VIRGINIA NEWS – Virginia Gov. Spanberger vetoes bill that would allow a casino in Fairfax County

By Renae Hefty

On April 9, the governor of Virginia, Abigail Spanberger, vetoed a bill passed by the General Assembly, which would have allowed for a casino to be built in Fairfax County. Had Spanberger signed the bill, it would have mandated that “Fairfax County [must] hold a casino referendum that they have already decidedly said over and over again that they don’t want to hold,” Spanberger said. A referendum would have been the first step towards building a 1.5-million-square-foot entertainment complex to be built near the Spring Hill Metro station or in the parking lot where Cirque du Soleil is usually held.

Spanberger said the vast majority of members of the House of Delegates and the State Senate who were from Fairfax county voted against the bill. “I didn’t think it appropriate to force it on a locality,” Spanberger said. Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell, who is also from Fairfax county voted for the bill and has been leading the effort for the casino project.

“This type of prescribed, forced economic development on one locality – it is just inconsistent, frankly, with the way that we’ve handled casino referendums in other parts of the state,” Spanberger said. She would have signed the bill if it had given the local authorities the option of holding a referendum, but it did not.