broke ground on its Monitoring and Coordination Center, an offshore wind energy monitoring and coordination facility occupying 7.5 acres. The MCC will include two buildings — a 31,167-square-foot operations and maintenance center and a 17,280-square-foot warehouse. The operations center will be used by Dominion Energy to monitor maritime activities, analyze asset performance, provide strategic planning and ensure regulatory compliance around the Richmond-based Fortune 500 utility’s $9.8 billion Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind Project under development off the coast of Virginia Beach.
It has deep-water access to the Elizabeth River and is across from Portsmouth Marine Terminal. Expected to be completed in 2025, the MCC is expected to support more than 200 construction and engineering jobs. Dominion Energy has 45 shore-based personnel there and more than 60 vessel-based personnel who will be deployed to the offshore wind farm, which is expected to start construction in May and wrap up in 2026.
Newport News-based Huntington Ingalls Industries, the parent company of Newport News Shipbuilding, is the largest industrial employer in Virginia and the nation’s largest military shipbuilder. The Fortune 500 company employs more than 44,000 workers. Newport News Shipbuilding plans to expand its workforce to 28,000 during the next decade.
RICHMOND, Va. — Everyone calls the upcoming General Assembly election high stakes, but it is also top dollar.
More than $158 million has been funneled into the House and Senate races this election cycle, a more than 30% increase since the last time all 140 seats in the General Assembly were up for election back in 2019.
The bloated war chests are a product of redistricting, which brought new competition to many districts. There are a lot of open seats with no incumbent.
“Add to this the fact that the contests for control of both the House of Delegates and the Senate are extremely close, and you have the recipe for huge dollar campaigns,” according to John McGlennon, a professor of government at William & Mary.
The money advantage
Democrats outraised Republicans in both chambers, with the latest campaign finance releases. Those totals include in-kind contributions as well, which are non-monetary donations of goods or services.
But both parties have put a lot of resources into these races, so a money advantage in any particular race may not be overwhelming, according to McGlennon. McGlennon is also running for reelection to the James City County Board of Supervisors.
State Senate representatives serve a four-year term. Over $80.7 million was raised among the 40 state Senate races. That includes $29.9 million invested this year in the four races ranked as competitive by the Virginia Public Access Project. That number goes up when the $9 million is added in from the hot race between Sen. Siobhan Dunnavant, R-Henrico, and Del. Schuyler VanValkenburg, D-Henrico.
Senate fundraising is 50% higher than in 2019. Democratic candidates have raised over $13 million more than Republicans. Final campaign finance reports will be filed in December.
Delegates hold House seats for a two-year term, and candidates running for a House seat have had less time to raise money. This year, the combined 100 seats have brought in over $77.5 million. The seven House races ranked as competitive have garnered almost $31 million this year.
House fundraising is 15% higher than 2019. Democratic candidates have outraised Republicans by almost $10 million.
The amount of money a candidate raises is not necessarily indicative of their success on Election Day, according to Richard Meagher, department chair of the political science department at Randolph-Macon College.
Candidates can overcome fundraising gaps with better campaign strategy, tactics, more dedicated volunteers or just by being a better candidate.
“But it’s much harder to win if you cannot at least stay competitive,” Meagher stated.
Grassroot donations under $100
Political readers and candidates follow donations like the stock market. But at the end of the day, what do the millions mean for Virginia voters? The top donors thrusting approximately $50 million into the statehouse races just this year are Clean Virginia, Dominion Energy and the political action committees for both parties.
It’s not grassroots voters handing over buckets of cash to the candidate they believe in the most, it’s mostly players who hope to set policy down the road.
Grassroots donations are usually characterized as a number of small, recurring donations of around $5 or $10, according to Amanda Wintersieck, an associate professor of political science at Virginia Commonwealth University.
A look at the donations made under $100 tells its own story. This type of smaller money is usually from voters, not PACs, lobbyists or special interest groups. But these contributors are often motivated by ideological issues, and tend to be further to the right or left than the typical voter, according to Alex Keena, an associate professor of political science at VCU.
