Brentsville planning commissioner announces run for supervisor’s seat

By Anya Sczerzenie Times sTaff WriTer

Tom Gordy, who represents the Brentsville District on the Prince William County Planning Commission, announced Monday his candidacy for the Brentsville District seat on the Prince William Board of County Supervisors.

Gordy, 52, is vying to fill the seat that will be vacated by current Brentsville Supervisor Jeanine Lawson (R), who also announced on Monday her bid for board chair.

Lawson, 53, is vying for the Republican nomination to run against current Board Chair Ann Wheeler, D-At Large—or Wheeler’s Democratic challenger, Deshundra Jefferson. Lawson is not planning to run for her Brentsville district supervisor seat again.

In addition to announcing her candidacy, Lawson endorsed Gordy, a fellow Republican, to be her successor, saying that she believes he is committed to protecting rural areas and keeping data centers away from homes and schools.

“Tom has served his community and his country for many years, in many ways, and I am proud to support his candidacy for supervisor,” Lawson said in a statement shared by Gordy’s campaign.

Gordy released a statement announcing his candidacy and saying that his campaign would officially begin in April.

“For 16 years, my family has been proud to call Prince William County home,” Gordy said in the release. “However, our neighborhoods, schools and rural places are being threatened by unrestrained industrial development, and Brentsville is the epicenter of this challenge.

“As supervisor, I will protect our communities and rural open space by advocating for commonsense, smart growth principles that keep industrial activities away from our homes and schools and makes space for small businesses to thrive in Prince William County,” Gordy said.

Gordy said that he wants to protect the county’s “rural crescent” and opposes projects like the Prince William Digital Gateway, a 2,100-acre data center corridor proposed directly north of the Manassas National Battlefield Park, that would al- low industrial development in the rural area.

“We need to protect our rural areas like the assets that they are,” Gordy said.

As a planning commissioner, Gordy voted in July to recommend that the county board approve the proposed Devlin Technology Park, a controversial data center project in the Brentsville District. But Gordy voted against the Prince William Digital Gateway, after an all-night meeting in September.

In an interview Monday, Gordy said he now opposes the Devlin Technology Park because of its impact on nearby neighborhoods and the community backlash.

“What I have learned made me change my mind,” Gordy said.

Gordy is the president of the Armed Forces Marketing Council, which is a business league of firms that supply consumer products for military resale. He also served in the U.S. Navy Reserve for more than 20 years and was an active-duty sailor during Operation Iraqi Freedom, according to his release. Gordy also represents the Brentsville District on the county’s Veterans Commission.

No Democratic candidates have yet announced a campaign for the Brentsville District seat on the Prince William Board of County Supervisors.

The Brentsville District is located in a Republican-leaning area of Prince William County. The district has been represented by a Republican on the county board since at least 2003, according to the Virginia Department of Elections.

Reach Anya Sczerzenie at asczerzenie@fauquier.com