Prince William Times: “With just weeks until the Nov. 7 election, only about half of the 14 candidates for the Prince William Board of County Supervisors are publicly sharing their positions on five of the most controversial and unresolved data center projects across the county.”

“Of the 14 candidates, 12, including six Democrats and six Republicans, responded to inquiries from the Prince William Times about their positions on the five projects.”

Prince William Times: “Deshundra Jefferson, the Democratic nominee for chair of the Prince William Board of County Supervisors, envisions a county with more affordable housing, that attracts more businesses to reduce residential tax bills and offers programs to keep youth on the right track.”

“Jeanine Lawson, the Republican nominee, envisions a county that restores former protections to the “rural crescent,” repeals the 4% meals tax and provides more funding to hire police officers to crack down on rising crime.”

I’m Nelson Head, owner of Dixie Bones

The Prince William County Supervisors are up for re-election this year.

As part of the campaign, the challengers and I have visited more than a hundred restaurants throughout the county. There they learned firsthand what happened when the meals tax forced restaurants to add a collective $35 million of new charges to their checks. Not surprisingly, their customers found the food suddenly too expensive, and they stopped coming in.

They heard from servers how their tips fell by half. They saw empty dining rooms, skeleton crews, and managers and owners disheartened by the struggle to survive. They listened to customers angry over having to pay yet another tax and this one for simply eating out.

These challengers know they must end the Meals Tax if our restaurants are to survive.

In the other case, only odious, meanspirited persons would attack the livelihood of small, popular restaurants and their employees and then reward themselves with a 70% pay raise. But that is exactly what incumbent supervisors did.

Well, at least these guys can still afford to eat in a restaurant if they dare to show their face.

These incumbents expect us to believe that they gave the meals tax money to schools when anyone can plainly see the $30 million of tax money sitting idle and unused in a surplus account in the county’s coffers.

This crop of self-serving supervisors, masquerading as Democrats protecting the little guy, is way, way past their sell-by dates.

We can fix this.

Please go to endmealstax.com to meet the new supervisors who will clean up this mess.

Voting is already underway. So please go to the polls and vote for candidates who will Save Our Restaurants.

Nelson Head
Founder, Dixie Bones BBQ
Woodbridge

HOA Roundtable of Northern Virginia: “The HOA Roundtable of Northern Virginia, based in Prince William County, is a non-partisan coalition of HOAs, Civic Associations, and independent homeowners who represent more than 150,000 households across the region.”

“Every seat on the Prince William Board of County Supervisors is on the ballot in the November election. Those elected will seal the future of the county.”

“Without a change in leadership, Prince William will cease to be a county for residential communities and families to thrive, and retirees to enjoy…Employment opportunities and
entities providing vital goods and services, will be forced out of Prince William, unable to afford artificially inflated commercial land prices driven by data center development.”

“Given our unique insight, we are proud to endorse the following candidates and encourage the residents of Prince William County to support their strong, consistent campaign message to place residential quality of life and property value as a top priority:”

• PWC Board Chair: Jeanine Lawson
• Woodbridge District: Jeannie LaCroix
• Potomac District: Verndell Robinson
• Brentsville District: Tom Gordy
• Coles District: Yesli Vega
• Gainesville District: Bob Weir

Prince William Times: “Jim Gehlsen, the Democratic candidate for Brentsville supervisor, pleaded guilty to tax fraud in 2000 and spent a year in federal prison. More than 20 years later, he continues to have strong feelings about the IRS, saying he was “harassed” by the federal agency and that its actions “provoked” his crimes.”

“In an interview with the Prince William Times, Gehlsen, 69, called the IRS “terrorists” and repeatedly said he was ”tortured and terrorized” by the federal agency. Gehlsen said he is running for the Brentsville District supervisor’s seat in part because he believes Prince William County “does tax terrorism as well.”

September 22 is the start of early voting. To prepare yourself, you need to know where the candidates stand on the issues. Some candidates seeking your trust don’t think it’s any of your business.

A Bristow homeowner’s group asked all incumbents and candidates for your Board of County Supervisors to state their positions on five contentious land use cases: Prince William Digital Gateway, Devlin Technology Park, John Marshall Commons Technology Park, Potomac Technology Park and Bristow Campus.

Predictably, five incumbent supervisors declined to respond. They were Ann Wheeler, Kenny Boddye, Margaret Franklin, Andrea Bailey and Victor Angry. These are the same five supervisors who voted against a resolution to prevent “lame duck” land use votes. Do I detect a trend here?

Notably, they didn’t say they supported these projects either.

You can draw your own conclusions about the reasons for their evasion, but at a minimum it indicates an arrogance of presumed exemption from accountability. Why would you vote for anyone with such an obvious disregard for the electorate they are supposed to serve? If you can’t get an answer from someone vying for your vote, how responsive do you think they’ll be should you be foolish enough to elect them? You may have already learned this about the five holdouts.

A recent Inside NOVA editorial lambasted Chair Ann Wheeler for her decision to consider contentious cases during the “lame duck” period. Now her ducklings won’t even tell you where they stand.

Use your imagination, then use your vote.

Bill Wright
Gainesville

Stafford County Government: "Early voting in Stafford County begins on Friday, September 22, 2023. This year’s general election is on Tuesday, November 7, 2023. You may request a mail-in ballot from the General Registrar until October 27, 2023."

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Fredericksburg.com: "Five candidates running for Senate and House of Delegates seats are set for debates next month at the University of Mary Washington."

Hello. My name is Babur Lateef, and I am chairman of the Prince William County School Board.

I am a parent, physician, public servant, and proud product of public schools from kindergarten through medical school. My four children have been in Prince William County schools for their entire education.

I believe we have one of the greatest school systems in the country, and I’ve been proud to serve as chairman of the school board. We have made significant improvements in student success, safety and security, space, and infrastructure, and salaries.

We have more work to do, and that is why I am running for reelection this fall. Please vote for Babur Lateef, chairman of the Prince William County School Board, on November 7.

*Paid for and authorized by Friends of Dr. Lateef.