Regional Industry & News

Gov. Abigail Spanberger is looking near and far for members of her advisory teams on revenue estimates as she prepares this fall for her first opportunity to reshape the state budget.

Spanberger retained Chris Chmura, a longtime Richmond economist and consultant, on the Joint Advisory Board of Economists, but also looked north for advice from David Farkas, deputy director of revenue estimates for Maryland, which shares concerns with Virginia about the future of the regional economy around Washington, D.C.

“We thought he could lend another perspective, given that the ( District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia) regional economy is so important to our balance sheet in Richmond,” said Secretary of Finance Mark Sickles, a former longtime state delegate from Fairfax County, who will chair the board for the governor.

Spanberger, now seven months into her term, has used her appointment power over recent months to recast membership of the board and the Governor’s Advisory Council on Revenue Estimates. The two panels will help her revise the state’s revenue outlook for the current two-year budget and beyond as she prepares to propose changes to the General Assembly in December for consideration during its legislative session next winter.

The Joint Advisory Board of Economists will meet on Oct. 14 to reassess the current revenue forecast for the two-year budget and the next few years. Its recommendations will go to the Governor’s Advisory Council on Revenue Estimates (GACRE), a panel of business leaders and elected officials, which will give its assessment to the governor for her budget proposal the following month.

Spanberger outlined the state’s current revenue for legislative leaders in mid-August, when she reported that revenues exceeded expectations by $938.8 million in the fiscal year that ended on June 30. However, she warned of uncertainty in the state’s job market, the effects of tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump on U.S. trading partners and the coming consequences of the massive federal tax cuts package that he signed into law last year, with major cuts to Medicaid, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and other safety net programs.

“The lesson here is an old one, but it bears repeating: When times are good, it is tempting to budget as if they’ll stay that way forever,” she told the assembly budget committees. “But preemptive, thoughtful long-term planning keeps Virginia’s balance sheet healthy in both directions.”

Chmura was one of three economists the Democratic governor reappointed from the board named by her Republican predecessor, Gov. Glenn Youngkin. The others were Sonya Waddell, vice president and economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, and Ryan Price, chief economist for Virginia Realtors.

One of the prominent members of Youngkin’s board who no longer serves is former Rep. Dave Brat, R-7th, who lost his congressional seat to Spanberger in 2018 but was just confirmed by the U.S. Senate as Trump’s ambassador to Australia.

She also picked economists from five Virginia universities: Bob McNab, economics chair at Old Dominion University; Alice Louise Kassens, dean of the School of Business, Economics & Analytics at Roanoke College; Oleg Korenok, economics professor at Virginia Commonwealth University; Can Dogan, associate professor at Radford University; and David Kohl, professor emeritus at Virginia Tech. She also named economists for the National Association of Home Builders and the Associated General Contractors of America.

On the GACRE, Spanberger last week reappointed William “Billy” Foster, president and CEO of TowneBank in Virginia Beach, and added Amy Gilliland of Falls Church, who is president of General Dynamics Information Technology.

Earlier this summer, the governor appointed 16 members to the GACRE. Among those she carried over from Youngkin’s advisors were Neil Amin, of Henrico County, who is CEO of Shamin Hotels. She also reappointed Tom Barkin, president and CEO of the Richmond Fed; Kathy Warden, CEO and chairman of Northrop Grumman in Falls Church; Chad Eisele, of Mechanicsville, senior vice president and chief financial officer at Capital One; BK Fulton, CEO and chairman of Solidify Productions in Richmond; and Bill Crutchfield, founder and CEO of Crutchfield Corp. in Albemarle County.

Notable additions to the council include Keyanna Conner of Henrico County, a director at Deloitte Consulting who served as secretary of administration under Gov. Ralph Northam; Shannon Pierce, president and CEO of Virginia Gas in Virginia Beach; Laura Lafayette, of Henrico, CEO of the Richmond Association of Realtors and former press secretary for Gov. Doug Wilder; Sarah McCoy, of Norfolk, CEO of the Port of Virginia; Brian Hemphill, president of Old Dominion University; Kari Wilkinson, of Williamsburg, president of Newport News Shipbuilding; Dr. J. Stephen Jones, of Fairfax, president and CEO of Inova Health System; and Todd Stottlemyer, of Fairfax, CEO of Acentra Health.