A coalition of retailers and grocery stores that want a piece of the pie if Virginia’s state-run liquor stores become privatized is now securing lobbyists for the effort.
Five employees at the law firm Eckert Seamans recently registered as lobbyists for the ABC Privatization Coalition, according to the nonpartisan Virginia Public Access Project, which tracks political money in the state.
The coalition, which has registered as a nonprofit corporation with the State Corporation Commission, is made up of major retailers including Safeway, Giant, Costco and CVS, and smaller retailers such as wine and cheese shops.
The coalition is strongly in support of ABC privatization as a concept,” said Robert Shinn, a partner at the public affairs firm Capital Results and another lobbyist for the coalition. “Our members are selling distilled spirits in many other states that are privatized, and the process seemed to work … well in those states.”
But there is also big money to be gained, said Michele Simon, research and policy director for the Marin Institute, an alcohol industry watchdog.
“It certainly would benefit the spirits industry,” she said. “It’s something the spirits industry has wanted for years.”
Big-box retailers “don’t like the fact that they can’t sell spirits in their stores,” she added.
Eckert Seamans has made three $10,000 political contributions in the state since July 1. The firm gave to the Republicans’ Virginia House Campaign Committee on July 2, the Democrats’ Commonwealth Victory Fund on July 16, and Gov. Bob McDonnell’s Opportunity Virginia political action committee on Aug. 4, according to Virginia Public Access Project.
McDonnell, who is barnstorming the state this month to promote the plan in a series of town hall meetings, has estimated that selling off the state’s approximately 330 liquor stores would provide an initial one-time windfall of between $300 million and $500 million. Several plans are in the works, with momentum appearing to coalesce around a plan in which a limited number of retail licenses would be auctioned off to the highest bidders.
Senate Majority Leader Dick Saslaw, D-Fairfax, has said the plan lacks the votes it needs to pass the state’s Democratic-led upper chamber.
“Sen. Saslaw needs to answer Virginians as to why he believes it’s more important to preserve an outdated government monopoly instead of providing hundreds of millions for road building and congestion relief,” McDonnell spokesman Tucker Martin said in response.
