BRENTSVILLE FOOTBALL: Tigers roar past Kettle Run to win district title, SPORTS, PAGES 13, 14
November 9, 2023 | Vol. 22, No. 45 | 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.
Local voters return Democrats to top elected posts By Shannon Clark, Cher Muzyk, Anya Sczerzenie and Jill Palermo Times Staff Writers
Prince William County voters returned Democrats to the county’s top elected posts on Tuesday, choosing Deshundra Jefferson as the county’s first Black chair of the county board of supervisors and re-electing Democratic majorities on both the board of supervisors and school board. Jefferson, 47, of Montclair, defeated her Republican opponent Republican Jeanine Lawson with 51.35% of the vote, garnering 60,375 of the more than 117,000 votes cast, according to final, unofficial results. Voter turnout, at 38%, was lower than it was in 2019, the last time all county races were on the ballot. Jefferson attributed her win Tuesday to voters across the county responding to her message and wanting a “fresh voice on the board of county supervisors.” “Experience only matters when it yields results,” Jefferson said. “People want someone who understands their issues. Not someone who’s just giving it lip service, but someone who’s committed to finding real solutions.”
PHOTO BY JOHN CALHOUN
Prince William voters elected Deshundra Jefferson to lead the board of county supervisors and returned School Board Chair Babur Lateef to office on Tuesday, Nov. 7. Jefferson, 47, will be the county’s first Black county board chair. Both boards will retain their Democratic majorities.
The Prince William Board of County Supervisors will retain its 5-3 Democratic majority. Both the county chair’s position and the supervisor’s race in the Occoquan District—the county’s most politically competitive—were key to the Republicans’ effort to take back control of the county board or achieve a 4-4 partisan split. But the GOP fell short in its effort in both races. In the Occoquan District, Supervisor Kenny Boddye was handily re-elected by more than 1,200 votes. Boddye garnered about 53% of the vote, compared to his Republican challenger Karla Justice’s 46.3%. Jefferson has worked as an adjunct professor at Northern Virginia Community College, a political communications consultant and as a TV reporter in Jackson, Mississippi. She also served as chief strategic communications officer for a national credit union association. Jefferson focused her campaign on reducing the cost of living in the county, adding funding for public schools and combatting crime by supporting collective bargaining for the county’s first responders and by implementing a summer jobs program for at-risk youth. See DEMOCRATS, page 4
Incumbents win races for countywide offices
Voters pick Amy Ashworth as top prosecutor; Sheriff Glen Hill wins 6th term By Cher Muzyk
Times Staff Writer
PHOTO BY DOUG STROUD
Commonwealth’s Attorney Amy Ashworth greets voters outside the Manassas Office of Elections on Saturday, Nov. 4.
Voters in Prince William, Manassas and Manassas Park have re-elected all three incumbent constitutional officers—returning Democrats Amy Ashworth and Jacqueline Smith to the top prosecutor and clerk of court posts as well as longtime Republican Sheriff Glen Hill. All three easily won their contests Tuesday. Smith was re-elected by a nearly 60-point margin over chal-
Digital Gateway plan lacks key environmental details, page 3
lenger Hina Ansari, while Hill beat back a second challenge from Democrat Josh King, winning by more than 7 points. Ashworth earned a second term as commonwealth’s attorney by nearly the same margin. Hill, 76, was the county’s first Black sheriff when he was first elected in 2004. He was also the first African American to serve on the City of Manassas police force and has served in law enforcement ever since, including nearly 20 years as sheriff. After more than 50 years in law enforcement, Hill campaigned heavily on his leadership experience. See INCUMBENTS, page 2
Two wars and a love story, page 9
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