GAINESVILLE, Va. — The two Republicans vying to replace the late Supervisor Bob Weir clashed over land use, data center growth, fiscal priorities, and immigration enforcement during a candidates’ forum this week, just days before GOP voters choose their nominee for the Gainesville District seat.
Patrick Harders, a 24-year Gainesville resident and founder of a regional outdoor lighting company, and Brian Landrum, a historic preservation advocate serving on the Prince William County Architectural Review Board, met in a debate hosted by the Prince William Republican Committee at Guiseppie’s Restaurant in Haymarket, a haunt of the late supervisor. The forum honored Weir’s legacy, with both men praising the late supervisor’s bipartisan approach and focus on putting residents first.
The Republican firehouse primary will be held Saturday, Aug. 16, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Bull Run Middle School, 6308 Catharpin Road in Gainesville. Only registered Gainesville District voters may participate.
Digital Gateway Fight Dominates Debate
Both candidates cited a recent Prince William Circuit Court ruling as a turning point in the long-running battle over the controversial Prince William Digital Gateway project — a proposed 22 million-square-foot data center complex next to Manassas National Battlefield Park.
Judge Kimberly Irving ruled in favor of 12 Oak Valley residents challenging the rezoning, finding the county failed to advertise public hearings and make relevant application materials available properly. The decision voided the rezoning, though an appeal is expected.
Harders declared the project “dead” and called for agricultural and historical overlays to permanently protect the rural area, promote agritourism, and preserve the region’s water supply. Landrum applauded the court’s decision but warned that “assemblage” land deals — where developers bundle multiple properties for resale — still threaten communities and require action in Richmond.
Both vowed never to accept campaign donations from data center developers, which Landrum called “blood money.”
Sudley Corridor and Crime
Harders, who lived in the Sudley area for 15 years, said revitalizing the corridor should be a priority, with more police presence, infrastructure upgrades, and incentives to attract new housing and businesses.
Landrum focused on public safety, calling for the restoration of qualified immunity for police, full staffing of the force, and the re-establishment of the 287(g) immigration enforcement program at the Prince William–Manassas Regional Adult Detention Center. The program allows local jail officers to identify and refer suspected undocumented immigrants to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for potential removal.
His position comes after some Republicans in Manassas earlier this year pressed Jail Board Chairman and Prince William County Sheriff Glen Hill to reinstate 287(g). Hill, who said the policy is not under current consideration, has noted that staffing shortages and the jail’s governance structure make such a move unlikely without a recommendation from the superintendent.
The Jail Board voted 6–2 in June 2020 to end participation in 287(g), citing concerns about community trust, despite Hill and then-Superintendent Col. Peter Meletis arguing to keep it.
Budgets and Schools
On fiscal issues, Harders proposed reducing the county’s revenue share to the school division from 57.3% to 55% and auditing for efficiencies to lower property taxes. Landrum called for a complete budget overhaul, eliminating certain offices and attaching strings to school funding to block what he described as “ideological indoctrination” in classrooms.
Both opposed using county funds to backfill potential losses of $40–50 million in federal education dollars if the school division fails to comply with a U.S. Department of Education Title IX order.
Democrats Already Have Their Candidate
Democrats chose their nominee on Aug. 10 in a nail-biter. George Stewart, a Navy veteran and financial consultant, edged real estate broker Jack Tiwari by just four votes, 247–243, in a firehouse primary described by InsideNoVa.com as “too close to call” until the final tally. County Board Chair-at-Large DeShundra Jefferson endorsed Stewart.
The winners of each party’s primary will face off in the Nov. 4, 2025, special general election to fill the seat left vacant by Weir’s death last month.
The Gainesville District, which includes the Haymarket, Gainesville, the Sudley Road corridor, and portions of the Rural Crescent, has leaned Republican in recent years, despite Prince William County’s political shift to the left, beginning in 2017.
