After weeks of painstaking dealing with Republicans on the budget, Virginia Democrats find themselves negotiating with one of their own to secure more money for the new Metro rail line to Washington Dulles International Airport.
Sen. Chuck Colgan, D-Manassas, broke ranks with his party last week to support a new budget compromise, an $85 billion, two-year plan that excluded $300 million in additional funding Democrats sought for the Dulles Rail project. Since then, Democrats have been privately urging Colgan to vote against that same budget when it reaches the Senate floor next week rather than give the Republicans the one Democratic vote they need to pass the spending plan in the evenly divided chamber.
The state has already pledged $150 million for the Dulles Rail. But Democratic leaders from Northern Virginia want another $150 million to $300 million so that tolls on the Dulles Toll Road don’t have to be increased as much to pay off part of the rail line costs. Democrats said they’re optimistic that Colgan will vote with them.
“He has not indicated to me that he’s going to break with the caucus,” said Sen. Don McEachin, the Democratic caucus chairman from Henrico. “There will be no concern until Sen. Colgan tells us he’s going to vote different from the other 19 [Democratic] members.”
Colgan said he has not decided how he will vote on the Senate floor, though he told The Washington Examiner he didn’t think Democrats should stall budget negotiations over the Dulles Rail.
Virginia lawmakers worked overtime to craft a budget after failing to approve one before the General Assembly adjourned in March. A special budget session is set for next week.
“We’re running out of time,” said Colgan, who expects to speak with all 19 Democrats before deciding. “July 1 is the start of the new fiscal year and localities needed to know how much money they have coming.”
Colgan, 85, is the longest serving senator in Virginia history and a revered member of the party. Democrats have repeatedly persuaded Colgan to delay retirement to hold onto his Northern Virginia district — and the party’s Senate majority. In that respect, there was little public ill-will toward Colgan for aligning with Republicans to pass a budget.
“Sen. Colgan would not have taken this position to put [the budget] forward if it would not have been for Republicans,” said Sen. George Barker, D-Alexandria. “But we shall see. He doesn’t know how he’s going to vote. That’s not atypical for him. He has a little card on his desk that says, ‘I’ll let you know when the voting happens.'”
