Leading Senate Democrat says Petersburg will be in running for casino if Richmond vote fails

PETERSBURG – The reason Sen. Louise Lucas said she pushed to kill Petersburg’s chances of hosting a casino earlier this year can be summed up in two words: Joe Morrissey.

Now with Morrissey out of the political picture and Richmond on the precipice of voting again on hosting the fifth casino, the Portsmouth Democrat and current president pro tempore of the Virginia Senate said she feels like the second time will be the charm for Virginia’s capital. If not, she said, then Petersburg jumps right back into the gambling picture

“Joe Morrissey was trying to take the original bill we had and make it his bill,” Lucas told The Progress-Index Thursday night. “The original bill only has five casinos in it, and we had promised ourselves we were not going to go beyond that five for a period of time.”

The original bill Lucas cited was approved in 2019 giving five Virginia cities permission to put a referendum before their voters that would bring casinos to their town. Four of them – Bristol, Danville, Norfolk and Portsmouth – approved their measures. In Richmond, though, voters narrowly rejected their casino proposal, prompting Morrissey to push Petersburg into Richmond’s spot.

Opponents, including Richmond officials, pushed back against that proposal, and the issue died in consecutive General Assembly sessions. Its closest shot at passing came earlier this year, but Lucas, as a member of the Senate Finance & Appropriations Committee, stopped a panel vote with a substitute motion to pass-by indefinitely – also called a PBI – that was approved in the bill’s place.

That move cleared the path for the Richmond re-vote in November and drove the final nail into the coffin for Petersburg's casino chances.

When asked by The Progress-Index to clarify that she made her motion because of the messenger, not the message, Lucas replied emphatically, “Exactly!”

“I think the Richmond referendum on the casino will pass this time,” Lucas said. “But if not, then we can look at Petersburg.”

Morrissey, with whom Lucas and other Democrats in the state Senate had no love lost, was defeated in last June’s party primary by former Del. Lashrecse Aird of Petersburg. Aird will square off against Republican Eric Ditri of Prince George County in November.

Aird was at the banquet. So was Kimberly Pope Adams, the party's nominee in the 82nd House District. Adams is challenging first-term Republican incumbent Kim Taylor, who defeated Aird two years ago to win the House seat.

In town for political purposes

Lucas was the keynote speaker for Thursday evening’s Petersburg Democratic Committee banquet at the Petersburg Public Library auditorium. Known for her blunt way of speaking, Lucas rallied the troops here by attacking Republican platforms in the upcoming election where all 140 General Assembly seats are up for election. The GOP controls all three statewide offices and the House of Delegates, and is only a couple of seats away from taking control of the Senate away from Democrats.

Even though Republican proposals for economic development and public safety have been targeted in the November campaign, it is the issue of reproductive rights that has gained the largest spotlight. With many Southern states adopting more conservative-backed restrictions on abortion, political watchers are looking to Virginia as a bellwether of Democratic efforts elsewhere in the choice-vs.-life battle.

In Virginia, Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s push to limit abortions in Virginia to the first 15 weeks of pregnancy is a cornerstone of the GOP’s plans to win back the Senate. Morrissey was seen as the only pro-life Democrat in the Senate and a vital swing vote on Republican-supported anti-abortion legislation.

“Governor Youngkin, get your hands off our ovaries,” Lucas said to thunderous applause from the audience.

If Democrats retain control of the Senate, Lucas will become the first Black woman to chair the powerful Finance & Appropriations Committee, one of the Assembly’s powerful budget-writing panels. In her typical blunt fashion, Lucas closed her remarks by summing up the only way to ensure the Senate stays blue is through voter turnout, both in the ongoing early-voting process now and on Nov. 7.

“Let’s get off our asses and go win this election,” she said.

This year’s Democratic banquet went off without any glitches, unlike last year’s when Mayor Sam Parham walked out following criticism by the keynote speaker of the Partnership for Petersburg program heavily backed by the Youngkin administration. Parham did not attend Thursday’s banquet; the only Petersburg council member in attendance was Ward 6’s Annette Smith-Lee.

When asked for her thoughts on Partnership for Petersburg, Lucas said she was not familiar with it.

“But I know one thing,” she said. “Democrats care about all Virginians.”

Bill Atkinson (he/him/his) is an award-winning journalist who covers breaking news, government and politics. Reach him at batkinson@progress-index.com or on X (formerly known as Twitter) at @BAtkinson_PI.

This article originally appeared on The Progress-Index: Portsmouth state senator speaks to Petersburg Democrats Thursday