Conservation group, residents launch effort to recall Supervisor Pete Candland over rural data centers

The Coalition to Protect Prince William County, a  longtime advocate for the county’s protected “rural crescent,” announced Tuesday an effort to recall Gainesville District Supervisor Pete Candland, charging he has neglected his duty and misused his office as a result of his personal financial interest in the Prince William Digital Gateway, a massive new data center corridor proposed for rural northern Prince William County on land bordering the Manassas National Battlefield Park and the Conway Robinson Memorial state forest.

In a press conference before the Prince William Board of County Supervisors’ June 28 evening meeting, Elena Schlossberg, the nonprofit's executive director, joined about 15 other Gainesville District residents to “demand that Pete Candland resign” or be subject to a recall petition.

“By buying into the Prince William Digital Gateway, he has lost his integrity,” Schlossberg said. “While he will make several millions of dollars, his constituents will be left with no vote and no voice.”

Candland “can no longer serve the interests of his constituents,” Schlossberg said. She and others wore white T-shirts saying, “Gainesville residents have NO representation. Pete make it official. Resign.” 

Patrick Harders, who called himself a former Candland supporter and a “conservative Republican,” said he was there to fight “against the Democrats to protect the environment" in what he called "this bizarre land of Prince William County government.”

“I am conservative that is going against Pete Candland because he has betrayed us and he has enriched himself, and this is the ultimate betrayal that we continue to see from our politicians,” Harders said. “…We the people are the power in this country. We must stand up against corruption and against backroom deals.”

“In Gainesville, we face industrialization without representation,” added Carolyn Cameron, also a Gainesville resident and supporter of the recall effort.

Candland and his wife Robyn own a home on about 5.7 acres at 12888 Livia Drive in Catharpin, which is part of the 2,133 acres along Pageland Lane under consideration for the proposed Prince William Digital Gateway data center corridor. In October 2021, Candland and his wife joined more than 100 of their neighbors in signing onto a comprehensive plan amendment asking the board of supervisors to replan their land for data centers. The residents involved in the deal are under contract to sell their land to data center developers at a rate of $900,000 to $1 million an acre if the county board approves the plan.

The properties are currently zoned for agricultural use and are located in the county’s “rural crescent,” where development is limited to one home per 10 acres and connections to the public sewer lines are largely prohibited. The rural crescent was the result of a 1998 policy to limit development in the county's rural area to put the breaks on suburban sprawl.

The group’s recall petition lists several instances in which they allege Candland has voted or taken action on matters related to data centers by way of tax rates, rezonings or planning issues or has participated in closed session meetings during which matters related to data centers were discussed.

The petition notes that Candland received a written opinion from Prince William Commonwealth’s Attorney Amy Ashworth on May 20, advising him of what he can and cannot do under Virginia’s State and Local Government Conflict of Interests Act as a result of his decision to offer his personal property as part of the comprehensive plan amendment. Ashworth’s opinion says Candland cannot participate in the discussion, consideration or vote on any rezoning application that involves the Prince William Digital Gateway or is located in its vicinity. 

Ashworth also said Candland cannot participate in any discussion, consideration or vote involving a proposed expansion of the county’s data center opportunity zone overlay district. The district is an area where data centers are allowed by right. The Prince William County Planning Department is in the process of considering an expansion of the zone for the supervisors’ consideration in the coming months.

Ashworth’s opinion, however, said Candland is free to participate in any discussion, vote or consideration of data centers proposed for the rural area, so long as they are not in the vicinity of the Prince William Digital Gateway.

Candland says he won’t resign

Shortly after signing onto the Prince William Digital Gateway proposal last fall, which Candland said he did reluctantly because he didn’t want his family “surrounded by a sea of data centers,” he announced he would recuse himself from any votes on the proposal and associated rezoning applications.

In response to the recall, Candland said Tuesday afternoon that he tried his best to navigate what he called an “unprecedented” situation – finding himself personally involved in one of the county’s largest land-use decisions in recent memory.

“All of those instances [listed in the petition] came up before there was an opinion from the commonwealth’s attorney on what I can or can’t do,” Candland said of the group’s allegations. “Before I got that opinion, I was acting within the best of my knowledge. … Since I got that that direction, I have fulfilled to the letter of what’s in the commonwealth attorney’s opinion.”

When asked why he didn’t resign after joining the Prince William Digital Gateway comprehensive plan amendment, Candland said he “still feels very passionate” about “hundreds of issues” he deals with as a member of the county board, a position he has held since 2012.

“There’s not a conflict of interest statute so people resign, there’s a conflict of interest act so the board of supervisors can make sure their votes have integrity,” he said.

Recall effort will likely take months

The group’s effort will now face the considerable hurdles in Virginia law for recalling local elected officials, a process that can take months and is rarely successful in the commonwealth. In Virginia, elected officials can only face a recall election if a circuit court judge finds sufficient evidence that they have neglected their duty, misused the office, acted incompetently, or were convicted of a misdemeanor relating to drugs, a sex crime or a hate crime.

The group seeking to recall Candland must collect at least 1,796 signatures on its petition, a number equal to 10% of the 17,952 people who voted in the 2019 election for Gainesville supervisor, when Candland won his third term.

The effort to collect the needed signatures began Tuesday, but Schlossberg and members of the group say they believe it will not take long. They said they are increasingly hearing complaints from Gainesville residents about ongoing data center construction and the constant reports of more on the way. People are worried about an excess of data centers, and “everybody is hearing about this fight,” Schlossberg said.

“We will be at grocery stores, we will be at picnics, we will be at events open to the public. … We expect to collect double [the required signatures] in no time at all,” she said. “This petition is legally sound, and we believe it will be successful.”

Once the signatures are collected, the petition must set out the grounds for removing Candland with “reasonable accuracy and detail” and be filed in Prince William County Circuit Court, according to state code. 

While pending in court, the case must be heard immediately and will “take precedence over all other cases on the docket,” the statute says. 

State law mandates that the elected official being recalled may demand a trial by jury on the charges set out in the recall petition. The commonwealth’s attorney is required to represent the commonwealth in the trial. The elected official has the right to appeal his recall to the Virginia Court of Appeals. 

If an elected official is removed from office, a new election for the position is triggered in which the elected official may run for the office again, unless he or she has already resigned. There is no state law disallowing the elected official from once again seeking the office from which he or she has been removed as a result of the recall process.

Even if the recall is successful, whether a new supervisor could be elected before the board of supervisors votes on the Prince William Digital Gateway proposal is another question. No dates for public hearings before the planning commission or board of supervisors have yet been scheduled for the Prince William Digital Gateway comprehensive plan amendment, but they will likely occur sometime this fall, according to Rebecca Horner, the county’s acting planning director and deputy county executive overseeing community development.

“It’s all kind of speculative, but I feel like it will happen this fall,” Horner said Tuesday. “Fall will be a busy time.”

Reporter Cher Muzyk contributed to this report. Reach Jill Palermo at jpalermo@fauquier.com