Politics & Government
Casino Developer Donates $180K As Push For Bill Begins
Casino proponent and Comstock CEO Chris Clemente donated $180,000 to his company's PAC days before the start of the VA General Assembly.
RESTON, VA — In the days leading up to Wednesday's start of the 2024 Virginia General Assembly session, casino proponent Christopher Clemente, CEO of Comstock Holding Companies, contributed $180,000 to his company's political action committee, according to state campaign finance reports.
Patch first reported last September that Comstock was planning to build a casino on Metro's Silver Line outside the Capital Beltway in Fairfax County. Since the beginning of 2023, Clemente, his company and its PAC have made more than $637,000 in political contributions in support of the developer's effort to build a casino at or near the Wiehle-Reston East Metro station in Reston.
On Sept. 22, the company formed the Building a Remarkable Virginia PAC with $244,000 in donations, including $129,5o0 from Clemente family members, Comstock employees and limited liability companies run by the Reston-based developer, according to the LLC's statement of organization filed with the Virginia Board of Elections on Sept. 22. .
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Below are the political contributions made by the Building a Remarkable Virginia PAC in 2024:
- $10,000 - Survovell for Senate (Jan. 7, 2024)
- $10,000 - Friends of Lamont Bagby (Jan. 5, 2024)
- $10,000 - Locke for State Senate (Jan. 5, 2024)
- $10,000 - Virginia House Democratic Caucus (Jan. 5, 2024)
- $10,000 - Friends of Luke Torian (Jan. 5, 2024)
- $5,000 - Virginia Senate Democratic Caucus (Jan. 5, 2024)
- $10,000 - Virginia Legislative Black Caucus (Jan. 5, 2024)
- $10,000 - Virginia House Republican Caucus (Jan.5, 2024)
- $15,000 - Virginia Senate Republican Caucus (Jan.5, 2024)
- $10,000 - Bryce Reeves for Senate (Jan. 3, 2024)
- $15,000 - Todd Pillion for Senate (Jan. 3, 2024)
TOTAL: $115,000
In total, Clemente, his company and its PAC contributed $522,975 to the campaigns of state and local candidates running for office in 2023. That included contributions made to single issue or political party committees. Adding in the $115,000 in donations made in 2024, the developer has made $637,975 in political contributions since January 2023.
With the $10,000 donation from Comstock's PAC to his political committee on Jan. 7, State Sen. Scott Surovell (D-Mount Vernon) has received a total of $95,000 in contributions from the developer since January 2023.
Following the Nov. 7, 2023 election, Democrats elected Surovell to succeed former Senate Majority Leader Dick Saslaw (D-Fairfax), who opted not to seek re-election. One of Surovell's responsibilities is to make committee assignments.
Patch reported in September that Clemente and his father-in-law Dwight Schar, a former owner of the Washington Commanders and founder of NVR, Inc., had hosted a fundraiser for Surovell and Sen. Dave Marsden (D-Burke) on Sept. 19, 2023 at Reston Station. To date, Marsden's campaign committee has received $35,000 in contributions from Comstock-related sources, according to state campaign finance reports.
Marsden and Del. Wren Williams (R-Stuart) introduced nearly identical bills (SB 1543/HB 2479) in January 2023 that, if passed and signed by the governor, would've given the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors the authority to put a casino referendum bill on a future ballot. The two bills were withdrawn within a few days.
Marsden told Patch numerous times last fall that he planned to introduce an expanded casino referendum bill during the 2024 session. The state senator said in a phone interview on Friday that he was planning to introduce the bill sometime this week. As of 9 a.m. on Wednesday, no bill had surfaced. Virginia legislators have until Jan. 19 to submit a bill for the current session.
During the 2023 session, Marsden was the chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee, but Sen. Jennifer Boysko (D-Herndon) was chosen to chair that committee in 2024. Both Marsden and Surovell are still members of the committee. Sen. Todd Pillion (D-Abington), who received a $15,000 contribution from the Building a Better Virginia PAC on Jan. 1, is also on the transportation committee.
Mamie Locke (D-Hampton), whose campaign committee received a $10,000 contribution from Building a Remarkable Virginia on Jan. 5, will chair the Senate Rules Committee and serve as a member of the Education and Health, Finance and Appropriations, General Laws and Technology, and Rehabilitation and Social Services committees.
Sen. Lamont Bagby (D-Richmond), whose Friends of Lamont Bagby committee received a $10,000 donation on Jan. 5 from Comstock's PAC, has not been assigned to a committee as of 9 a.m. on Wednesday.
Del. Luke Torian (D-Dumfries), whose Friends of Luke Torian committee received a $10,000 donation from Comstock's PAC on Jan. 5, 2024, will chair the House Appropriations Committee during the 2024 session.
Sen. Bryce Reeves (R-Orange), whose campaign committee received $10,000 from Building a Remarkable Virginia on Jan. 3, will serve on four committees in the House of Delegates during the 2024 session: Commerce and Labor, Finance and Appropriations, General Laws and Technology, and Rehabilitation and Social Services. Commerce and Labor, Finance and Appropriations General Laws and Technology, and Rehabilitation and Social Services.
Patch acknowledges that Comstock, its employees, associates, family members and others have a right to make donations to any candidate whose campaign they wish to support. They are also within their rights to create a political action committee to do so.
Patch is reporting this publicly available information; it is not saying that Comstock, its employees, associates, family members or any others who contributed to the Building a Remarkable Virginia or candidates running during the 2023 election cycle did anything illegal.
Related:
- Kill Casino Bill In Committee' Reston Activists Tell State Lawmakers
- Casino Opposition Plan Outlined By Reston Association CEO
- Opinion: Casino Will Bring More Crime And Taxes To Reston, Tysons
- Casino Developer Hires 6 Lobbyists; $529K Donated To VA Candidates
Read all of Patch's reporting on Comstock Companies' plan to build a casino on Metro's Silver Line in Fairfax County at Silver Line Casino.
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