In Episode 5, we welcome our first guest, Elena Schlossberg of the Coalition to Protect Prince William County, for an in-depth conversation about the future of PWC.

We discuss the issues shaping our community right now, including data centers, the Digital Gateway proposal, rural land protection, water resources, and what responsible growth should really look like. This episode explores what is at stake, who is making decisions, and how residents can stay informed and involved.

We also talk about our upcoming March 16 event and why it matters.

If you care about the future of Prince William County, its land, its water, and its identity, this is a conversation you do not want to miss.

🎙️ Prince William County Will Never Disappoint – The Most Eventful Two Weeks Yet

If you thought Prince William County politics couldn’t get any more dramatic… think again.

The past two weeks have been nothing short of historic.

We saw surprising results in a special election that caught many insiders off guard and reshaped the political conversation overnight. What happened? Who turned out? And what does it mean moving forward?

Then — as if that wasn’t enough — Politico dropped an in-depth exposé digging into allegations of corruption and insider influence here in Prince William County. The article raised serious questions about transparency, decision-making, and who is really steering policy behind closed doors.

Not to be outdone, the Wall Street Journal followed up with its own detailed piece, putting national attention squarely on our local leadership and the controversy surrounding data center expansion and governance.

And of course, we had a Board of County Supervisors meeting that delivered its own share of tension. Despite growing public pressure, the Board was not able to bring a vote to the floor to end funding for the Digital Gateway lawsuit. For many residents, that procedural reality spoke just as loudly as a vote itself — raising questions about priorities, transparency, and accountability.

In the middle of all of this, Yesli Vega stepped forward with a forward-looking vision, outlining what it could mean for Prince William County to move beyond an overreliance on data centers and toward a more diversified economic future. Whether you agree or disagree, it’s clear the conversation about the county’s direction is shifting.

One thing is certain:

Prince William County will never disappoint.

In this episode, we break it all down:

What really happened in the special election

What the national media is saying about our county

Why the Digital Gateway funding vote never made it to the floor

And whether there is a realistic path forward beyond data centers

If you care about the future of Prince William County — this is a conversation you don’t want to miss.

👇 Drop your thoughts in the comments.

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🔔 Turn on notifications so you don’t miss what happens next… because in PWC, there’s always a next chapter.

https://www.politico.com/news/2026/02/13/virginia-prince-william-county-data-center-boom-00779219?nid=0000018f-3124-de07-a98f-3be4d1400000&nname=politico-toplines&nrid=f3730887-315c-4ccd-9d29-64d5894f2100

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/realestate/land-grab-for-data-centers-is-one-more-obstacle-to-much-needed-housing/ar-AA1Wy92p?ocid=BingNewsBrowse&fbclid=IwY2xjawQDZVNleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEevQVa__zMrMMfwTHa5y4kJVMgJbHU0A0rVZDA-jr_Rm_sD3lAkZjjYf943Jw_aem_yUGUN7gm7Qw4I4sO0Q2d0A

The election of Margaret Franklin to Virginia’s House District 23 has created a rare and fleeting opportunity in Prince William County. For the first time in a long time, the Board of County Supervisors now holds a majority that ran on stopping sprawl, including data centers, endless housing creep, and the quiet erosion of open space.
That window will not stay open long.
With an unexpected vacancy on the Board and roughly two months to act, this is the moment for bold, unapologetic governance. In this episode, I lay out what smashmouth politics actually looks like, real policy options the Board could pass right now to halt data center sprawl, slow reckless growth, protect open space, and shift investment back into existing communities instead of sacrificing them to short term speculation.
No hedging. No half measures. Just the hard decisions required to change the trajectory of Prince William County before the opportunity disappears.

Prince William County, you are a special place.
Western Prince William is a historically significant area with strong, connected communities.
In this episode, we remind everyone why this place matters. We cannot accept any development simply because it is proposed. We must be selective and decisive about what our community becomes.
Now is the moment to decide. Are we willing to bulldoze homes and history to build data centers and dense housing, or will we choose thoughtful, responsible development over sprawl?
We will discuss the history of our area, what makes it special, and why caring for our own backyard still matters.
(Small corrections, industrial school was on Pageland lane, not Featherbed, and Judith Carter Henry not mill was civilian in Manassas Battle.)

Thank you for joining the Audacious Nimby cause. My name is Patrick Harders.  Our mission is to protect our area from reckless data center sprawl and housing sprawl. We want to see smart growth and preservation.  The Digital Gateway and "Cosmos, the first and second largest data centers, threaten to destroy our community. Join me and our community as we continue to fight back!