When Kevin Marshall was first elected to the Spotsylvania County Board of Supervisors in 2017, he was employed by the county’s fire and rescue department.
A year later, Marshall transitioned to become the county’s business development manager in the Economic Development office.
Marshall, who represents the Berkeley District, is now seeking his third term on the board as an Independent. He’s being challenged by Republican David Goosman, the vice chair of the county’s Economic Development Authority and Nilofer Garza, a native of Malaysia who’s been endorsed by the Spotsylvania Democratic Committee.
David Goosman, a member of the Spotsylvania Economic Development Authority, waged a battle for the Berkeley District seat on the county’s board of supervisors.
Goosman said he entered the race because he believes Marshall is too friendly to businesses and developers and his position in the county is a conflict of interest. Garza, meanwhile, said she’s concerned about “working to benefit the most people” and doesn’t “have a bone to pick” about Marshall’s day job if it benefits the county as a whole.
“Mr. Marshall has been on the board for eight years,” Goosman said. “His primary job is working for the county to bring business in, and then he sits on the board to vote for things. And he approves everything because that’s his job. I understand that, but it’s a conflict of interest. He ran unopposed four years ago, so I decided I could either complain about it or jump in the race. With a lot of prayer and encouragement, I decided to do that.”
Marshall noted that he reads a disclosure statement about his position in the county before any votes involving the budget or any issues that could be perceived as a conflict. He said his position does not impact his decisions on the board.
“I’m one vote,” Marshall said. “[In the economic development office], I try to help the businesses in the county, and bring new businesses to the county, and I’ve been very successful with that.”
Marshall touted his involvement with three major projects — the recruitment of the Kalahari Resorts & Conventions waterpark slated to open in Thornburg in November 2026, the Veteran Affairs outpatient clinic that opened in March and the county’s rapidly-growing data center industry. Marshall said those projects are expected to bring in more than $8 billion to Spotsylvania.
“I don’t think anybody has a conflict of interest when you can provide that,” Marshall said. “That money that’s coming in and creating the tax revenue that’s keeping the tax rate down and helping the citizens keep money in their pocket. I’m not a developer. I own land, but I’m not developing anything I own. We grow pine trees on my land.”
The influx of the data center industry in the county, school funding and residential growth are three other topics that the Berkeley District candidates have on their minds this election cycle.
The county’s current board of supervisors voted twice against the requirement of a Special Use Permit (SUP) to construct data centers on land zoned Industrial-1 or Industrial-2.
Marshall voted against the SUP on both occasions. Garza said that on the surface, an SUP sounds like a good idea to evaluate projects on a case-by-case basis, but they could also be used to curb commercial, residential and industrial development.
Goosman said he would’ve voted in favor of an SUP.
“My position on it has kind of evolved a little bit,” Garza said. “I don’t hate SUPs. I was once 100% for SUPs, but I also don’t want what’s happening in some of the coastal cities on the West Coast, especially where they use regulations to stop development that could benefit most people … I know how people use that to say, ‘We don’t want multi-family homes; we don’t want townhomes; or whatever because it’s going to drive our property values down. It can be very exclusionary.”
Nilofer Garza, who manages a team of claims adjusters at GEICO, is making a run to represent the Berkeley District on the Spotsylvania Board of Supervisors.
Garza said she’s not strongly in favor of by-right development, either but was heartened by the conversation that took place during the last board meeting. The supervisors suggested stringent development standards, including 1,000-foot setbacks from any residential property lines as well as schools, churches, hospitals, daycares and parks.
Marshall said he supports by-right data centers in Industrial zones because they are less intrusive than other potential by-right uses.
“Industrial-1 alone has 40 uses that are by-right,” Marshall said. “Data centers are one of the less intrusive uses within those 40. So, we’re putting an SUP on that industry because they’re the ones that want to come here, and other more intrusive uses didn’t have to go for an SUP.”
Marshall cited as an example an Amazon warehouse. While considered by right in Industrial areas, such a warehouse could have 300 trucks in and out of the facility throughout the day, as well as up to 1,200 vans.
“You talk about a transportation nightmare,” he said.
Goosman said that when it comes to data centers, he wants to be a voice for his neighbors, many of whom would prefer the SUP.
“I think the SUP would allow citizens to get involved for public hearings,” Goosman said. “It would be more transparent and getting input from citizens in the community whether they want one in their backyard or not.”
Goosman said he’s not only concerned about data centers; he’s also leery of the uptick in residential growth without the infrastructure to support it. He said he would vote to limit the amount of housing in the county until schools and other resources can support the boost in population.
“Our schools are overcrowded. Our rural roads, especially, are in bad shape,” Goosman said. “So, I’d like to see us slow down the growth. The current board has a couple of members that would like to, but they keep getting outvoted.”
Garza, who manages a team of claims adjusters at GEICO in Stafford County, said she’s a product of well-funded public schools and would aim to see that same level of commitment for the students and staff in Spotsylvania.
“I want to make sure we’re taking care of our teachers,” Garza said. “Ninety-five percent of our kids go to public schools, and we are not up to par where we need to be with funding.”
Goosman said that although his grandchildren are either homeschooled or too young to attend school, he still wants to see more funding for the division. He said that new businesses such as Kalahari and the data centers should generate enough revenue where the county can maintain a low real estate tax rate and still support its schools.
Marshall said he does not want to see schools underfunded and that he greatly appreciated the incremental approach to attacking the budget gap that was initiated by Superintendent Clint Mitchell and his staff last budget cycle. It led to the school division receiving more local funding than any time in recent memory.
“Last budget cycle was the easiest and most well done we’ve had in a long time,” Marshall said. “Nobody wants to underfund the schools — at least I hope they don’t. I want to give the kids what they need, but you can’t give out more than you take in. That’s the key to it.”
All three candidates are slated to participate in the Free Press candidates forum Sept. 3 at 5:30 p.m. at Germanna Community College.
