Harders, Stewart face off in civil and amicable Gainesville supervisor debate

Democratic nominee George Stewart left and Republican nominee Patrick Harders faced off in a candidate forum for the vacant Gainesville District supervisor seat on the Prince William Board of County Supervisors on Oct at Gainesville High School S bastien Kraft InsideNoVa Democratic nominee George Stewart left and Republican nominee Patrick Harders faced off in a candidate forum for the vacant Gainesville District supervisor seat on the Prince William Board of County Supervisors on Oct at Gainesville High School S bastien Kraft InsideNoVa The two candidates for the Gainesville District supervisor seat on the Prince William Board of County Supervisors left vacant by the July passing of Supervisor Bob Weir faced off Oct in a candidate forum at Gainesville High School trading occasional barbs and frequent niceties in a generally courteous debate Democratic nominee George Stewart and Republican Patrick Harders articulated competing visions for the future of the Gainesville District that both revolved around the preservation of the former rural crescent in western Prince William and the mitigation of unchecked statistics center proliferation Stewart is a U S Navy veteran and financial consultant from Dominion Valley in Haymarket while Harders is a small business owner who has lived in the Gainesville District for over two decades With Bruce Potter the publisher of InsideNoVa serving as the evening s moderator the two candidates shared plans for future maturation in the district and how they plan to maintain the area s rural character Stewart emphasized his campaign is not about opposing development but rather managing it in a responsible and transparent manner Harders meanwhile referenced his purchase of an old dilapidated farmhouse for alongside his wife in evoking his small business background and local roots Trading barbs Throughout the forum both Stewart and Harders repeatedly acknowledged each other s credibility even going so far as to say they like each other as a person per Harders and would look forward to having a drink per Stewart once the vote is over Nonetheless the evening was not without its fair share of rivalry as Harders first pressed Stewart on his sponsorship of the now-defunct Bi-County Parkway project in a prior news interview Harders mentioned the parkway would quadruple traffic Mr Harders talked about me and the Bi-County Parkway Stewart responded and yeah I did make a announcement in an interview about that and talking to people and getting the feedback I got again this is what the job is about It s about listening to the constituents Stewart added Something really does need to be done in Gainesville we re growing We re growing slowly but where we are at now we re not in a place right now where we re free of congestion Stewart proposed an expansion of the Virginia Railway Express and OmniRide as achievable solutions to the issue Later on Stewart also replied in kind to Harders reaffirming his promotion for Prince William County s revenue-sharing agreement with the school system which Stewart announced he was the only one up here to favor Harders responded he would help the schools unequivocally but detected the agreement to be somewhat outdated since its inception in the s He emphasized its use as just a tool Tepid reactions One question on which both candidates were hesitant was the expected withdrawal of federal funding due to the county s bathroom agenda solely according to a attendee s gender identity Harders preached compassion and help for youth mental medical but revealed the county should keep bathrooms separate and not hazard losing federal funding Stewart took a different stance advocating for gender-neutral bathrooms and condemning the prior vilifying of the LGBTQ society Harders declined his opportunity for a rebuttal on the issue Diversifying revenue Where the diversification of county tax revenue is concerned Stewart and Harders were pressed on the future of evidence center taxation Stewart did not offer a concrete rate in response though he stated the revenue necessities to be divvied up among three primary destinations schools infrastructure and first responders Harders meanwhile reported the applicable computer and peripherals tax on material centers should at minimum equal that of Loudoun County which is per of assessed value He added his plan to fiscally responsible and mirror the late Weir Responsible progress Earlier on in Friday s forum Stewart likened future growth to the fat kid at the front of a bakery looking at cupcakes calling it inevitable Both Harders and Stewart voiced their opposition to the proposed expansion of the Orange Line metro to Washington D C into Gainesville saying that the county could not fiscally sustain such a project Harders frequently cited Montgomery County Va as an example of responsible evolution also mentioning the Moo-Thru ice cream shop in Fauquier County for its implementation of the county s Purchase of Enhancement Rights or PDR project to assist dairy farmers whose lands are in conservation easements At the conclusion of the event Stewart and Harders each graded the current Board of County Supervisors on an A-to-F scale Stewart went higher with a solid B or B-plus while Harders stated he was in the C-minus range Often speaking in the future tense during the debate as though he were already elected Harders who leaned on his Chicago heritage wrapped up by asking residents for their trust to earn him a mandate Stewart commented he was raised in a civically-involved household citing his past roots in the Bronx and that being involved is just in my blood once again stressing the need for responsible expansion Upcoming second debate InsideNoVa has learned that a second debate between Stewart and Harders will take place this Tuesday at p m at the Heritage Hunt -and-over population in Gainesville Source