Virginia’s Republican Party weighed into the 22nd District state Senate race Tuesday, saying that Democrat Bert Dodson was part of what they called a spending boondoggle on the Lynchburg downtown Bluffwalk Center development during his time on City Council.
The GOP cited news accounts that reported Lynchburg had made about $1 million in loan payments on behalf of the hotel and restaurant complex, while the tax revenue the city has collected so far from the Bluffwalk developer falls far short of that figure.
“Bert Dodson might be new to state-level politics, but he’s obviously been learning at the feet of a master of spending boondoggles,” said a state GOP news release that compared Dodson to President Obama.
Dodson campaign spokesman Lonny Paris called the GOP assertion “a desperate and misleading attempt by the Republican Party of Virginia to confuse the issues and play games of guilt by association that are a new low to the level of discourse in this race.”
The GOP news release asked whether Dodson would distance himself from Obama, as state Sen. Phillip Puckett, D-Tazewell, did last week in a coal-dependent Southwest Virginia district.
Paris said the 22nd District, which stretches from northern Lynchburg to Goochland County, has its own, state-level, issues that are focused on jobs, education and public safety.
“Will Bert join Phil Puckett in fleeing from Obama? Absolutely not,” Paris said.
Dodson’s Republican opponent, Tom Garrett of Louisa County, hasn’t yet made an issue of the Bluffwalk project.
The state Republican Party has issued similar news releases this month criticizing other Democratic Senate candidates, including Puckett and Sen. Edd Houck of Spotsylvania.
Lynchburg’s most recent payment on the development’s loan occurred in August, when it paid down $180,000 of the debt’s principal, bringing its total contribution so far up to nearly $1.2 million.
Bluffwalk contributed $63,085 to cover the interest due. It was the first time in several years it had been able to pitch in on the annual summer loan payments.
The city made the payments on behalf of Bluffwalk because it guaranteed the loan, which came from the federal government. Cash for the payments was drawn from Community Development Block Grant money, which also came from federal sources.
Staff writer Alicia Petska contributed.
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