Herndon Candidate Cuts 30-Year IT Career

Stevan Porter lost his 30-year career in information technology when Oracle laid off thousands of employees to fund artificial intelligence and data center projects. The tech giant has been borrowing heavily to build out these new facilities, a move that directly affected Porter's employment status over the past year.

Porter, a Herndon resident since 2008, is running for the fourth time for the town council. In the 2024 election, he missed winning a seat by 34 votes. He is now competing in the Nov. 3 election against 11 other candidates for one of six open seats. Five of his opponents are current incumbents.

He describes himself as a mediator who works to build consensus rather than stake out partisan positions. "I’m not a Republican, I’m not a Democrat, I’m not even really a Libertarian at this point," Porter said. "I care about what’s the right thing for Herndon."

Porter has served on the town’s Board of Zoning Appeals since 2023. Before that, he ran for Virginia’s 11th Congressional seat in 2018 as a Libertarian candidate against Rep. Gerry Connolly. He has also been a volunteer paramedic in Loudoun County since 2002 and a member of the Herndon-Reston Rotary Club since 2017.

The candidate argues that data centers require significant water and energy resources. He noted that his electric bill has increased, a cost he believes is shared by many residents. While the town has limited land for such facilities, Porter says these projects do not create many permanent jobs. "Most of these huge data centers have staffs that are probably under a dozen people," he said.

On development, Porter supports mixed-use projects near the Herndon Metro station. He wants to reduce bureaucratic hurdles for businesses and developers to help fill empty storefronts in downtown. He warns against overly strict requirements that could discourage investment, a problem he saw in Reston with the Comstock redevelopment project. He advocates for affordable housing policies that align with neighboring jurisdictions to ensure developers stay in the market.