Casino: Reston Station Fundraiser To Feature Warner As Special Guest

RESTON, VA — Citizens Opposed to Reston Casino, a special project launched under the Reston Citizens Association umbrella, sent a letter to U.S. Sen. Mark Warner on Thursday, asking him to withdraw his support to the developer planning to build a casino at or near the Wiehle-Reston East Metro Station.

Warner is scheduled to be a special guest at a fundraiser Comstock CEO Christopher Clemente and his father-in-law Dwight Schar, a former partial owner of the Washington Commanders, are hosting at Reston Station on Monday.

“Comstock has failed to inform, much less engage, the citizens who will be directly and adversely affected by their intent," said Lynne Mulston, president of the Reston Citizens Association and campaign coordinator for CORC, in the letter. “Instead, their plan appears to have been to use large campaign donations to influence a few members of the Virginia legislature, who do not live or work in Reston, to propose narrowly worded legislation for a casino against the strongly held objections of our community. We are concerned that their hope now is to use the high esteem in which you are held to create support for this legislation.”

Patch reached out to Warner's office, asking about the fundraiser and whether he supported a casino being built at Reston Station or somewhere else in the county on the Silver Line.

Since this is a local-land use matter, it is handled at the local and state level; therefore, it’s not an issue that lands within Sen. Warner’s jurisdiction as a federal-level lawmaker, the senator's staff responded in an email.

Read the full text of Citizens Opposed to Reston Casino letter below.

Monday's fundraiser is for Virginia Sens. Dave Marsden (R-Burke) and Scott Surovell (D-Alexandria). Clemente and Schar hosted a similar fundraiser for Del. Don Scott (D-Portsmouth) on Sept. 19 at Davio's Northern Italian Steakhouse at 1902 Reston Metro Plaza.

As the leader of the Democratic Caucus in the Virginia Senate, Surovell is seen as the likely successor to former Majority Leader Dick Saslaw (D-Fairfax). If the Democrats regain control of the House of Delegates in November, Scott is expected to be elevated to Speaker of the House.

In January, Marsden and Del. Wren Williams (R-Stuart) introduced identical bills during the final days of the opening session of the Virginia General Assembly.

Related:

• 14 Comstock Employees Gave $29K To VA Delegate Who Backed Casino Bill
• Casino Developer Linked To Obscure Political Donation, Filings Show
• No Gambling Casino for Reston
• 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

Language in Marsden's bill narrows the location of a "casino gaming establishment" to "within one quarter of a mile of an existing station on the Metro Silver Line, (ii) part of a coordinated mixed-use project development, (iii) outside the Dulles airport flight path, and (iv) outside the Interstate 495 Beltway.

Although the two bills were both withdrawn, Marsden told Patch in September that he would likely reintroduce the bill if he's re-elected to the Virginia Senate in November. He is currently running against Republican Mark Vafiades.

Not only is Comstock holding a fundraiser for Marsden, the developer also donated $10,000 to the lawmaker's reelection campaign. In addition, 14 Comstock employees contributed $29,525 to Williams' campaign committee, according to financial fillings reported by the nonprofit Virginia Public Access Project.

Ever since Patch broke the news on Sept. 25 that Comstock was planning to build a casino at or close to Reston Station on the Metro's Silver Line, residents and local officials have spoken out in opposition to the plan, including Hunter Mill Supervisor Walter Alcorn, the Reston Association, state Sen. Jennifer Boysko (D-Herndon), and outgoing Del. Ken Plum (D-Reston), among many others.

The following is the full text of CORC's letter to U.S. Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA):

October 12, 2023

The Honorable Mark Warner United States Senate
8150 Leesburg Pike, Suite 700 Vienna, VA 22182

Dear Senator Warner:

In recent weeks, the Reston community has learned via press reports that Comstock Corporation (Comstock) is seeking to build a casino in Reston. Their effort, however, has purposely excluded our state and locally elected officials and seeks to circumvent the entire planning process in Fairfax County.

Comstock has failed to inform, much less engage, the citizens who will be directly and adversely affected by their intent. Instead, their plan appears to have been to use large campaign donations to influence a few members of the Virginia legislature, who do not live or work in Reston, to propose narrowly worded legislation for a casino against the strongly held objections of our community. We are concerned that their hope now is to use the high esteem in which you are held to create support for this legislation.

Senator Warner, none of Reston’s elected representatives in the Virginia House or Senate support the Comstock proposal. Further, none of the candidates for office in the upcoming elections, of either party, support it. Our elected County Supervisor has taken a very strong position against the Comstock goal (attached). Likewise, the Board of the Reston Association, the elected representatives of the 65,000 residents of our community, have publicly taken an equally strong position against (also attached). In addition, the major community organizations in Reston are unanimously in opposition.

The method Comstock has adopted to advance their goal is also troubling. Over the past three years, thirty members of our community, including representatives from developers, have worked with County staff, interest groups, and the public to craft a Comprehensive Plan for the next decade of Reston's growth. The final version of this Plan was unanimously approved by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors in September 2023, after years of open public work. At no time during this effort did Comstock put forth the idea of a casino, undoubtedly because they were well aware their plan would never have been seriously considered, much less supported.

CORC is a project of the Reston Citizens Association 11890 Sunrise Valley Dr., Ste 569 | Reston, VA 20191

The Honorable Mark Warner October 12, 2023

Senator Warner, we hope you will reconsider being publicly linked with Comstock's plans to circumvent the expressed will of our community and the established procedures used in Fairfax County for land use decisions.

Sincerely,
Lynne Mulston
CORC Campaign Coordinator