Failed Richmond Casino Referendum Campaign Spent Over $400 Per Vote

This week’s failed capital of Virginia gambling casino referendum pushed past Urban One inwards partnership with John Churchill Downs was a pricey defeat for the would-be developers, which spent intemperately on the campaign.

For the indorsement time inwards trio years, Richmonders were asked by their City Council and Mayor Levar Stoney (D) to clear a Las Vegas-style casino. But for a arcsecond time in terzetto years, city voters told their local leaders “no.”

The 2021 gaming referendum was narrowly thwarted past a 51-49% outcome, with less than 1,500 votes beingness the difference.

Urban One, the media empire that runs radiocommunication stations and telecasting networks trim to the Negroid community that was selected past Richmond officials as the city’s preferred cassino developer despite lacking any sorting of relevant experience, believed a more interconnected military campaign touting the economical benefits such a resort would wreak would bung the 2023 ballot inwards its favor. It did not.

Costly Defeat

Urban One and Churchill Downs collectively spent $10,684,473.30 on their “Richmond Wins, Vote Yes” political process citizens committee (PAC). The money was spent running commercials and societal media adverts promoting wherefore Richmond residents should vote “yes” on Nov. 7 for the $562 zillion capital of Virginia Grand Resort & Casino.

The backers said the resort would drive home thousands of good-paying jobs to Richmond’s Southside where an economical resurgence is desperately needed. Stoney pledged to enjoyment the city’s tax income from the holiday resort — projected at $30 zillion a twelvemonth — to improve monetary fund betimes puerility programs.

Polling suggested that Richmond’s 2023 gaming referendum would live as fill up as the 2021 outcome. But a series of controversial comments from the casino’s supporters most their oppositeness fueled strong elector turnout inwards the more wealthy neighborhoods that opposed the gambling casino two years ago.

Urban One’s 2023 cassino auction pitch was to a greater extent strongly rejected, with the project garnering less than 39% of the vote. The gambling casino bread and butter tally of 24,765 votes equates to Urban One and Churchill disbursement almost $431 in safari dollars per vote.

Meanwhile, the opposition — “No Means No Casino” PAC — spent simply shy of $400,000, or near tenner bucks per vote.

Racial Divide

Urban One founder Cathy Edward James Hughes levied racial accusations against her gambling casino opponents during a radiocommunication question inward the leadup to Election Day. The media mogul said those who controvert the project, still if they are Black, more nearly align with whitened people.

Though you may have a domiciliate the like theirs, a railway car the like theirs, and your children spell to the same schools, they escort you as a n*****,” Howard Hughes said.

Richmond’s wealthier neighborhoods, primarily those due west of I-95 on and magnetic north of the James River River the likes of The Fan District and Scott’s Addition, greatly opposed the casino. Of the 1,161 votes roll inward The Fan precinct, just 156 votes were mold inwards funding of the capital of Virginia Grand.

But inwards 2023, it wasn’t only when the more affluent communities that opposed the cassino question. Of the 72 precincts inward Richmond, just now 20 voted in favor of the gaming initiative.

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