Prince William County Supervisors' unanimous vote early Wednesday presented a triumph for Chairman Corey Stewart and an opportunity for challenger Sharon Pandak.

The action gave Stewart, a Republican incumbent, his third board-supported vote in favor of his signature issue while simultaneously allowing Pandak to run as a healer.

“There’s no question this is a big accomplishment,” Stewart said Wednesday.

Instead of saying the job is finished, Stewart presents the crackdown as a pioneering effort he will need to oversee to ensure it is fully funded and implemented in a fair manner.

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“There’s definitely more debate ahead,” he said. “We passed the resolution, but the board has not done everything it needs to do to fully implement this.”

Meanwhile, Pandak can point to the 12 hours of fractured, passionate testimony at Tuesday’s meeting as evidence the issue has divided the community and presents the need for fresh new leadership.

“The whole process has created a great deal of turmoil,” Pandak said. “We have polarized people who are legitimately concerned about illegal immigration and people who are legitimately concerned about immigrants who are a part of this community.”

The plan has spawned similar debates across Northern Virginia and forced other politicians to weigh in on the issue.

“This is a tipping point and other localities where you’ve got similar difficulties in the community are going to say if they can do it, we can do it,” said Del. Bob Marshall, R-Prince William.

But Culpeper Town Mayor Pranas Rimeikis expressed frustrations with the new policies because he said they create an unrealistic expectation for what other governments can do.

Saying the town does not have a jail or deliver many social services, Rimeikis said he is astounded that residents ask for new tougher measures, because, “There is so little that we can affect anyway.”

dgenz@dcexaminer.com