Haymarket Town Councilman Bob Weir defeated Kerensa G. Sumers in a special election for the Gainesville District seat on Prince William’s Board of County Supervisors Tuesday.
According to the Virginia Department of Elections, Weir garnered 60.43 percent of the vote to Sumers’ 39.4 percent, with 16 of 17 precincts reporting. Weir received 4,197 votes and Sumers, 2,737. Another 11 votes went to write-in candidates. The results are unofficial until certified.
Weir, who is a Republican, will fill out the rest of the term of Republican Supervisor Peter Candland, who resigned in December. Candland resigned, according to The Washington Post, after his role in the Prince William Digital Gateway data center project compromised his ability to vote on issues that would affect future data center development. Candland, who was first elected to the board in 2011, agreed to sell his property to make way for the 2,100-acre data center project next to Manassas National Battlefield Park.
Weir opposes the Prince William Digital Gateway data project approved by the board last fall. He will need to run again in November if he wants a full four-year term on the board.
The proposed expansion of data centers in Prince William County has been a heated topic and most recently led to the resignations of three county planners, including the county planning director.
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