14 Comstock Employees Gave $29K To VA Delegate Who Backed Casino Bill

RESTON, VA — Fourteen current or former employees of Comstock have donated $29,525 to the re-election campaign of Virginia Del. Wren Williams (R-Stuart), campaign finance reports show. Patch reported on Sept. 25 that the developer was planning to build a casino at or near the Wiehle-Reston East Metro Station.

On Jan. 20, Williams introduced HB 2499 in the House of Delegates that would've set up the process to build a casino near one of the seven Silver Line stations outside the Capital Beltway in Fairfax County. On the same day, Sen. Dave Marsden (D-Burke) introduced a similar bill, SB 1543, in the Virginia Senate.

Even though both of the bills were withdrawn a few days later, Marsden told Patch at the end of September that he would likely resubmit his bill if he is re-elected. He faces Republican challenger Mark Vafiades in the race to determine who will represent the 38th District in the state senate.

Williams has represented the 9th District in the Virginia House of Delegates since January 2022. With the newly drawn district lines in effect, he faces Democrat Patty Quesenberry and Jacob C. Frogel, an independent, in the 47th District race.

Located on Virginia's southwest border with North Carolina, the 47th District is described as "Strong Republican," according to VPAP, the site for campaign finance reports posted by the nonprofit Virginia Public Access Project. Stuart, where Wren's district office is located, is 274.6 miles away from Reston.

Democrat Karen Keys-Garmarra and Luellan Maskeny are running to fill the vacant House of Delegates seat in the 7th District, which represents Reston. VPAP describes the district as "Strong Democrat."

According to the campaign finance site, the following 14 Comstock executives contributed to Wren's campaign committee between Jan. 10 and May 30, 2023:

• Christopher D. Clemente: Chairman of the Board/CEO
• David M Guernsey: Board of Directors of Comstock Holding Companies and founder of Guernsey Inc.
• Jubal Roy Thompson: General Counsel and Executive Vice President-Investments
• John Harrison: Executive Vice President of Development
• Michael Gualtieri: Chief Accounting Officer, Comstock Holding Companies
• Gregory Benson: Former Chief Operating Officer/President, Comstock Holding Companies
• Patricia McQuillen: Senior Vice President Legal/Associate General Counsel
• Scot Miller: Senior Vice President of Construction, Comstock Companies
• Harry Park: Vice President of Finance at Comstock
• Joshua Firebaugh: Vice President of Development at Comstock
• Michael Daugard: Senior Vice President of Acquisition
• Paul Schwartz: Senior Vice President of Human Resources
• Dylan Schar Clemente: Vice President, Parking Management & Security Services
• Teresa (Tracy) Schar: Senior Vice President of Marketing and Design, Comstock Holding Companies

Patch reached out on Friday by phone and email to Williams' campaign, asking why Comstock and its employees had contributed to his re-election bid and if it would influence his decision on whether to resubmit HB 2499 during the next legislative session.

Patch also asked Williams how helping to get a casino built in Reston would benefit the voters in his district. As of noon Tuesday, no response had been received.

This table lists the contributions made by amount, date, and company that the Williams campaign reported on its financial filings with the Virginia Board of Elections.

Patch acknowledges that Comstock and its employees have a right to make donations to any candidate whose campaign they wish to support. Even though Patch is reporting this publicly available information, it is not saying that Comstock or any of its employees did anything illegal.

Related:

• Casino Developer Linked To Obscure Political Donation, Filings Show
• Reston Casino: Developer CEO's Relative Donates $1M To VA Candidates
• Reston Association Votes To Oppose Developer Plan To Build Casino
• Casino At Reston Station: Share Your Opinion In Patch's Online Poll
• Developer Brings Democratic Leaders To Site Of Planned Casino At Metro
• Casino Planned Near Wiehle-Reston East Metro Station By Comstock

Saurav Ghosh is the director of the nonprofit Campaign Legal Center's Federal Campaign Finance Reform initiative. He told Patch on Oct. 2 that it's common for corporations and even wealthy individuals who have certain goals for the political process to work in their favor.

"For optics reasons or to avoid the perception that they're trying to essentially put a finger on the scale to achieve their desired policy outcomes, they often will try to conceal the fact that they're making a political contribution to crucial, influential policymakers or even to sway a ballot measure one way or the other in the hopes of advancing their company's goals," Ghosh said. "They often will try to avoid that being done openly and transparently."

CLC is a nonprofit that seeks to advance democracy through law. Ghosh and his colleagues focus on campaign finance, working to advance voting rights and redistricting work, as well as governmental ethics and, most recently, to combat election sabotage.

"The beauty of the campaign finance system is that if it's done transparently, voters who are interested, they can see that and they can draw their own conclusions," Ghosh said. "If you see the entire executive board of a company supporting a specific candidate, and then over that candidate's two-year term or whatever it is, they consistently vote for that company, voters have the power to say, 'I don't like that because that doesn't seem right.' They can take action at the ballot box."

It becomes problematic when a company or an individual attempts to shield that information from public scrutiny, according to Ghosh.

"That's where the system breaks down, and the voters are basically disempowered from taking action," he said.

Patch has requested an interview with Comstock CEO Chris Clemente by email and phone numerous times over the last two weeks. On Friday, Patch sent each of the 14 donors listed above, including Chris Clemente, an email asking why they had contributed to Williams' campaign and whether they supported his policies. No answer was received by noon on Tuesday.

In the June 20 GOP primary, Williams soundly defeated fellow Republican Marie March with 6,655 votes (66.89 percent) to her 3,289 (33.11 percent), according to VPAP. To secure that victory, Williams spent $406,860 — four times the $90,663 his opponent spent.

In the 2019 race that eventually sent Williams to Richmond, his campaign spent $338,645 to defeat Democratic challenger Bridgette Craighead, who spent just $76,793 in her run for the House of Delegates, according to VPAP.

With the help of the $29,325 in donations from the 14 Comstock employees, Williams' campaign has raised $314,238 in 2023, according to VPAP.

The next campaign filing deadline is Oct. 16, which will include each candidate's contributions and expenditures for September.