Among the named local investors in the Urban ONE casino project in Richmond, Virginia are four donors to the 2016 and 2020 election campaigns of Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney, according to Virginia Department of Elections records. The four pledged to invest in the casino before Stoney urged the city council to consider it.
Exactly when the four individuals committed to invest in the casino project isn’t known. But Urban ONE spokesperson Mark Hubbard said, “There are signed agreements with the investors that date back months.” Stoney recommended the ONE casino project on May 20. It beat out proposals by Bally’s and the Cordish Companies’ LIVE! casino project.
Responding to media questions about the investors in the ONE project and Stoney’s campaigns, he said, “You have to talk to Urban ONE about that. This is obviously news to me Am I surprised? No. I have had supporters and donors on both sides, whether it was with ONE or whether it was LIVE! I’m sure there are many of those who consider themselves donors or supporters of mine on all those sides.”
A Cordish Companies spokesman, Cari Furman, stated, “The Cordish Companies nor any member of the LLC Applicant contributed” to Stoney. Furman added Cordish did contribute to candidates or active members of Richmond’s City Council in the 2020 election cycle.
Virginia does not restrict who may donate to a candidate or cause nor how much an individual may donate. Rich Meagher, PhD., a political science professor at Randolph-Macon College, noted the people who vetted the casino proposals should have thought not only about “who had the best management team, who offered the most amenities to the city, but also, ‘Who might have a conflict of interest? Who might have donated money to politicians in the city? Who might have a–sort of–thumb on the scale in terms of the decision-making process?’”
Meagher called the “kind of overlap” between Stoney and his donors “unseemly,” and said, “It might cause people to doubt the process a little more than they otherwise might.”
According to state campaign finance records, Urban ONE Chief Executive Officer Alfred Liggins has contributed to existing and potential members of Virginia’s legislative black caucus Hubbard said. Also, Hubbard noted, Liggins donated to Richmond City Councilman Mike Jones during his bid for the Virginia House of Delegates in the 2020 election cycle.
When asked about his political contributions, Liggins said, “We are a national African American-targeted, and African American-owned, media company. From the inception of our company, we have supported African American legislators seeking higher office.”
A public hearing will be held Monday, June 14. If the city council votes to accept Stoney’s and the casino evaluation panel’s recommendation of Urban ONE’s proposal, a referendum will be held in Richmond in the November election.
