Youngkin ‘boggled’ Caps, Wizards deal ‘from the beginning,’ Va. Sen. Lucas tells WTOP

WTOP Reporter Sandra Jones’ full interview with Sen. L. Lucas on the failed area deal and marijuana invoice veto.

Now that the push to maneuver the Washington Capitals and Wizards groups to Virginia’s Alexandria space has been nixed — with proprietor Ted Leonsis calling himself political “collateral damage” in the deal — state Sen. L. Louise Lucas is placing the blame squarely on Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s shoulders.

Lucas, a Virginia native who represents District 18, advised WTOP that Youngkin “just about boggled this factor proper from the very starting.”

“As a result of the governor knew that with the intention to get any type of main undertaking by means of the legislature, he needed to cope with these of us who’re coequals with him on this course of. That’s primary. So it was as much as the governor to get with these of us within the legislature, which he didn’t early on — he had introduced that this was a finished deal again in December,” she mentioned.

Because the newly elected chair of state’s Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee, having simply been elected in November, Lucas mentioned Youngkin knew she’d be coming in however “there was no effort comprised of him to speak to us.”

She mentioned there was a digital assembly with Youngkin’s Secretary of Finance Stephen Emery Cummings — however that was it.

“Aside from that, there was no dialog with us in December,” Lucas mentioned. “Then, in January, after we get to the session. And all of the dialog begins about it. … This has by no means been finished within the historical past of the Commonwealth, to make use of our bond score and to take the religion good and credit score of the Commonwealth and put it behind the undertaking.”

“There was no means that this finance committee was going to do this on my watch,” she added.

She raised issues about different initiatives that might have been pushed by means of: “What would have occurred if now we have 15 or extra different initiatives to return by means of like that, and wanting the identical deal? What would occur if we had a ten or 15 others to return behind them, even 5, and so they weren’t in a position to reside as much as their dedication to repay this debt than the Commonwealth of Virginia?”

“We’d be on the hook for it,” Lucas mentioned.

Not shocked by veto of leisure marijuana gross sales

Lucas mentioned it “got here as no shock” when the governor vetoed two prime Democratic legislative priorities on Thursday, together with a invoice that will have allowed recreational retail sales of marijuana to begin next year.

Youngkin had referred earlier this month to the invoice as a part of a attainable package deal cope with area funding to appease Democrats within the legislature. He mentioned he was much less open to permitting the authorized sale of leisure marijuana after the sector price range plan fell by means of, earlier than he vetoed the invoice.

“Lots of people would say that it was immature of him to do this,” Lucas mentioned. “After having labored — effectively, I received’t say work with him as a result of that hasn’t been very fruitful — however after having been uncovered to this governor for the final two years and three month and 4 months, he did precisely what I might have anticipated him to do, to retaliate in simply that means.”

She went on to critique the governor’s view of marijuana use.

“Are you able to think about a governor who says marijuana is extra harmful than the AR-15?”

Lucas mentioned she may have imagined a “a extra cordial or civil dialogue” with the governor if he had shared his Monumental area plans with the legislature earlier. Nevertheless, she mentioned that the legislature would have nonetheless in the end shot down the deal to “defend the taxpayers’ {dollars}, and that’s precisely what we did.”

With regards to the subsequent session, she’s ready for regardless of the governor plans to introduce subsequent.

“There’s nothing that the governor can do that will shock me,” Lucas mentioned. “Primarily based on our constitutional rights as a co-equal companion with him on this course of, we’ll do what now we have to do.”

Monumental Sports activities CEO Ted Leonsis, who owns the Capitals and the Wizards, advised WTOP the deal’s failure was a results of it slowly becoming more politically motivated.

“I had at all times checked out Virginia as being a well-managed state, eager to do enterprise,” Leonsis mentioned, including that this expertise modified his opinion. “It was like, ‘oh my gosh, this has nothing to do with enterprise anymore; this has to do with politics.’ … Who would have thought that D.C. was simpler to work with than Virginia?”

He has since reached a cope with D.C. to maintain each groups within the District until 2050 to the tune of $515 million.

WTOP’s Sandra Jones contributed to this report.

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