Virginia’s term-limited governor is often responsible for bringing big projects to the Commonwealth, but those projects can take time. So, who gets to claim credit when a project is announced and then completed?
Governor Abigail Spanberger has been in office for six months, and her Secretary of Commerce Carrie Chenery gave this economic highlight at Tuesday’s meeting of the Manufacturing Development Commission.
“4,000 new jobs in the Spanberger administration," Chenery said of the economic impact the governor has had since taking office. "8.5 billion dollars in committed capital investment.”
Massive deals take time and completing them even longer: the $1 billion dollar LEGO facility in Chesterfield was announced in June 2022 under Glenn Youngkin but only 6 months after he took office from Ralph Northam. And it isn’t slated to open until 2027, with Spanberger likely cutting the ribbon.
So which governor gets credit for an economic development project?
Brett Vassey is President of the Virginia’s Manufacturer’s Association, and he’s been on the Manufacturing Development Commission for over a decade and through several administrations.
“The governor gets to take credit the very moment she walks in the door,” Vassey told Radio IQ.
Delegate Rozia Henson, the new chair of the commission, pointed to something he heard from former governor Tim Kaine.
“Each governor just takes credit; do the work and the next governor will take credit," Henson said. "That’s just how the cookie crumbles.”
And here’s how former Republican Delegate Mike Watson, who was appointed to the commission by Youngkin, summed it up: “You know what, it really comes down to, if you’re saying, ‘this is my deal and I brought this one here,’ say how you did it.”
As for the future of economic development under Spanberger, Secretary Chenery promised big news soon, perhaps even better news for Virginia’s next governor.
As for the rest of Tuesday's meeting, the future of data center tax breaks, a sticking point dividing legislators as state budget deadline approaches, loomed heavy.
Vassey said Virginia's manufacturing industry was doing well and growing now, but cutting the data center tax breaks could hurt its future.
"Any time you have major changes in the economic fabric of taxation and incentives, it sends a ripple effect through the entire economy," he said. "All manufactures are watching it closely."
Former Delegate Watson said he prefers to see economic incentives in the form of local investment that can outlast any project. But he too was worried about rolling the tax breaks back and hoped for a compromise.
"I wish we could get a panel together between the governor, the industry and elected officials," he said, before joking about the speed of such an idea. "But the tax breaks have a sunset in 2035. By the time we get an answer they could end anyway."
Delegate Hensen, meanwhile, said he was leaving it up to leadership.
"I'm worried about the impacts, how it could impact manufacturing," he said. "But I'm leaving it up to the powers that be."
As for Secretary Chenery, she said the Spanberger administration was also concerned about rolling the tax breaks back.
"The governor's been really clear, she does not intend to break existing contracts with companies," Chenery told the commission. "And the idea that this spreads to other companies who don't see Virginia as a reliable, steady business partner, it's important to us we find a solution going forward."
"Companies are taking risks, making commitments," she added. "And we feel really strongly and clearly it's important we don't go back on commitments made."
