The two candidates for the Gainesville District supervisor seat on the Prince William Board of County Supervisors – left vacant by the July 20 passing of Supervisor Bob Weir – faced off Oct. 10 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 data 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

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