Capital News Service looked at smaller fundraising efforts this year in the VPAP-ranked competitive districts, including October totals. CNS also looked at the closely-watched Henrico County races between Dunnavant and VanValkenburg for the Senate, and incumbent Del. Rodney Willett, D-Henrico, against Republican challenger Riley Shaia for the House.
Every Democrat, except one, in a closely watched race leads their Republican opponent when it comes to smaller donations.
Democrat Russet Perry, a candidate in a northern Virginia Senate race, leads the pack with $168,490 in cash donations under $100.
At the other end, Republican Lee Peters brought in $5,412 for his Fredericksburg-area race against Democrat Joshua Cole. Peters was just ahead of an independent candidate for cash donations under $100.
Big Youngkin money
Youngkin’s Spirit of Virginia PAC has been especially active, sending at least $14.4 million to Republican candidates this year. The PAC has recently donated millions to help Republicans win as races heat up statewide. These larger PACs are moving around hundreds of thousands of dollars on the regular.
The benefits of a governor using their influence in statehouse races include securing allies, bolstering candidates and raising the profile of a candidate considering a run for Congress or president.
Pundits have speculated Youngkin might make a bid for the 2024 presidential race, although the governor has not filed paperwork or committed an answer. But, helping usher in a Republican majority would look good on the resume.
Youngkin has been more assertive with his PAC than most governors, according to Keena.
“One of the problems is we don’t really have campaign finance in Virginia,” Keena said, “Glenn Youngkin can get his buddies in the financial sector to donate millions of dollars and then he can use that money however he likes, you know, to donate to whoever he wants.”
Where’d all the money go?
So what happens to all the cash on hand once the election is over — win or lose? In Virginia, the answer might be a hearty shrug.
On paper, once candidates submit final reports, they must properly rid the excess campaign money. They can pay off debts, use it in a future election, or donate to a charity, candidate, or PAC.
It is technically illegal for candidates to use excess money for personal or immediate familial use.
However, unlike most states, there is not much of a mechanism to enforce the law or prevent “vague, unitemized expenditures,” according to a Virginia Mercury article.
Campaign finance reform has been attempted a few times in recent history, but has failed on a bipartisan basis.
That being said, one way to spend unused campaign money is to save it for future campaigns. It’s speculation, but it wouldn’t be impossible for the Spirit of Virginia PAC to switch gears and help bankroll a Youngkin campaign for national office sometime in the future.
Trickle-down effect
“I look at where the funds come from other candidates and there are plenty of people who can self-fund their campaigns,” said Crystal Varner Parker, a minister running for school board in the Fairfield District of Henrico County. “I can’t do that.”
The top-dollar stakes of statehouse races have driven up the campaign costs for local races, she said.
It’s a competitive race with five candidates on the ballot. Most of the money raised for her campaign came from grassroots donations, she said. Parker uses social media and word-of-mouth to encourage voters to come out to her events and contribute to her campaign.
Running during a high-profile election means more money is needed, she said.
“The cost of things when it comes to campaign marketing materials have gone up in price, that they are more expensive than they were four years ago, during the last round of General Assembly and local elections,” Parker said.
Her plea to voters is to support candidates they believe in.
“I’m not someone who donates to every campaign, but if you really believe in a candidate you need to put your money where your mouth is because campaigns cost money,” Parker said.
Capital News Service is a program of Virginia Commonwealth University’s Robertson School of Media and Culture. Students in the program provide state government coverage for a variety of media outlets in Virginia.
RICHMOND, Va. — Over 62,000 Virginians ventured out to the polls on a sunny November day for the last chance to vote early.
The early voting period saw 776,931 votes cast, with most of it done in person, according to data from the Virginia Public Access Project. Absentee mail-in ballots are still being accepted.
Although early turnout is not as high as the past two years, “it’s pretty healthy,” according to Alex Keena, an associate professor of political science at Virginia Commonwealth University.
Democrats, who traditionally have higher early turnout rates, invested a lot of money into early voting for this election, according to Keena. Gov. Glenn Youngkin‘s endorsement of early voting, through a bus tour and poll visits, seems to have helped combat Republican skepticism.
