Protect Fauquier Endorses Eric Gagnon for Warrenton Town Council

Protect Fauquier is proud to announce that we endorse Eric Gagnon for Warrenton Town Council, Ward 5, in the upcoming special election on November 7th.

Eric has been in the trenches with us, fighting the Amazon data center and Dominion's proposed overhead power lines, almost from the very beginning. He also led the efforts of the Ward 5 residents who requested that Jay Heroux, the current Ward 5 Council Member, recuse himself from the Amazon data center vote due to a perceived conflict of interest (Jay Heroux is the vice president of a company that identifies AWS as a partner).

The Ward 5 election is crucial. If Eric is elected, Protect Fauquier believes there will be a 4-3 majority on the Town Council that is transparent, respects citizens, is fiscally prudent and will not allow Amazon and other data centers to overwhelm our quaint, historic Town.

Having lived in the Town of Warrenton for twenty-three years, Eric knows Warrenton well and has seen firsthand how it has transformed over the past two decades. He has spoken with many Ward 5 residents and shares a lot of their concerns including:

Proliferation of data centers. Eric will work to keep data centers out of Warrenton. If the litigation against the Amazon SUP is successful and the Town Council is asked to re-vote on the proposal, Eric will vote against the SUP. He will also vote to re-establish a zoning ban on data center development to keep additional data centers away from the other potential data center sites. Eric understands that Warrenton is no place for data centers!

Increasing Town budget and attempts for large population growth. The Town budget and number of Town employees has increased over the last 10 years despite the Warrenton population remaining relatively constant. Eric is suggesting a hiring freeze on new Town jobs, will work to cut Town spending and will vote against hyper growth policies which would turn Warrenton into current day Manassas/ Gainesville. Eric will work hard to maintain Warrenton's small-town character!

Ailing water and sewer infrastructure. The Warrenton water and sewer system is in need of repair. Eric will not overbuild the system. Instead, he will vote to restore a well working system taking into account sensible future Town growth.

Transportation and development. There are many decisions that will need to be made by the Town Council over the next four years regarding issues within the Ward 5 boundary. These include the future use of Warrenton Middle School, the building of a new Oak View Bank building near Waterloo Station Shopping Center, a proposed veteran's tiny home village at the Warrenton United Methodist Church and a proposed cut through to Broadview Avenue utilizing Roebling Street. Eric will seek feedback from Ward 5 residents and will take their views into account while considering solutions and next steps.

Eric has two opponents, Jay Heroux and Karen Lavarnway.

Jay Heroux voted in favor of the Amazon SUP in defiance of overwhelming public opposition and he did not recuse himself despite being asked to do so by 30+ residents in Ward 5. Jay Heroux did not respond to our request for a data center statement.

Karen Lavarnway moved to Warrenton from Loudoun County just three years ago. When asked by Protect Fauquier to comment about her thoughts on data centers, Karen Lavarnway discounted the Town residents that spoke in opposition to the Amazon SUP, said she "followed alongside as best I could but in the absence of knowing all the facts, I feel like it’s impossible to make a decision" and "people ask me, well, what if the court kicks it back and the Council gets to vote again: How will you decide? Well, I don’t know. It depends. I don’t know why it would get kicked back, but again without knowing all the facts, promising a vote one way or the other is shockingly undemocratic and is not how a representative

government is supposed to work..." Protect Fauquier believes there was enough information presented and enough of a public outcry that the current Town Council should have voted unanimously against the SUP, and that any future Council representatives should do the same. We urge you to read her full statement on data centers which was posted on this Facebook page and on the Protect Fauquier webpage. With regards to the $80M proposed water and sewer renovations, Karen Lavarnway states "I have no intentions of deviating from their recommendations or the proposed Capital Improvement Plan." (Protect Fauquier notes that the yearly Town of Warrenton budget is about $40M).

Protect Fauquier applauds Eric for his focus on the issues, and especially his recent 8-page newsletter to Ward 5, providing information and thoughtful observations about key issues facing the Town of Warrenton and Ward 5. While data centers are a significant part of his campaign, he is also focusing on the Town budget and growth policies, restoring trust in Town government, and addressing transportation and development issues in the Town of Warrenton.

Eric is running for all of us and will be the voice of Ward 5. Please give him your support and share his message with family and friends in Ward 5. Eric’s website can be found here.