Prince William Democrats promise review of Rural Crescent, 287(g)

Prince William Board of County Supervisors Chairman At-large (Elect) Ann Wheeler led a post-election press conference Wednesday.

Flanked by her fellow Democrats just elected to seats on the Board, officials said they would review all of the county’s land-use policies after they take their seats in January.

Wheeler won the Gainesville and Brentsville districts, but voters there rejected the down-ballot Democrats, opting instead to keep incumbent Republicans Peter Candland and Jeanine Lawson, respectively.

• Both Candland and Lawson have pushed for tossing out a 2014 study of the Rural Crescent — a tract of land from the Quantico Marine Corps Base to Manassas National Battlefield — calling for cluster developments, and bringing water and sewer pipes to the now protected rural land.
• Candland says voters don’t trust local officials who have benefited from campaign donations from land developers.

Neabsco District Supervisor Victor Angry agreed: “There’s an issue of trust. And we have to get back to trust. I trust the job of the county staff… It’s going to be a board of trust, and we need all constituents to rally behind us,” he told attendees at the press conference.

• He called for public patience as the county’s Planning Commission reviews plans for developing the Rural Crescent.

The newly elected leaders will also review the county’s participation in the 297(g) program, which provides federal training to officers at the county jail to process illegal immigrants charged with a crime, holding them for eventual transfer to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

• “The bottom line is this board is going to protect immigrant families. Whatever we need resource-wise, we; ’re going to do that,” said Margaret Franklin, Woodbridge Supervisor (Elect). 
• Wheeler said the Board doesn’t have outright authority to abolish the program that has been administered Prince William Sheriff Glen Hill through both President George W. Bush and Barack Obama administrations.
• However, the Board of County Supervisors does control the sheriff’s budget, she adds.

Here’s a full video of the press conference: