For Prince William County’s youngest school board candidate, Jaylen Custis, an appearance at a recent Moms for Liberty meeting had significant consequences.

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Willie Deutsch ended his bid to reclaim the Coles District seat on the Prince William County School Board.

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Tom Gordy announced his candidacy for the open Brentsville District supervisor seat in Prince William County.

The Republican represents the Brentsville District on the Prince William County Planning Commission and Veterans Commission. He aims to replace Jeanine Lawson, who represented the district since 2014 and is now running to replace Ann Wheeler (D) as Prince William Board of Supervisors Chair At-large.

As of today, Gordy is running unopposed. The General Election is November 7, 2023. No newcomer to politics, Gordy ran against the late State Senator Charles Colgan in 2011 and lost.

Lawson endorsed Gordy. Meanwhile, evoking rhetoric often heard in national politics, Wheeler labeled Lawson, her Republican opponent, as “an extreme MAGA Republican who is dangerous for our county,” Wheeler stated in a press release to PLN.

Wheeler faces a Primary challenger, Deshundra Jefferson, who has criticized Wheeler for her willingness to allow data centers to be built outside of industrial areas.

All eight seats on the Prince William Board of County Supervisors are up this fall.

Last month, Republican Bob Weir was elected to the neighboring Gainesville District to serve the remainder of Peter Candland’s term, ending December 31, 2023. Weir has not announced a bid for reelection to the seat in the fall.

More from Gordy’s campaign announcement:

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The Prince William Board of County Supervisors dean announced her run to become its chair.

Jeanine Lawson, who served on the board the longest of all its eight members since 2014, seeks to unseat Ann Wheeler, who has served as board chair since 2020. Lawson has been an outspoken opponent of Wheeler and the majority of Democrats who have pushed to put more data centers and other industrial businesses in the western portion of the county.

Last fall, Lawson led a fight to oppose the Prince William Digital Gateway, 27 million square feet of data center space that could be developed next to the Manassas National Battlefield, after the board amended the county’s comprehensive plan last fall, after a marathon 14-hour meeting.

Last spring, Lawson ran to become the Republican candidate to run against Rep. Jennifer Wexton (D) in Virginia’s 10th congressional district. Hung Cao won a May 2022 GOP firehouse primary to become the nominee.

Meanwhile, Wheeler, a Democrat, faces opposition from a candidate in her party — Deshundra Jefferson, whose been critical of Wheeler over the past two years and her push to trade rural land for data centers, is seeking her party’s endorsement in a June 2023 Primary Election.

Lawson said she would campaign on a platform to end regular tax increases and to reduce the county’s increasing crime rate.

More in a press release:

Today Brentsville Supervisor, Jeanine Lawson, announced her bid for Chair of the Prince William Board of County Supervisors.

“Under the failed leadership of our current Chair, Prince William County has been quickly moving in the wrong direction,” Lawson said. “In three short years under her iron-fisted reign, we’ve watched her lead with extreme and reckless policies, while putting her political agenda first and Prince William families last. We deserve better.”

Here are just a few disturbing facts from the past three years under our current county Chair’s failed leadership:

Rising taxes – over $1,400 more in annual real estate tax bills for the average Prince William County family, plus a new meals tax, and additional proposed tax increases.

Skyrocketing crime – 150% increase in homicides since 2020.

The prioritization of a multi-billion dollar data center industry over residents – giving big business tax breaks on the backs of Prince William families.

“Enough is enough. Our local taxes are through the roof. Unchecked development is rampant while conservation and concerns about our local environment have been tossed aside. Crime in every corner of the county is skyrocketing,” Lawson continued. “It’s time to throw out our current Chair’s radical approach and implement new, practical, constituent-focused solutions to local governing.”

“As your next Chair, I’ll restore common-sense leadership, integrity, and a balanced approach back to our Board of Supervisors. I’m running to represent our families and neighbors, not an out-of-touch agenda. I’ll strive to lower our cost of living, improve our quality of life, and manage the growth of our communities in a responsible way.”

Jeanine Lawson has lived in Prince William County since 1995, where she and her husband Dan raised their two children. Since 2014, Jeanine has served on the Board of Supervisors representing the Brentsville District where she has been re-elected twice. During her time in office, Jeanine has fought to keep taxes low, support public safety agencies and manage growth.

The Prince William School Board Chair At-large race is now three-way.

Carrie Rist, 43 will seek the Prince William County School Board Chairman At-large seat.

Rist will seek the Prince William County GOP endorsement. She’s running against Babur Lateef, the incumbent with an endorsement from Democrats, and Julia Biggins.

By law, school board members do not campaign with party affiliation.

In a press release, Rist said she aims to draw a contrast with the current school board and will run on a pro-parent and pro-achievement platform.

“I am driven to give the parents, the families, and the students in Prince William County a voice to be heard and not dismissed,” Rist told a gathering of supporters on Monday night.

The candidate summarized her priorities with the acronym “TEAM”: “transparency,” “empowerment,” “accountability,” and her conviction that Prince William County’s students and parents deserve “more.”

Rist has lived in Prince William County since 2014, when her military family returned from overseas. She previously lived in Germany, Guam, and South Korea, where she taught at Sunchon Boys’ High School and earned her Juris Doctor at Handong International Law School, focusing on human rights advocacy.

“My first job was as a teacher,” Rist said in Monday night’s announcement speech. “I have a passion to teach and the utmost respect for teachers.”

In addition to working full-time and raising her family, Rist remains active in the community, volunteering at the school cafeteria and coaching boys’ soccer.

Rist has five children, ranging from 8 to 15 years old. In addition, two stepchildren, ages 23 and 26.

Prince William County School Board Chairman At-large Dr. Babur Lateef will seek a second term overseeing the school board as its At-large chairman, leading the state’s second-largest public school division while representing the entire county.

The pandemic consumed Lateef’s second term. The school division scrambled to help students and teachers adjust to online learning and then adjust to getting them back into school buildings as the pandemic waned.

The Democrat pushed the division to be the first public school division in the Washington, D.C. area to return children to the classroom, in phases, in December 2020. He later took heat from fellow Democrats for his push to return children to the classroom.

Once back in the classroom, children wearing facemasks became a hot-button issue, with parents and students lined up to protest at school board meetings. Eventually, the school division dropped its mask requirement before joining others in Northern Virginia in filing a lawsuit against Gov. Glenn Youngkin, which sought clarification from the state after Youngkin signed an executive order in January 2022 making masks in schools optional.

An Arlington County judge sided with the school divisions. The General Assembly struck down mask mandates only weeks later with a new law.

After the pandemic, the school division turned its attention to an effort to allow collective bargaining for teachers and other school employees. Lateef and the school board created a framework allowing collective bargaining in schools.

Last month, the Prince William Education Association, the county teachers union, won a bid to become the exclusive bargaining agent for school employees.

A consistent advocate for increasing the school division’s $4 billion budget, Lateef said only more funding from lawmakers in Richmond, not collective bargaining, will improve schools.

The most recent round of Virginia Standards of Learning student test scores show improvement for Prince William County Public Schools but the scores still lag behind 2019’s.

In 2021, Lateef was on the hiring panel that lured Dr. LaTanya McDade from Chicago Public Schools to lead the county school division, replacing Dr. Steven L. Walts, who led the division for 15 years.

Here’s his full reelection campaign announcement:

I am proud to announce that I will be seeking a second term as Chair At-Large of the Prince William County School Board. We have accomplished so much together and we are going to advance even further in the next four years.  ??Our students have many more opportunities to learn, shine, and succeed. ?Our teachers’ salaries have steadily and significantly increased.

Our parents are engaged at every level of their student’s education. ??And our community has seen our school division rise in the rankings (NICHE rankings from 26 to 17th best in the Commonwealth in my term), recognized as a great place to work (Forbes Magazine) and realizing a wonderful reputation.

We have done this because of, and with, all of you.  We have addressed student success, safety and security, space and infrastructure, sustainability, and salaries of our employees.??We have become a destination school district for all, but we are not done yet. Along with pandemic recovery we still have work to do in all categories, and I will not rest until every student and family has the opportunities and means to succeed. ??I will continue to fight to fully fund our schools and advocate for all of our students and families. I will fight to make sure we have strong leadership and a continued investment in our kids and teachers. I know our success is boundless when we work together, and when we all believe in all of our children.

As a proud parent of four PWCS students, a product of public schools from kindergarten through medical school, a physician, and a public servant, I understand the value of our school system and the awesome responsibility to care for it. I have governed with this in mind and I will continue to put our students and families at the forefront of all that we do.

Please join our campaign to ensure the children of Prince William County reach their destinations and realize their dreams.

Onward.

The first Republican to run for the Woodbridge District Supervisors seat on the Prince William Board of County Supervisors in eight years had 150 people attend her kickoff party near Occoquan.

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A familiar face at the Prince William County Government Center will seek a seat on the county school board.

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