Beating the Odds
When pro-family conservatives captured all three statewide offices and the House of Delegates last week, many Virginians were elated, but no one was terribly surprised. The polls in the last few weeks consistently showed pro-family candidates had more than a fighter’s chance of winning.
But we did have a true David beats Goliath moment, right here in the City of Richmond, when the proposed casino was miraculously voted down. And we don’t use that term lightly!
Consider the following:
The Family Foundation stood virtually alone against a title wave of money and lobbyists when the General Assembly passed legislation that allowed localities to open casinos, pending local approval via referendum.
Four cities had already voted on casinos in their localities, and all four cites approved them.
If approved, a casino in Richmond would have produced, over 10 years:
$5.7 billion in economic impact
$500 million in revenue and community benefits to Richmond
Over $100 million in upfront and recurring voluntary payments to Richmond
Millions in contributions to local not-for-profits
5,600 construction and permanent jobs
2,000 non-gambling entertainment events
55 acres of permanent green space
Urban One spent almost $5 million promoting its proposed casino, which appeared to have the broad support of a variety of economic and political stakeholders. Billboards were plastered all over the city, and every news outlet ran stories as if they were paid advertisements for the casino. Al Sharpton and Jamie Foxx even came to town to promote the venue.
Undeterred, The Family Foundation joined forces with allies across the political spectrum, including Paul Goldman, former chair of the Democratic Party in Virginia, who shared our concerns that a casino would exploit Virginians susceptible to gambling addictions, especially lower-income individuals, and wreck irreparable damage on the families who rely on them. Though our little army had less than five percent of the funds pro-casino forces had at their disposal, we stretched every dollar we had to run 381,000 digital ads, launch 47,675 texts, send a robo call into 23,306 homes, call 11, 808 homes with live individuals, and knock 6,373 doors! Over 72% of the voters we talked with while knocking doors did not even know they had a say in whether Richmond had a casino or not. It looked like the casino was a fait accompli!
Yet, miraculously, and yes it was so amazing I feel like I need to use that word again, Richmond voters came together on election day and narrowly voted, by a margin of 1,880 votes out of 78,400 votes cast, to defeat the casino measure, to say “no” to billions of casino dollars, and to say “yes” to healthy and prosperous Richmond families. Urban One’s stock dropped 39% the next day!
Richmond residents would have had to pay three dollars in socio-economic addiction costs for every dollar the casino would have brought to Richmond. We are grateful to our allies for standing with us on this issue, and we credit God entirely for this amazing miracle!
