Prince William Times 06/22/2023

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SPORTS: Brentsville girls soccer defeats Lafayette 1-0 to win Class 3 state championship. PAGES 13-14

June 22, 2023 | Vol. 22, No. 25 | 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.

Jennifer Carroll Foy wins Dems’ nod for state Senate By Hunter Savery Times Staff Writer

PHOTO BY JOHN CALHOUN

Deshundra Jefferson, an opponent of the controversial Prince William Digital Gateway and other data center developments, campaigns outside the Ferlazzo Building during the last day of early voting on Saturday, June 17.

Upset over data centers

Former delegate Jennifer Carroll Foy defeated Hala Ayala to win the Democratic nomination for state senator in the newly drawn 33rd District Tuesday, according to still unofficial state election results. With 52 of 54 precincts reporting as of 10:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Carroll Foy led Ayala by 3,469 votes, garnering 62.23% of the more than 14,000 votes cast in the race. In a brief interview Tuesday, Carroll Foy, 41, attributed her win to the faith voters placed in her to maintain the progress Democrats have made in the state Senate, which they hold by a slim 21-19 majority going into the November elections. Voters, she said, see her “not only as an effective leader, but a leader they can trust.” “I’m really proud of the bills and budgets that have passed” when the Democrats took control of the state

Jennifer Carroll Foy legislature, she said. “We have to protect our progress and move Virginia forward.” Carroll Foy will face Republican Mike Van Meter in the Nov. 7 election. The district is rated “strong Democratic,” according to the Virginia Public Access Project. See FOY, page 4

Deshundra Jefferson beats incumbent Board Chair Ann Wheeler in Democratic primary By Anya Sczerzenie Times Staff Writer

Deshundra Jefferson won a major upset in Tuesday’s primary election, defeating incumbent Ann Wheeler to win the Democratic nomination to run for chair of the Prince William Board of County Supervisors in a contest energized by voters’ angst over the proliferation of data centers. Jefferson, 47, of Montclair, won about 52% percent of the more than 25,000 votes cast in the countywide contest, according to still unofficial results from the Virginia Department of Elections. Jefferson will go on to compete in the Nov. 7 general election against Supervisor Jeanine Lawson, R-Brentsville, who won the Tuesday, June 20 contest for the GOP nomination with 81% of the vote. “I am in shock. I am surprised,” Jefferson said in an interview from her Montclair home, where she hosted just a few supporters to watch the results come in Tuesday night. “I knew this would be a hard race. I was up against a well-funded

PHOTO BY DOUG STROUD

PHOTO BY DOUG STROUD

Board of Supervisors Chair Ann Wheeler meets with voters at the Dar Al Noor mosque in Woodbridge. candidate with deep ties to the community,” she said. Wheeler raised more than $200,000 during her 2023 re-election campaign, while Jefferson pulled in just over $66,000. Wheeler also started out the year with more than $70,000 in her campaign coffers. Jefferson had not raised any money prior to campaigning this year. See UPSET, page 2

A peek inside the new Sprouts store in Manassas, page 9

Left: Del. Elizabeth Guzman, D-31st, greets voters at Swans Creek Elementary school during Tuesday’s primary election. Right: State Sen. Jeremy McPike, D-29th, campaigns at Saunders Middle School during Tuesday’s primary election.

29th District state Senate primaries too close to call By Hunter Savery Times Staff Writer

Both the Republican and Democratic primaries in the 29th District state Senate races were too close to call Wednesday and may not be resolved until the vote is certified on Saturday, June 24, according to Prince William County Registrar Eric Olsen.

Bee festival this Saturday in Manassas, page 11

In the Democratic primary, incumbent state Sen. Jeremy McPike was leading his challenger, Delegate Elizabeth Guzman, by just 46 votes. McPike had garnered 6,204 votes compared to Guzman’s 6,158, according to still unofficial results from the Virginia Department of Elections. See 29TH, page 4

88 DULLES, VA


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