Republican early voting in person and by mail increased this year, according to VPAP.
“People have changed how they vote … it’s good to provide people more options,” Keena said.
Early voters like having the 45-day window before Election Day, and said it makes it easier to vote.
“I wouldn’t really have a ton of time on Tuesday,” said Jesse Houser, who cast an early vote at the west Henrico County registrar’s office on Saturday. “It’s just nice to not have a flood of people, it spreads out a bit.”
There was a steady line, but voter Alexander Appea said it moved quickly.
“I was gonna vote on Tuesday, but my wife wanted to vote because she’s working on Tuesday,” Appea said.
A series of laws passed in recent years to make voting easier includes the state’s recognition of Election Day as a holiday.
“I have the day off, I’m a state worker, but it’s still easier to come out on a Saturday afternoon,” said Doreen Richmond. “The sun’s out, it’s pretty, I’d rather do it on my time.”
Others added civic duty to the “to-do” list on Saturday.
“I work full-time, I would be able to get off work to go vote but it makes it easier to knock all my errands out in one day,” said Emily Bradford.
Youngkin also stopped by the bustling poll place Saturday afternoon and was joined by several of the Henrico County-area candidates.
VCU Votes is a course and also a separate coalition of students, faculty and staff members. The organization hosted one of its many tabling events on Saturday. Volunteers informed students about same-day registration, what a provisional ballot is, and asked them to pledge to go vote — or “Ram the Vote,” a nod to the school mascot.
Virginia voters now have same-day registration, which means they can still vote in person on Tuesday, Nov. 7 even if they missed the registration deadline. They can register in person and immediately vote with a provisional ballot.
“We’re going to probably see a higher turnout,” said Lauren Hagemeister, a student currently enrolled in the class. “Especially with new methods of voting.”
House and Senate Democrats joined state Democratic party officials at the newGeneral Assembly building on Friday to discuss voter protection. The press conference followed an announcement earlier in the week that an estimated 3,400 Virginians with felony convictions had been purged from voter rolls in an administrative error. The names have since been reinstated, according to the Virginia Department of Elections.
Democrats were adamant they would redouble efforts to ensure voter suppression does not occur this election.
“If they get a trifecta, the very first bills they will put in is to rescind early voting,” said Sen. Mamie E. Locke, D-Hampton.
All 140 seats in the General Assembly are up for election this year. Republicans hope to flip the Senate, and keep the House. That victory would lead to a Republican trifecta under the leadership of Youngkin, something the state has not seen in a decade. Democrats have cautioned voters that a slew of policy would be on the chopping block if they lose the Senate.
Control of each chamber comes down to a smaller number of races. There are 11 ranked as competitive by VPAP, and a handful of others that will come down to turnout. Many pundits consider Virginia a bellwether state, and the upcoming election a preview of how the next presidential election might lean. The statehouse races have shattered fundraising from 2019, with over $158 million raised between all candidates.
Locke urged voters to have their voices heard, and make a voting plan.
“Let’s make a plan,” Locke said. “It is critically important that we all participate in this society, in this democracy, in this common world.”
Polls will be open on Tuesday, Nov. 7 from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. People with a disability can utilize curbside voting and other accessibility provisions. Voters who need a ride to the polls have several options statewide, including rides provided by both parties.
Capital News Service is a program of Virginia Commonwealth University’s Robertson School of Media and Culture. Students in the program provide state government coverage for a variety of media outlets in Virginia.
Guidehouse has entered into an agreement to be acquired by a Bain Capital Private Equity affiliate for $5.3 billion, the McLean-based consultancy announced Monday.
The investment will support Guidehouse‘s growth plans, the company said, and it will continue to operate under its current management team, which is led by Chairman and CEO Scott McIntyre. Guidehouse has been owned by Veritas Capital since 2018; the management consultancy formed that year when Veritas acquired PricewaterhouseCoopers’ public sector arm.
In a statement, McIntyre said Guidehouse looked forward to kicking off “the next phase of our growth in partnership with Bain Capital,” adding that the private equity group “shares our people-first culture, consulting heritage and commitment to embracing complexity.”
