Gerry Connolly was re-elected to his second term as Chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Nov. 6, 2007, with nearly 60 percent of the countywide vote. Gerry was first elected Chairman in November 2003 after serving nine years as the Providence District Supervisor.
Gerry and his wife, Cathy, live in Mantua and have been residents of Fairfax County since 1979. They have a teenage daughter, Caitlin Rose.
As Chairman of the ten-member Board of Supervisors, Gerry oversees a budget of $5.8 billion and a county that, based on size, would make be the nation's 13th largest city. Fairfax is home to the nation’s 12th largest school district and 6th largest office market. He serves as the Chairman of the County’s Legislative Committee, and is Vice-Chair of the Economic Advisory Committee.
Gerry represents Fairfax County on the Boards of the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority (NVTA); the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission (NVTC); the Northern Virginia Regional Commission (NVRC), which he currently chairs; and the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG), where he is a past Chairman and currently serves as a member of its Climate Change Steering Committee and as chairman of the National Capital Region Emergency Preparedness Council. Gerry also represents Fairfax County on the Board of the Virginia Association of Counties (VaCo) where he is a past President.
He also is on the Board of Directors for the Executive Committee of the Foundation for Virginia, an entity that seeks to educate the public and policy makers about unmet funding needs in core government services. Gerry also serves on the Boards of Directors for the following groups: Fairfax Partnership for Youth, the American Red Cross of the National Capital Area, the Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce, the Greater Washington Initiative Board of Trustees, the Medical Care for Children Partnership, the Institute for Regional Excellence, and the University of Virginia - Virginia Institute of Government.
The National Association of Regional Councils recently recognized Gerry with its 2007 Tom Bradley Leadership Award, citing his advocacy for regional priorities and willingness to reach across jurisdictional lines to address shared concerns. The American Public Transportation Association recognized Gerry in 2006 with its Local Distinguished Service Award for his efforts to expand public transit options within Fairfax County and across the region, particularly his efforts to build local, state and federal support for dedicated funding for the national capital area Metro system. Also in 2006, Gerry was recognized for his leadership on gang prevention and was named Boys’ and Girls’ Clubs 2006 Man of the Year. In 2005, he received the Virginia Transit Association’s Outstanding Contribution by a Public Official award for his support of mass transit. Also that year, Gerry received an award from Catholics for Housing for outstanding political leadership on the issue of affordable housing. In 2002, he received an environmental achievement award from the Hunter Mill Defense League and an award from Fairfax Trails and Streams for his role as "father" of the 38-mile-long Cross-County Trail. In 2000, Gerry received COG's Scull Award, the region's highest award for leadership, for his work on promoting telework throughout the metropolitan Washington region. He also has been recognized by the Fairfax Federation of Citizens Associations for his authorship of the County’s Value Engineering program that has saved taxpayers millions of dollars, and by the Fairfax Firefighters for his role in improving public safety.
Gerry's career as a public official began on March 28, 1995 when he was overwhelmingly elected Providence District Supervisor to the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors in a special election, and was re-elected to a four-year term in November that same year. Gerry was unopposed for re-election in November 1999.
He is a dedicated community leader, and his leadership and common-sense approach to community issues marked his term as Mantua Citizens Association (MCA) president and his two terms as president of the Fairfax County Federation of Citizens Associations, the premier nonpartisan citizen organization in Fairfax County. He was the first president to be re-elected to a second term in the Federation's 54-year history.
The Star-Texaco oil spill at the Pickett Road tank farm was discovered during Gerry's tenure as MCA president. Under his leadership, the community and officials from Fairfax County, Fairfax City, the state, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency worked together to resolve the devastating problem. Gerry’s cool leadership under great stress allowed the Mantua community to come together and heal.
In 1992-93, Gerry served on the Fairfax Government Reorganization Commission, chaired by former Virginia Governor Linwood Holton. In addition, he was the Providence District representative to the Fairfax County Airports Advisory Committee.
Gerry received a B.A. in Literature from Maryknoll College in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, and an M.A. in Public Administration from Harvard University in 1979.
After graduating from Harvard, he began a ten-year career with the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee. His ability to grasp and manage a wide range of complex issues led to his managing committee oversight of international economic issues, international narcotics control, and United Nations and Middle East policies. He wrote numerous published reports, notably on U.S. policy in El Salvador, Central America, Israel, and the Persian Gulf region. During his tenure with the U.S. Senate, Gerry developed a reputation for pragmatism and the ability to reach out to Democrats and Republicans alike to get things done.
In 1989, Gerry joined SRI International (formerly Stanford Research Institute) where he served as the vice president of the Washington Office. He managed a 100-member staff and was responsible for an annual multi-million dollar budget and for guiding SRI relations with senior federal government officials. Gerry's ability to tackle a broad range of issues led to his responsibility for research projects on economic policy, trade, investment, and general oversight of Washington legislative and regulatory developments. During his eight years at SRI, Gerry worked closely with Fortune 500 and business leaders throughout the United States, Europe and Asia.
Gerry also helped found the Washington International Corporate Circle program, a specialized program that provided international corporate executives from major European, Asian and North American companies with strategic counsel and policy analysis on business issues. Gerry currently serves as Director of Community Relations for SAIC, a Fortune 500 company that specializes in scientific and technology solutions for government and commercial clients.
