Baron Braswell and Chris Yakabouski are competing for the opportunity to serve the Battlefield District on the Spotsylvania County Board of Supervisors.
But while they’re technically opponents for the second straight election cycle, they find themselves agreeing on many of the issues facing the county and its residents.
That was evident during the Free Press candidates’ forum that took place on Wednesday evening at Germanna Community College.
While some other school board and board of supervisors candidates throughout the night voiced varying opinions on selected topics, Braswell and Yakabouski both agreed that data center construction should require an SUP permit; the county should embrace, but properly manage growth; the county’s school division is underfunded; and Spotsylvania should cooperate more regionally on transportation issues.
The pair were part of a trio of candidates for the seat Yakabouski won in 2021 with 3,217 votes compared to Braswell’s 2,772; that time around, current school board candidate Nick Ignacio was on the ballot and picked up 1,801 votes.
“I’m running simply to bring a sense of leadership that’s pragmatic, that’s willing to be involved in solving the problems in our community,” said Braswell, who served two four-year terms on the school board and spent three years as its chair.
Baron Braswell
Yakabouski is seeking his third term on the board of supervisors. He’s currently the board chair, a distinction he’s earned three times in his tenure.
“I enjoy being your representative because I enjoy solving problems,” Yakabouski said. “I do think that it takes vision, and it takes collaboration, and it’s the relationships that you build that are able to get problems solved.”
The first issue Braswell and Yakabouski discussed is a pressing one for county citizens: data centers. Although none are currently in the works in the Battlefield District, Braswell noted that it’s a countywide concern.
Yakabouski voted twice recently to support a special-use permit for the construction of data centers in Industrial zones — eliminating any by-right construction — but was on the losing side both times. The first vote failed 3-3 with Supervisor Deborah Frazier absent. Frazier voted against the SUP on the second vote, and the motion failed 4-3.
Braswell stressed the importance of data centers to the future of economic development in the county but also said an SUP should be required to protect residents.
“At the same [time] saying all that in terms of supporting growth, we have to be cognizant and mindful of the needs of our citizens who, when they initially purchased a home in a certain area, and did not ever fathom that gigantic data center would be sitting right behind it,” Braswell said. “So, we have to be cognizant and careful with our citizens to make sure we respect their rights.”
In terms of managing growth in Spotsylvania, which now has more than 150,000 people, Braswell said the county needs to develop strategic plans perhaps 15 years longer than the current five-year plan. Yakabouski said growth is inevitable, and he’d rather live in a community that’s growing than one that’s declining.
“When your housing values are going down, crime is rising and the education that your kids are getting is slipping, that is a dying community and that is a place that no one wants to be,” Yakabouski said. “Once you get that reputation, it will be decades before you get it back, and I don’t want that to happen to where we live. Conversely, I don’t want to be Fairfax. I don’t want to pave over every single inch of land that we have … What we need to do, though, is have a very mindful way of approaching growth.”
Braswell noted that he’s been a staunch supporter of schools, raising more than $170,000 for the division through the race against teen violence, which he helped after his son was murdered in the county in 2006. He said he also raised $178,000 in scholarships through the event. Braswell decried the county’s chronic underfunding of schools, saying it shows a lack of trust in division officials.
Yakabouski lamented the decline in the percentage of funding that was once transferred from the county to the schools, noting that one year, the county only sent over $15,000. He said he was pleased with the $11.7 million transfer in operational funds this past budget cycle as well as $3.6 million in debt service.
Braswell and Yakabouski closed the forum discussing the board of supervisors’ 5-1 vote to adopt a resolution opting out of a Regional Transportation Authority with the other localities in Planning District 16.
Yakabouski was the lone vote supporting the RTA. He said that he’s pushed for collaboration with Fredericksburg and Stafford County officials on two potential road projects that would benefit Spotsylvania, including a connection to the city on Lansdowne Road.
“We, as a county, spend money to improve our county roads,” Yakabouski said. “But to do these regional projects, how do we do it?”
Braswell said the “essence” of an RTA boils down to regional cooperation, which, in his opinion, is a must for the county to thrive.
“We have to have a seat at the table,” he said.
