A year ago, Virginia Democrats begged Sen. Chuck Colgan of Manassas not to retire as they struggled to hold on to the state Senate. That has turned out to be a mixed blessing for the party.
Colgan last week shook hands with Republicans on a budget deal that Democrats say underfunds the Dulles Rail project at a high cost to residents. He signed off on a two-year, $85 billion spending plan following days of closed-door meetings last week between a select group of lawmakers to iron out a budget. The final product included $150 million for Dulles Rail aimed at driving down the cost of tolls that will pay for the project, half of what Northern Virginia Democrats insisted was necessary.
Funding for Phase II of the project was a sticking point for Democratic leadership, with Senate Minority Leader Dick Saslaw, D-Fairfax, warning Gov. Bob McDonnell’s administration no Democrat would vote for the budget with just $150 million. There are 20 Democrats and 20 Republicans in the Senate, and the Senate president, Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling, cannot break tie votes on the budget.
But Colgan’s approval undercuts Saslaw’s position and sets the stage for the budget to gain the critical 21st “yes” vote in the Senate when lawmakers return April 17 to Richmond. Colgan is undecided on how he will vote on the Senate floor, he insisted, and advanced the budget because “a lot of people put so much work into it and it deserved to be signed.”
Still, he admitted he isn’t afraid to vote against his party and that walking away from next week’s veto session without sending a budget to the governor would escalate an already inflamed political war.
“We’re going to develop a habit that every time we can’t get what we want, we’ll shut the government down,” he said. “I’m concerned about that.”
It’s certainly not the first time this session Colgan has defied his caucus. He sided with Republicans on a bill mandating women undergo an ultrasound before an abortion procedure, stifling a Democrat-led attempt to shelve it for a year. Colgan said he took no heat for that decision.
“Certainly it’s a lot of pressure [to go against your colleagues],” said Sen. John Watkins, R-Midlothian. Watkins, too, voted against his party on the ultrasound bill and was involved in budget negotiations with Colgan. “But sometimes you have to do the right thing. It would difficult for me to second-guess how he approaches this thing, and I won’t.”
