Governor Glenn Youngkin was accused of using his veto power to “punish” Democratic lawmakers who contributed to the defeat of his plans to build an arena for the Washington Wizards and Washington Capitals in Alexandria, Virginia.
After Youngkin vetoed Democratic-led bills to enact a $15 per hour minimum wage and regulate the legal sale of marijuana in the commonwealth, Virginia House of Delegates Speaker Don Scott (D-Portsmouth) suggested the governor is using his veto to punish his political opponents but conceded to 13 News Now, “Nothing that [Youngkin] did was unexpected.”
“I’m not surprised that he used some vetoes to continue to punish some folks,” Scott (pictured above) told the outlet after claiming Youngkin was being “punitive” with his veto pen.
Scott reportedly name dropped State Senator L. Louise Lucas (D-Portsmouth), who introduced legislation to establish a $15 per hour minimum wage by 2026.
Lucas, who is the chair of the Senate Finance Committee, repeatedly blocked Youngkin’s efforts to create a committee to oversee the funding of an arena for the teams owned by Monumental Sports and Entertainment. She at one point suggested her minimum wage bill would be a bargaining chip in talks with Youngkin, but at other times claimed she wanted toll relief, or dismissed the arena proposal as a “non-starter.”
The arena deal was pronounced dead on Wednesday, after Monumental announced a new agreement to stay in Washington, D.C. for decades, and Youngkin announced his vetoes of the Democratic bills on Friday.
Youngkin said Lucas’ minimum wage hike “would implement drastic wage mandates, raise costs on families and small businesses, jeopardize jobs, and fail to recognize regional economic differences across Virginia.”
Of the veto of legislation to regulate the sale of marijuana, Youngkin claimed states that have embraced legal sales of the drug “have seen adverse effects on children’s and adolescent’s health and safety, increased gang activity and violent crime, significant deterioration in mental health, decreased road safety, and significant costs associated with retail marijuana that far exceed tax revenue.”
Regardless of the governor’s vetoes, Scott told the outlet he is “optimistic” a “compromise, common-sense budget” can be crafted alongside Youngkin.
Lawmakers are scheduled to return to Richmond on April 17 to finalize the commonwealth’s biennial budget, make changes to any legislation amended by the governor and reconsider bills Youngkin vetoed.
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Georgia Star News, The Virginia Star, and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Don Scott” by Speaker Don Scott. Background Photo “Virginia Capitol” by KWL. CC BY-SA 4.0.
