Supervisor James R. Walkinshaw is a lifelong resident of Northern Virginia, with more than 15 years of experience working to make Fairfax County an even better place to live, work, learn, and play. He is currently serving his second term as the Braddock District Supervisor, a role he has held since January 2020. Prior to his election to the Board of Supervisors, Walkinshaw served for more than a decade as the Chief of Staff to Congressman Gerald E. Connolly, where he oversaw all aspects of the Congressman’s office and served as the Congressman’s chief adviser on a host of issues, working closely with state and local officials.
Since 2020, he has served as Chairman of the Board’s Legislative Committee where he has led the County's efforts in Richmond to advocate for County priorities, successfully securing additional funding for education and gaining new local authorities to protect our environment and implement common-sense gun safety measures. He also serves as Chair of the Board’s Environmental Committee, Vice-Chair of the Safety & Security Committee, and as Chair of the Fairfax City Interjurisdictional Committee.
At the regional level, he serves on the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments’ (COG) Board of Directors where he is Vice Chair of COG’s Transportation Planning Board (TPB) and Chair of TPB’s Access for All Advisory Committee, working to align our region's transportation plans with efforts to address climate change and to improve transit access to underserved communities. He also represents Fairfax County on the Virginia Association of Counties Board of Directors, the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission, and the Northern Virginia Regional Commission.
In 2023, he served as Chair of the Virginia Railway Express (VRE) Operations Board, where he spearheaded the implementation of the system's first-ever Saturday service. Previously, the Supervisor served as Vice-Chair of the Board of Supervisors’ Older Adults and Public Safety Committees, and as Chair of the Council to End Domestic Violence, where he worked to expand the County's life-saving Lethality Assessment Program.
Supervisor Walkinshaw helped lead the Board’s efforts to implement collective bargaining for County employees, reduce the proliferation of plastic bags in our streams and natural areas, increase the construction of new affordable housing units, raise awareness of the “Red Flag” law to keep firearms out of the hands of those who would harm themselves or others, ban guns from our community centers, recreation centers, and libraries, and provide tax relief for the spouses of service members who died in the line of duty. But his first priority is working with constituents and neighborhoods in the Braddock District to solve everyday problems and support efforts to build community.
Supervisor Walkinshaw graduated from New York University in 2005 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Politics. Before his election, he volunteered as a mentor to at-risk youth through Fairfax County’s Befriend-A-Child program, served as 2nd vice president of the Ravensworth Farm Civic Association, and volunteered with the Friends of Lake Accotink Park.
Supervisor Walkinshaw represents Fairfax County on a number of local and regional boards, commissions, and committees:
Listings without a title indicate the role of Member.
Board Committees
• Legislative, Chair
• Environmental, Chair
• Safety and Security, Vice Chair
Intergovernmental Boards and Committees
• Northern Virginia Regional Commission
• COG Board of Directors, Principal
• COG Metropolitan Washington Air Quality Committee, Principal
• COG Chesapeake Bay and Water Resources Policy Committee, Principal
• COG Region Forward Committee, Principal
• COG Transportation Planning Board, Principal
• George Mason University Fairfax Campus Advisory Board
• Northern Virginia Regional Commission (NVRC)
• Northern Virginia Transportation Commission, Principal, VRE Operation
• Virginia Association of Counties (VACo) Board of Directors
Interjurisdictional Committees
• Fairfax City, Chair
• District of Columbia