“Together, we see significant opportunities to capitalize on attractive marketplace dynamics to further grow the business with our best-in-class client delivery capabilities,” McIntyre said. “We look forward to an impactful partnership with the Bain Capital team leveraging their resources and operational expertise as we work towards building our next generation consultancy with an unwavering commitment to creating the scalable, innovative solutions our clients need to succeed in this increasingly digital and complex environment.”
Guidehouse employs more than 17,000 people across 55 locations around the globe. In 2022, the company opened its new McLean headquarters, moving from a previous location near the White House in Washington, D.C. Later that year, it consolidated its defense and national security units, naming Ed Meehan, who had led the company’s defense group, its chief growth officer.
“Guidehouse has established a clear leadership position in its space using a differentiated model built on collaboration, expertise, and great execution,” Boston-based Bain Capital Partner Joe Robbins said in a statement. “We are excited to partner with Scott and his proven management team to continue growing organically and inorganically in an industry with strong, long-term fundamental tailwinds.”
RICHMOND, Va. — Victorious lawmakers elected on Nov. 7 will once again grapple with whether the state should create a recreational cannabis retail market.
A recreational market is likely dependent on which party can gain control of the General Assembly, though it ultimately might not matter under the current governor. A majority of likely voters recently surveyed by Christopher Newport University’s Wason Center support allowing retail sale, or 58%. Democrats (76%) and independents (59%) have stronger support than Republicans.
Recreational cannabis has the potential to generate millions of dollars in tax revenue. The market could earn $31-$62 million in the first year, and by year five, commercial marijuana could produce $154-$308 million, according to a 2020 Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission study. It estimated sales could slightly overtake the illegal market by the fourth year of legalization. Sen. Adam Ebbin, D-Alexandria, introduced a bill earlier this year to create an adult-use sales market, but it failed. Ebbin plans to pursue legalization, he said.
“It doesn’t make sense not to have a tested product available that people can know what they’re getting and have it properly taxed,” Ebbin said.
Lawmakers proposed a 21% tax on the product, something detractors said will drive the illegal market. Medical marijuana is not taxed in Virginia, according to the Marijuana Policy Project.
“There is major tax money that could help us expand pre-K,” Ebbin said. “And scholarships for foster youths, and other good uses could be helping communities that need it.” The state of Colorado has generated over $2.5 billion in tax revenue from recreational cannabis when collections started in 2014, according to the Colorado Department of Revenue.
“The Republican party in the House has been a roadblock to this, if people want an open legal cannabis market, they need to elect Democratic majority into the House and Senate,” Ebbin said.
The tax money Colorado makes off of recreational cannabis goes to local and state government, a public school fund and marijuana tax cash fund, according to the state’s budget.
The first $40 million of a 15% marijuana excise tax funds Colorado school construction, through the program Building Excellent Schools Today.
Del. Bobby Orrock, R-Spotsylvania, voted against Ebbin’s bill. He does not support the commercial sale of cannabis, but will continue to support medical cannabis, he said.
Orrock is the chair of the House Committee on Health, Welfare and Institutions. He asked the Cannabis Control Authority to conduct a market study and to examine the “necessity and feasibility of adding licenses to the existing medical cannabis program,” according to the organization. The CCA will take over management of the medical cannabis program in January.
Some policymakers and stakeholders believe additional licenses could create “greater accessibility to medical cannabis and economic opportunity,” according to the CCA.
The authority’s study and recommendations are due on Nov. 30.
Despite states like Colorado generating funds from their marijuana sales, Orrock is not convinced by the data he sees from other states, he said.
“What I’ve seen is it has also increased the black market activity because the taxation on the product tends to encourage the black market production in sale,” Orrock said.
Regardless of the outcome of the election, Orrock does not see Gov. Glenn Youngkin‘s position changing, he said. The governor has told reporters in the past he’s “not interested” in legalizing recreational marijuana. Youngkin also adjusted a bill to ban the sale of hemp products that contain Delta-8 THC earlier this year.
