Call it a canary in the coal mine. Call it the result of years of residents pleading for their local leaders to hear them. Call it a referendum on data centers.
Whatever you call it, the landslide election of Bob Weir to the Prince William Board of County Supervisors with more than 60% of the vote should serve as a wake-up call to those in power in not only Prince William County but those who see data centers as a cash cow for their respective jurisdictions.
The state’s Department of Environmental Quality will consider allowing data centers in Prince William, Fairfax, and Loudoun County (the world’s epicenter for data centers) to use generators to feed the power-hungry server farms.
The meeting will take place in DEQ’s Northern Virginia office, 13901 Crown Court, in Woodbridge (near BJs Wholesale Club) at 11 a.m.
Weir beat his Democrat challenger Kerensa Sumers in a landslide 30-point victory today in a Special Election to determine who will complete the term of former Gainesville District Supervisor Peter Candland, who designed in Decembe022 after 10 years on the job.
Weir’s election is widely seen as a referendum on data centers and development, an answer to a Board of County Supervisors that continues to press forward on plaBattlefieldeNationalr more server farms in both residential areas in Bristow, and historical areas like the Manassas Battlefield National Park.
A Special Election will decide who will serve the remainder of Peter Candland’s term on the Board of County Supervisors ending on December 31, 2023. Democrat Kerensa Sumers and Republican Bob Weir are vying to replace Candland, who resigned in December 2022 after ten years serving on the board.
You can find out where to vote here. Polls open at 6 a.m. and close at 7 p.m.
And just like that, Prince William County Planning Director Mark Buenavista is gone.
Buenavista resigned this week, after less than a month on the job, according to sources who spoke with PLN.
Data from the Virginia Public Access Project (Elections: Prince William County Prince William County Supervisor – Gainesville (vpap.org) shows Democrat Kerensa Sumers raised $46,583, while Republican Bob Weir raised $20,005.
Sumers largest donors ($1,000 or more) included:
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Bristow residents gathered outside the Prince William County Government Center on Tuesday to implore leaders not to approve a rezoning that could lead to the construction of 14 new data centers near their homes and schools.
