In a segment that appeared on NBC4 in Washington, D.C., FactCheck.org Director Eugene Kiely discusses TV ads in the Virginia governor’s race that criticize Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam for his role on a state economic development board.
The ads say Northam missed 58 percent of the Virginia Economic Development Partnership meetings, but ignores the fact that Northam sent a representative to the board meetings when he did not attend. Northam was an ex officio member of the board and sits on 13 other boards.
The ads also say Northam “helped lead Virginia’s economic development agency that gave $1.4 million to a Chinese company with a fake website.” However, the board does not approve grants, which are recommended by the agency’s professional staff and approved by the governor.
This video is part of FactCheck.org’s partnership with NBCUniversal Owned Television Stations, a division of NBCUniversal, to produce fact-checking segments for local NBC stations. Our stories about the Virginia governor’s race can be found on our website. These ads were aired by the campaign of Republican candidate Ed Gillespie.