Remarks to the Warrenton Town Council: January 10, 2023

My name is Bill Wright and I live in Gainesville in Prince William County.  I’m here tonight to offer you sympathy, support and a warning: Be careful which camel’s nose you allow under your tent. 

I see a lot of similarities in what you are considering tonight and what has been riding roughshod over Prince William for more than a year.  I even see some of the same players now plying their trade here in Warrenton.

Due to the gothic horror story imposed upon the citizens of Prince William, I’ve watched your plight with interest and a sense of foreboding.  Are we all doomed to the same fate of being sacrificed on the altar of big tech’s insatiable appetite for land, power and water?  Are we all to be sold down the river by public servants who courted our trust on election day only to betray it afterward?  Is trust and transparency in government an antiquated concept that has fallen victim to greed and expedience.

The American Economic Liberties Project sponsored a report entitled: “Ban Secret Deals: How Secret Corporate Subsidy Deals Harm Communities, and What to Do About It”.  It should be required reading for public officials. 

The report focuses on non-disclosure agreements, which are a common tool of large corporations to co-opt government officials to assist in their quest to expedite contentious proposals, free from public scrutiny.  Although purportedly intended to protect trade secrets or other proprietary information, non-disclosure agreements often flout that narrow definition in order to inhibit meddlesome public inquiries.

These non-disclosure agreements violate a fundamental principle of local democracy: that a community should be able to provide input into the use of public resources and receive information that allow it to evaluate the work of elected officials and government employees.

The term “civic planning” has been rendered an oxymoron in Prince William County.  Do you want the same fate for Warrenton?  Before you sign on, let me take you on a tour of the lunar landscape western Prince William County is becoming as a result of indifferent public officials.  Your town is a place to live, enjoy and raise your families.  It is not just a ripe opportunity to be plundered. 

Ask two simple questions of anyone advocating a contentious development proposal:

·         * What’s in it for you?

·         *Would you have your own family live next to it?

You would save yourself a lot of time and unsavory acquaintances.

 Thank you.