Prince William Times 06/15/2023

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SPORTS: Colgan girls soccer reigns supreme; Battlefield girls lacrosse just misses. PAGES 11-12

June 15, 2023 | Vol. 22, No. 24 | www.princewilliamtimes.com | $1.00 Covering Prince William County and surrounding communities, including Gainesville, Haymarket, Dumfries, Occoquan, Quantico and the cities of Manassas and Manassas Park.

Data centers divide primaries for county board chair By Anya Sczerzenie Times Staff Writer

The pace of data center development in Prince William County – and how county officials should try to shape it – is at the center of the most crowded board of supervisors’ race on the ballot this Tuesday: the contest for the Republican and Democratic nominations to run for at-large board chair in November. Two Democrats—incumbent Board Chair Ann Wheeler, and newcomer Deshundra Jefferson—are squaring off in the June 20 primary. The county board’s only Republican primary is also for the board’s top post, with Brentsville Supervisor Jeanine Lawson competing against Ken Knarr. Wheeler, 61, of Haymarket, and Knarr, 60, whose own home and land are under contract to sell to

“I compare the ‘old data’ to ‘new data’ rezoning cases like the Geico gecko to Godzilla. What used to be requests for 30 feet in height, quiet, somewhat obscure buildings are now requests for massive, 110-foot-tall buildings, in plain sight, that can also be noisy.” -SUPERVISOR JEANINE LAWSON

a data center company involved in the Prince William Digital Gateway, are seen as the two candidates most enthusiastic about the county’s accelerating data center growth. Prince William County is on track to overtake Loudoun

Democratic candidates Incumbent Board Chair Ann Wheeler, D-At large

Robert Ruffolo

Deshundra Jefferson

County to become the largest data center hub in the world. Jefferson, 47, of Montclair, said she got into the race to put the brakes on what she calls the “overdevelopment” of data centers in the county. Jefferson is staunchly opposed to the Prince William Digital Gateway and several other data center developments in the works, including the Devlin Technology Park, a controversial proposal to build data centers behind existing neighborhoods near Devlin and Linton Hall roads in Bristow. That’s a position she shares with Lawson, 53, who has supported data centers in industrial areas but has been an outspoken critic of the PW Digital Gateway, which would open the county’s rural crescent to data center development. See BOARD CHAIR, page 2

Republican candidates Supervisor Jeanine Lawson

Kenn Knarr

Sen. Jeremy McPike

Elizabeth Guzman

Data center debate at issue in state senate primary By Hunter Savery Times Staff Writeer

One of 2023’s most watched state primary contests pits a progressive Latina against a wellliked incumbent and highlights the divide over data center development in Northern Virginia. Del. Elizabeth Guzman, 50, is challenging incumbent state Sen. Jeremy McPike, 47, for the Democratic nomination in the Va. Senate’s 29th District in the June 20 primary. While both candidates highlight their commitment to education and gun safety reforms, the opponents hold starkly different See 29D PRIMARY, page 4

Bill Woolf

Former police detective, Army vet vie for GOP nod for Va. Senate By Cher Muzyk

Times Staff Writer

Former police detective Bill Woolf and retired U.S. Army Lt. Col. Robert Ruffolo are vying for the Republican nomination in the State Senate’s newly drawn 30th District. Both support “parents’ rights,” including school choice and champion lower taxes. The winner will take on the Democratic nominee Del. Danica Roem, a three-term state delegate See 30TH DISTRICT, page 4

PHOTO BY DOUG STROUD

GIRLS STATE SOCCER CHAMPS: Charles J. Colgan Sr. High School’s girls’ soccer players celebrate after winning an all-Prince-William-County matchup in the Class 6 state championship game on Sunday, June 11. The Colgan Sharks beat the Battlefield High School Bobcats 1-0 in the last few minutes of the game. Sports, page 11

Ideas for cheap family fun in Prince William, page 8

The Times names a new publisher, page 2

88 DULLES, VA


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