Alex Keena is an associate professor of political science at Virginia Commonwealth University, who researches political representation. Democrats passed cannabis laws with the intention of working out the “kinks” later, he said.
If Republicans take control of the statehouse, they’re likely going to roll back decriminalization, Keena said. Lawmakers will carve away at the threshold of legal possession.
“The electorate is more made up of older Americans,” Keena said. “And especially Republicans, their base of support skews much older.”
Voters from an older generation may view cannabis to be the same as cocaine or heroin, there is no nuance, Keena said.
“It looks good to be tough on crime, to implement severe penalties for using drugs,” he said.
Even if the Democrats have a majority in the House and Senate, a recreational cannabis market is unlikely with Youngkin’s administration, according to Keena.
“Maybe that’ll be an issue in the 2025 governor’s race,” Keena said.
Election Day is Nov. 7. Early in-person voting ends at 5 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 4.
Capital News Service is a program of Virginia Commonwealth University’s Robertson School of Media and Culture. Students in the program provide state government coverage for a variety of media outlets in Virginia.
While that date still meets the deadline set by Gov. Glenn Youngkin and the General Assembly — July 1, 2024 — ODU and EVMS had been aiming for January 2024. But Hemphill and EVMS President, Provost and Dean Dr. Alfred Abuhamad said there’s more work that needs to be done before EVMS is folded into ODU, though Abuhamad added that the merger is “very, very close” to being finalized.
“We have a number of subgroups that are working hard and looking at issues from IT to finance and that work will continue, but the next step is that we are going back to [the General Assembly],” Hemphill said. “There’s a little more funding that we’re going to have to receive from Richmond.”
The creation of Eastern Virginia Health Sciences Center at ODU — making EVMS into ODU’s medical school — was included in a bill sponsored by state Sen. Louise Lucas during the 2023 Virginia General Assembly. Then, in September, the General Assembly approved $14 million to support startup costs for the initial integration and launch.
Friday’s announcement wasn’t exactly a surprise. The formal announcement comes about a month after a letter written by Hemphill and Abuhamad indicating that the merger had been pushed to July 2024 was posted on an EVMS website dedicated to the merger.
“While we are confident that we will conclude these conversations soon, it is unlikely this will happen before we reach some important … accreditation approval deadlines” from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, Hemphill and Abuhamad wrote. “As these important discussions continue, our functional teams and the Integration Management Offices (IMOs) continue to make substantial progress. Both institutions are fully immersed in the remaining work toward the goal of a successful integration.”
ODU and EVMS will submit the materials for accreditation in March 2024 with the expectation to receive word on approval in June, an ODU spokesperson said.
Though EVMS and ODU missed their self-imposed Jan. 1, 2024, deadline, the two institutions remain on track to meet the July 1, 2024, deadline set by Youngkin and the state legislature.
“It’s very complex to bring two large institutions together,” Abuhamad said, talking with reporters after Hemphill’s speech. “There’s a lot of things that need to get worked through prior to getting to Day One and we’re on schedule and on time to reach them.”
He said the January deadline was predicated “on us getting support, financial support and making sure that all the work is accomplished to be able to integrate.”
Hemphill and Abuhamad did not elaborate further on how much financial support is needed.
In addition to financial support, Abuhamad said Friday that the schools’ desire to integrate and the creation of a symbiotic culture between EVMS and ODU are two pieces that are necessary for a successful merger. “We feel very good about this because all these three major things that typically derail mergers are very solidly founded,” he said.
Another aspect of that success is Sentara Health, which already has an agreement with EVMS for residencies, and has “doubled down” on the merger, Hemphill said Friday.
In his speech, Hemphill said ODU, EVMS and Sentara’s leadership approved a long-term deal. “It’s a significant investment that will drive this merger and ensure we are going to be successful.”
The two schools have been working on the merger for at least two years and it’s not the first time they have worked together. They have previously entered into agreements with Sentara Health and Norfolk State University on health care collaborations.
A dozen committees are working on the integration between ODU and EVMS, some meeting as often as two or three times per week. In July 2022, ODU hired Dr. Alicia Monroe as chief integration officer and senior adviser to Hemphill.
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