Opinion: Pr. Wm. Board should continue to vote during lame-duck session

Now that Supervisor Jeanine Lawson is running for Chair, she proposes a moratorium to prohibit any land use applications coming before the Board of County Supervisors in November and December of this year.

Such an action would break historical precedence and be a policy change for the Board and Supervisor Lawson herself. It appears she is only proposing this policy chance because she is opposed to certain projects that would come before the Board during this time.

The historical record is clear – Supervisor Lawson has voted many times to approve “lame-duck” land use votes in both 2015 and 2019. Since joining the board, Supervisor Lawson, between November and December, has voted in favor of over 18 land use cases during lame-duck sessions.

In fact, during this time in 2019, Supervisor Lawson voted to approve a Special Use Permit for a data center property outside the data center overlay district and adjoining the Manassas Battlefield. Known as Gainesville Crossing, this land use application had vocal opposition.

The opposition’s testimony did not sway Supervisor Lawson away from supporting the project as she voted along with four “lame duck” Republicans to approve the project. All this with the knowledge that it was being approved by Supervisors who had either lost elections or were retiring from public office.

To be clear, I believe the board should continue to take votes, no matter when it happens during their term. They were elected to serve four years and make county policy, not three and a half years. Their vote means just as much on day one as it does on the last day of their term.

I’m a small business owner and perform marketing work in Prince William County. Supervisor Lawson’s moratorium will directly impact my livelihood. It jeopardizes how I feed my family and my employees’ jobs, not to mention the millions of dollars spent by land-use applicants who have a right to expect that the Board will hear their projects in due time.

The board should do the right thing and vote down Supervisor Lawson’s election-year moratorium.

Travis Turner
Prince William County property owner

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