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On Wednesday, the Related Press, the Richmond Instances-Dispatch and Richmond’s NPR affiliate VPM fired off tales expressing disgust with political promoting agency related to Governor Glenn Youngkin (R) having obtained a state contract to movie a Virginia tourism advert that includes Youngkin himself.
However all informed, the hubbub and media experiences have ignored the truth that the present head of the Virginia Tourism Company (VTC) is a Democratic Celebration donor who provides to candidates starting from Barack Obama to Senator Mark Warner (D) and Youngkin’s opponent, former Governor Terry McAuliffe (D).
The AP huffed that “Youngkin confronted criticism from Democrats on Wednesday after information retailers reported that his political ad-maker” Poolhouse “lately obtained a six-figure contract to provide a state tourism video that includes the governor.”
The Richmond Put up-Dispatch’s Patrick Wilson reported (click on “increase”):
The political promoting company behind Glenn Youngkin’s profitable bid for Virginia governor, which created his branding and focuses on work for Republican candidates, obtained a $268,600 contract from a state company to provide a tourism video that closely options Youngkin himself.
The advert will seem in Virginia’s airports and welcome facilities at a time when Youngkin is contemplating a run for president and is looking for to spice up his nationwide picture.
The contract between the state tourism division and Richmond-based Poolhouse is its first such contract for the state company. The commercial options Youngkin on the Richmond Raceway, his voice additionally narrating the advert.
Wilson defined that the “Virginia Tourism Company reached out to 2 promoting firms on Could 5, providing them an opportunity to bid on the state tourism industrial in addition to seven giant billboards designed for show on airport partitions.”
For its half, VPM defined that “[n]o different agency submitted a bid to provide the video, and the advert company, Poolhouse, has no document of doing work for state businesses on the commonwealth’s procurement website.” Although it nonetheless obtained the contract, VTC reopened the bidding course of out of concern from Youngkin’s workplace.
Virginia Democrats and Home of Delegates Minority Chief Don Scott have been incensed and tried to make hay over the choice, however it might make little sense that this was a case of political corruption given who runs VTC.
VTC boss Rita McClenny has an extended historical past of political donations, nearly solely to Democrats. Within the 2008 cycle, she gave $2,300 to Obama and a mixed $750 to Warner then $1,500 to State Senator Creigh Deeds’s failed gubernatorial bid. She would then go onto give Warner $1,000 in 2014. An OpenSecrets search confirmed she’s given solely $750 to Republicans with $500 to Republican Bob McDonnell’s marketing campaign in 2009 and State Senator Thomas Norment Jr. in 2011.
Quick-foward to final 12 months and he or she donated $1,300 in whole with $1,000 going to McAuliffe and $300 to Richmond-area Delegate Betsy Carr (D).
If this have been a political charade, why would a Democratic donor working the commonwealth’s tourism board log off on such a transfer? Apparently, that was an excessive amount of for the liberal media to say.
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