In a recent interview, Brian Landrum, a Republican candidate for the Gainesville District seat on the Prince William County Board of Supervisors, shared his vision and plans for the community. Landrum, an attorney and consultant, emphasized putting residents first and ensuring development benefits the community.
Background and Personal Life
Landrum is married to Nicole, and they have one daughter. The family attends Heritage Baptist Church. The son of a naval officer and a historic preservationist, Landrum says his upbringing instilled in him a strong sense of community and public service. He has been active in civic life since childhood, including handing out flyers with his mother and attending board meetings.
Professional Experience and Political Involvement
Landrum runs a consulting business that advises Republican candidates on legal strategy and political advertising. He has been politically active for years, including working on Corey Stewart’s gubernatorial campaign. Landrum says he is self-funding his campaign to avoid special interest influence and maintain independence.
Campaign Platform and Key Issues
Landrum’s campaign slogan, “Make Data Centers Pay,” underscores his views on development and taxation. He has criticized the county’s handling of data center approvals and their impact on nearby communities.
- Resident-Focused Development: Landrum is critical of the Digital Gateway project, which he described as “one of the greatest abominations ever built.” He says new development should serve existing residents.
- Tax Rate Reduction: He proposes using the estimated $400 million in tax revenue from data centers to lower the property tax rate and issue a rebate to residents. He calls this the “Big Data Dividend.”
- Transparency and Accountability: Landrum has pledged to maintain an open-door policy and to expose backroom deals or corruption.
Community Involvement and Historic Preservation
Landrum has chaired the Prince William Architectural Review Board and supported preservation efforts in communities such as Thoroughfare, a historic site once home to freed slaves. He has proposed increasing conservation acreage in the county and said his detail-oriented approach and experience will inform his policy decisions.
Addressing Residency and Commitment Concerns
While he is a long-time county resident, Landrum just moved to the Gainesville District, prompting questions from critics who said the relocation is politically motivated. Landrum acknowledges the timing but says his family’s history in the area and his community involvement reflect his commitment.
“You know if people want to say that, obviously the timing here is close. You know when you’ve got a supervisor that suddenly passes away and anytime there’s that kind of sudden event I could have moved into the district six months ago and people would still have said, ‘oh, you were just waiting in the wings,’ but I moved in June and rented a friend’s basement in Haymarket and I have already signed a lease in Haymarket. I live in the Gainesville District. My move coincided, but was not because of Bob’s illness. Besides, I’m not running for a title,” he said. “I’m running because I want to do the work.”
Political Outlook with Competitors
Landrum addressed the candidacy of Patrick Harders, a business owner who, along with his wife Laura Harders, has been active in anti–data center advocacy. “Everybody seems to really like Laura, but the same people that seemed to really like Laura don’t know Patrick very well because he’s just not really—he’s not been front and center the way that she has,” Landrum said.
Harders has yet to formally announce his candidacy, but his name was leaked in a text message—intended for others—sent to Landrum by presumed candidate Kathy Kulick.
“This is a two-and-a-half, three-week Firehouse Primary and then right after that we’ve got to unite and we’ve got to work together,” Landrum said. “We’ve gotta win this thing.”
Landrum criticized how the Harders campaign emerged.
“This whole idea that [Kulick] would just keep the seat warm for him and then, you know, surprise switcheroo and had to take the thing into Patrick announcing his candidacy… it was a deceptive start to his campaign,” he said.
“There definitely seemed to be coordination,” Landrum added, referring to communications that indicated a planned handoff between Kulick and Harders. “That’s not only being dishonest with me, it’s being dishonest with the press. It’s being dishonest with the voters. It’s being dishonest with the Republican Party.”
“I don’t know enough about Patrick to be a judge of his character, and I’m not going to impute his character,” Landrum said. “But I’ll say that that’s a bad look.”
Republicans will hold a firehouse primary to determine their nominee. The winner will face a Democratic challenger in November to fill the seat previously held by the late Supervisor Bob Weir.
