06/09/2026
I was in the General Assembly building for a VA Maunfacturing Development Commission meeting today. Elected a new chair, discussed Workforce training legislation, and heard from Carrie H. Chenery, Secretary of Commerce and Trade regarding the administration’s goals & strategy for bringing new manufacturers to VA. I asked her about her take on the budget battle and concerns that VA might strip active incentive agreements with industry. I recognize that lots of citizens on both sides of the aisle have a problem with data center growth despite the fact that they have brought thousands of great paying jobs to the Commonwealth. But Virginia does not need the reputation of being a bait and switch state regardless of industry. When we make a deal we must fulfill our promise. Don’t like the deal? Fine, learn from it. This deal has a sunset, ride it out and make better deals in the future. The secretary made clear that she nor the Governor intend to support a budget deal that breaks a contract that Virginia has made. I appreciate her willingness to express that and hope that it works out this way. We don’t need the new motto “VA is for teasers“. After the meeting, I did an interview with NPR on this subject and a couple more. This should be interesting. I’ll share it once it is released. I also want to give a shout out to outgoing chair, Senator Angelia Williams-Graves. She led productive meetings and had an open mind on topics brought by both sides. The best part of the day was catching up with my buddy Delegate Michael J. Webert. Mike and I entered the House of Delegates as freshmen together. He has continued on to be a rockstar. Now let’s see if we can get a state budget before the government shuts down. Dysfunction is not a good look for perspective employers either. 
