It says in part: “Ralph Northam missed nearly 60 percent of meetings for a board that could have prevented cronyism and corruption. Instead, he let a fake Chinese company with a false address and phony website take $1.4 million of our money.

“Ralph Northam didn’t show up. He doesn’t deserve a promotion.”

A November report by the state’s watchdog agency, the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission, found disarray at VEDP, created in 1995 under then-Gov. George Allen, a Republican. Virginia has since doled out millions in incentives to companies under Republican and Democratic administrations.

Northam appeared with McAuliffe at a December news conference at which the governor proposed reforms to increase oversight of VEDP. Northam called for “a culture of accountability” at the economic development partnership.

Ed Gillespie, the Republican nominee for governor, has been criticizing Northam over the issue for months. In January, during the formal kickoff of his campaign, Gillespie charged that “Ralph Northam’s VEDP squandered $1.4 million in taxpayer money on a Chinese company with a fake website.”