The Washington Post has a story about the heavily indebted Democratic Party of Virginia. Great. But unlike other stories about political parties operating in the red, this one has the added strain of Mayor Dwight Jones’s proposed baseball stadium in Shockoe Bottom, and how the stadium’s ever-changing footprint now places DPVA headquarters inside the redevelopment boundary. If the plan gets Richmond city council’s blessing, that means DPVA HQ will have to be sold. Does this mean the debt will go away? Maybe. But there are, naturally, questions about the whole affair:
Jones’s dual role in the deal — as leader of both the potential buyer (the city) and seller (the party) of the property — has raised questions for Democratic Party insiders. Some of them wondered what role the debt — which Jones pegged at $600,000, according to two party leaders — might be playing to drive the deal.
Party spokeswoman Ashley Bauman said the party has taken steps to prevent any conflict of interest stemming from the potential deal on the stadium site, which was first reported by the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
“We’ve created a firewall between the mayor and any discussions with the building,” Bauman said.
Instead, Richmond’s Economic Development Authority will handle any possible sale. Conflict solved, right?
Nope. As Paul Goldman and I wrote in the Post on Friday, the EDA is a huge problem:
In a nutshell, the EDA is not bound by the Richmond City Charter and City Code, creating an alluring legal loophole. The Richmond EDA could award millions of dollars in contracts for the stadium and other facilities without competitive bidding. EDA rules also allow secrecy to protect the identities of subcontractors, lawyers, public relations firms and lobbyists working for the winning main contractors.
So the conflicted Mayor/Party chairman can’t handle the deal, but the EDA, which can do pretty much whatever it wants under a cloak of secrecy can?
Right.
I’m also told that this is not the first time an offer has been made on DPVA headquarters. An earlier bid for the property was made and declined, by Mayor Jones (operating in his capacity as party chairman).
The less charitable could say Jones knew the HQ would fall inside the boundaries of his stadium proposal, and a sale would have to be handled by the EDA. So he held out, knowing he would could get a higher price, and a better deal for the Democratic party.
After all, it’s only taxpayers’ money.
But over time, more will dribble out about this entire stadium scheme. None of it is pretty, and much of it gives new meaning to the term “honest graft.”
Which brings me again to ask…where are the Republicans on all this? Here is a golden opportunity for them to take a big swing at the dual-roled Jones and the entire Democratic apparatus.
They might even be able to have a bit of fun with Mark Warner on the issue…
UPDATE
And Paul Goldman tosses a truckload of kindling onto the fire regarding the innards of the Mayor’s latest stadium proposal:
Clause #6 doesn’t mention Lou Salomonsky by name, But clause #6 suggests Lou or his business will get not only a sweetheart NO BID deal for architectural and engineering services but that he has agreed [shall] to give a 20 percent ownership interest in another NO BID Stadium related deal to an unnamed business “partner” with the appropriate certification from the Office of Minority Business Development in the Jones Administration.
Why would Lou, one of the wealthiest and most successful real estate developers in Virginia, need a 20 percent secretive partner? Or a NO BID contract for that matter?
I defy anyone in the Jones Administration to produce any city contract containing such a secretive deal. Indeed, why can’t Lou or anyone else compete openly for the business here, indeed why are the Mayor and Lou and their pro-stadium posse afraid to have an open, transparent and fair to all process?
Why isn’t the Council insisting on a fair process? Instead they are okay at least so far with manipulating the Economic Development Authority law to benefit those with political connections. How does that help Richmond?
I’ll say it again…the GOP needs to be all over this. And Mr. Salomonsky? Yeah, he’s this guy:
On March 6, 2004, Salomonsky was fined $40,000 and sentenced in U.S. District Court to two years in prison after pleading guilty Dec. 11, 2003 to conspiracy to commit extortion for trying to bribe former City Councilwoman Gwen C. Hedgepeth — who is serving time herself for bribery-related crimes.
Salomonsky, who is also an architect, reached a plea agreement with federal prosecutors. But in pleading guilty he became a felon, forfeiting his position on the IDA and sparking investigation by other authorities. For his crimes, Salomonsky received the maximum sentence prescribed by Virginia law.
Local Democrats are too scared of crossing the Mayor and his latest political patron, Gov. Terry McAuliffe, to question this deal. Republicans have no reason to fear not only asking hard questions, but in raising hell over the whole thing.
