Fewer than 150 votes.
That was the margin of victory — 133, to be exact — the last time Stafford held an election for the Garrisonville District seat on the county Board of Supervisors.
That was 2021, and the winner, now-Supervisor Pamela Yeung, is being challenged again this year by Bart Randall.
As in the most recent election, Randall is running as an independent due to his status as a federal employee but has been endorsed by the Stafford County Republican Committee.
A 19-year resident of Garrisonville and a Navy veteran, he is a board member with Stafford Emergency Relief through Volunteer Efforts and former vice chairman of the Stafford County Planning Commission.
Randall, who frequently attends supervisors and School Board meetings, said he decided to make another run because he wanted to take action.
“Stafford has a continual problem with vision, lack of focus, lack of direction and I very much debated whether or not I wanted to sit on the sidelines, be like everybody else and say, ‘Well, as soon as I’m able to, I’m leaving here,’ or, to take a stand and to try to be part of the solution and not sit back and let somebody else do it or sit back and not care about it,” he said Monday.
Randall said Garrisonville residents should vote for him because he’ll bring a “whole new level” of leadership, independent thinking and outside-the-box processing that Stafford needs.
He said he wants to change the dynamic of a supervisor from politics to public service and to be transparent and accountable to constituents.
“There won’t be any secrecy here,” he said.
Bart Randall (Photo courtesy of Bart Randall)
Randall, who serves on the school board’s Capital Improvement Plan Advisory Committee, said he wants to find a way to better fund education in Stafford.
He said he would be open to instituting a revenue-sharing agreement between the Board of Supervisors and School Board that would guarantee the schools a certain percentage of funding every year. Neighboring Prince William County is the only locality in Virginia that has such a plan, which aims to remove uncertainty and politics from the equation.
“I don’t know the whole process,” said Randall, “but what I will tell you is this: Without something defined on paper, we are at the whim of whoever is sitting in the seat.”
He also said he wants to make sure the county is better for businesses and removes roadblocks to success. That could include altering permitting processes, he said.
Too often, Stafford residents have to travel north or south of the county for recreational opportunities or shopping, Randall said.
“Those things have got to change,” he said.
In addition, Randall said a firehouse needs to be built in the Embrey Mill area.
The popular convenience-store chain Buc-ee’s also wants to build in that area, which has angered many residents who would be its neighbors.
Randall, however, said he won’t take a public stance on the business yet because he doesn’t want to prejudge a project that hasn’t fully been presented to the county. That step might not come until next year.
On another hot issue, he said he is “very tentative” on data centers, facilities that house computer systems used for data storage and processing. The county really needs to have a plan for where these businesses would go and how their potential negatives could be mitigated, Randall said.
“So am I in favor?” he said. “I am — but only with the right controls.”
Press the Issue
For more information on the Garrisonville District candidates, visit their websites: Pamela Yeung; Bart Randall.
Yeung, a Democrat, has served as vice chairwoman of the supervisors in 2022 and chairwoman in 2023. She was elected to the school board in 2017, also defeating Randall then.
She has lived in Stafford for more than three decades and holds a doctorate in leadership and organizational change from Baylor University.
Yeung, who teaches cybersecurity and information technology, said Monday that she aims to always put Stafford families first and that she brought the issue of workforce housing to the supervisors.
She said that among her biggest accomplishments are working to secure pay raises for teachers, bus drivers and first responders. She also was behind the “Reflect Stafford” program, which aims to recruit and retain teachers of diverse backgrounds to better reflect student body demographics. Yeung also noted that she secured help for residents who faced flooding as a result of stormwater issues.
“My joy is rooted in solving problems that directly impact people’s lives,” Yeung said.
With heavily-traveled State Route 610 in the Garrisonville District, the supervisor said traffic is another concern.
“I live in Hampton Oaks,” Yeung said. “So you’re right off of Mine Road, and sometimes we can’t come out because it’s just, you know, everybody coming off of [Interstate] 95.”
On data centers and other large-scale economic development projects, she said supervisors must “carefully consider the location, the infrastructure capacity, the environmental impact and what the return on investment is.”
That means the board has to do its homework.
“And so this is where we get the revenue commissioner involved, and to make sure that those numbers that are being provided to us are actually the numbers that we will see,” Yeung said.
On Buc-ee’s, Randall maintains that his opponent is against the project. But Yeung said that, while many of her constituents dislike the proposal, she would have to make a decision on it when it comes before the supervisors.
“So I will continue to advocate for projects that align with my community’s needs and the character [of the community],” she said. “And if a proposal does not meet those standards, or has significant community opposition, then I’ll have to make a decision when the time comes.”
On revenue-sharing with the schools, Yeung agreed that it is a good idea — one she brought up to her colleagues to no avail.
“Yeah, I believe that schools should have, you know, some stable, predictable funding,” she said. “That’s what I believe in, and I explored it, and I don’t mind bringing it up again.”
And her idea for the future of Garrisonville?
“So my goal will be to create a district, for example, that honors its roots, you know, while embracing a vibrant, a more sustainable, a more inclusive future, where everyone feels heard and supported,” Yeung said.
