
Politics


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In an October 6 opinion column published in The FXBG Advance, Gerlach said no city council candidate “has received donations from any data center company,” calling the suggestion “a deliberate attempt to confuse and deceive voters.” His remarks come amid heightened tensions in the city’s election season, with several candidates facing accusations of taking “data center money” following the appearance of anonymous campaign signs last month.
As Potomac Local News reported on September 19, state campaign finance records confirm that Matt Rowe (Ward 1), Joy Crump (Ward 2), and Susanna Finn (Ward 3) each received donations from Charlie Payne, a Richmond-based attorney with the law firm Hirschler who represents developers involved in the Celebrate Virginia South project, and data center development projects in surrounding jurisdictions. Payne is not a developer himself, and the contributions came from him personally — not from a data center company or political action committee.

FALMOUTH, Va. – Republican gubernatorial candidate Winsome Sears delivered a fiery speech Saturday evening outside her campaign bus in Falmouth, near Fredericksburg, condemning what she described as a “culture of hate and violence” taking root within Democratic politics.
The event came just days after National Review first reported 2022 text messages sent by Jay Jones, the Democratic nominee for attorney general. In the messages, Jones joked about violence against then–House Speaker Todd Gilbert, writing, “Gilbert gets two bullets to the head,” and later referencing Gilbert’s children, saying, “Only when people feel pain personally do they move on policy,” according to The Washington Post. The Associated Press and Politico later confirmed the authenticity of the exchange, which Jones has since acknowledged and apologized for.

FREDERICKSBURG, Va. – On Thursday, Oct. 2, 2025, voters filled Dodd Auditorium at the University of Mary Washington to hear Delegate Joshua Cole (D) and Republican challenger Sean Steinway debate issues shaping the 65th House District race.

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GAINESVILLE, Va. – Less than a day after saying he was open to revisiting a connector tied to the Bi-County Parkway, Gainesville District Supervisor candidate George Stewart is clarifying his position.
In a press release on Friday, Stewart said he would oppose any parkway project that lacks community support. “After the article was published, I heard from residents and elected officials alike who oppose the Bi-County Parkway project… because they’re concerned that it would become a truck route from Dulles Airport to I-95,” Stewart wrote. He noted the route would pass near neighborhoods and four schools, concerns that gave the earlier plan the nickname “Outer Beltway.”

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Virginia Mercury: Three Stafford County voters are asking a judge to remove Democratic House of Delegates nominee Stacey Carroll from the ballot, arguing she doesn’t actually live in the district where she registered to vote and is running for office.
The petition, filed in Stafford County Circuit Court, contends Carroll lives at a longtime home in House District 23 while claiming a different address in neighboring House District 64 to qualify for the race.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Rep. Suhas Subramanyam (D-Manassas, Prince William County) and Congresswoman María Elvira Salazar (R-Fla.) introduced bipartisan legislation to increase access to justice for survivors of child sexual abuse, assault, and trafficking. The Statutes of Limitations for Child Sexual Abuse Reform Act would incentivize states to eliminate civil and criminal statutes of limitations for child sexual abuse cases. The legislation authorizes $20 million in grants for states that implement these reforms and allow survivors to seek justice on their own terms and timeline.
Approximately 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 20 boys suffer child sexual abuse. Historically, nearly 90 percent of child victims never report their abuse to the authorities, and the majority of victims are unable to come forward and hold their abusers accountable due to expired claims. Many survivors don’t come forward until they are 50 years old or older, well beyond the expiration of the statute of limitations.