Prince William Co. Republicans tap Weir to run for vacant supervisor seat

HAYMARKET, Va. (DC News Now) — Republicans in the Gainesville District have tapped Bill Weir as their nominee for February’s special election to fill the now-vacant seat most recently held by Pete Candland.

Weir will face Democrat Kerensa Sumer in a special election on February 21.

Many of the voters at the mass meeting at Park Valley Church in Haymarket, as well as each of the three candidates seeking the nomination, discussed the controversial Digital Gateway Plan as a crucial issue.

The project would allow more than 2,100 acres of land in the county to be developed into more than 27 million feet of data centers. It has been the cause of protests, recall efforts, Candland’s resignation, and lawsuits.

“I don’t want to be the dumping ground of the data center capital of the world,” said Elena Schlossberg, who voted on Monday night. “Virginia is too special to let that happen.”

The voters and candidates also discussed the importance of having a say in the future rezoning efforts regarding data centers, especially because Candland could not vote on data center proposals due to a conflict of interest.

“It has been a travesty that you have had 16,000 residents go through the biggest land use threat with no representation,” Schlossberg said. “It has been an atrocity.”

Marilyn Karp, who says she is a former Democrat, praised Weir.

“He is not afraid of Ann Wheeler, he is not another politician,” she said. “That is the last thing we need.”

The district has remained Republican for more than two decades, and the folks who cast a vote on Monday believe a Republican voice is needed at the forefront of future land use debates.

“[Republicans] have to do whatever they can to keep delaying it,” Karp said of the Digital Gateway Plan.

Jeanine Lawson and Yesli Vega, the only two Republicans on the eight-member board (there are five Democrats, and now one vacancy) were in attendance on Monday. But the Republican party will be in the minority no matter what happens in February.

“I helped all of those Democrats get elected,” Karp said. “The Democrats are going to lose in Prince William County, which is a very, very important county.”