The votes are starting to trickle in, and so is the money.
The latest campaign finance reports have been released for the local city council campaigns, which includes political donations received by candidates from July 1 – August 31, 2025.
According to data from the nonpartisan Virginia Public Access Project, campaigns provided the following figures to the State Board of Elections:
📌 Ward 1:
Matt Rowe ($7,125)
David Cropper: ($4,447)
Ken Gantt ($2,000)
📌 Ward 2:
Joy Crump ($13,343)
Anne Little ($10,478)
📌 Ward 3:
Susanna Finn* ($5,403)
Matt Kelly ($7,617)
📌 Ward 4:
Charlie Frye* ($27,646)
Jesse Dominguez ($1200)
*Denotes an Incumbent
The report states that the largest campaign cash infusions came from donations by Green Chip Inc., Chaney Enterprises and Silver Companies’ CVA Expo Center LLC and CVAS Grocery LLC, each of whom donated $5,000 to sitting Ward 4 Councilman Charlie Frye.
Silver Companies’ Jubilation at Celebrate Virginia South LLC and SCH at Celebrate Virginia South LLC also each gave Frye $2,500 each, according to the report.
The Fredericksburg Area Association of Realtors also provided campaign contributions through their statewide PAC, Realtor’s Political Action Committee of Virginia. That entity donated $1,500 to the Cropper, Crump, Finn and Frye campaigns.
But it was a smaller contribution that drew a response from one candidate at last Thursday’s League of Women Voters / Fredericksburg NAACP candidate debate, before the latest finance report became public.
“I recently had somebody question the fact that I got a campaign contribution from someone who works for a law firm that supports data centers,” Ward 2 candidate Crump replied to a debate question related to ethics and transparency.
Crump was referring to a $515 donation from local attorney Charles Payne, managing partner at the Hirschler law practice. On its website, the firm credits Payne with securing rezoning for a number of prominent local projects by STACK Infrastructure, Kalahari Resorts and Amazon Data Centers Services.
Earlier this year, the City of Fredericksburg itself posted a “Newsflash” announcing a deal between Silver Companies and STACK Infrastructure “to build as many as 8-12 data centers.” That press release came the morning after a nearly six hour meeting and late-night unanimous vote by council approving a 250-acre Technology Overlay District in Ward 4.
Crump said that it’s Payne’s involvement in the community, specifically his work as a champion on behalf of small businesses, that “intersects” with her beliefs.
“I think why somebody supports me with their dollars, as you said, we need them to run a successful campaign, is their personal business,” Crump asserted.
“It doesn’t make me beholden to them, and I’ll continue to serve honestly.”
