Not that it's a big surprise, but Gerry Connolly -- just recently re-elected as chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors for another 4 years -- will announce for Congress later today. With Tom Davis having announced his retirement from Congress, this was pretty much a foregone conclusion, even as Fairfax County faces a "budget crisis that probably will last several years, pinching spending by hundreds of millions of dollars on schools, public safety and human services." As the saying goes, "when the going gets tough..."
So, Gerry Connolly is joining Leslie Byrne, Doug Denneny and Lori Alexander in the Democratic race to succeed Tom Davis. What calls him? According to the Washington Post article by Amy Gardner, it's clear:
"The public outpouring -- there's almost nowhere I go where I'm not encouraged by the public to undertake this task," [Connolly] said.
So, there you have it; the people of the 11th District are calling, screaming, practically begging for Gerry Connolly to represent them in Congress. Perhaps they hope that Connolly might be able to do in Congress some of the things he was not able to do as Chairman, such as getting Metro to Dulles or actually implementing his much-touted "Cool Counties" environmental initiative?
In the meantime, Connolly has a major obstacle standing in the way of his path to glory on Capitol Hill, and her name is Leslie Byrne. For her part, Byrne has this to say:
In the next Congress, we're not only going to have to undo what the Bush administration has done, but we're going to have to have vision about what should be done in health care, in getting us out of this war, in building this economy back up. And in my view, my experience counts.
Well sure, Leslie Byrne has a great deal of relevant experience and a proud progressive record. But what about that "public outpouring" and clamor for Gerry Connolly? I love ya, Leslie, but that could be a tough one to beat. Ha. :)
P.S. Perhaps Gerry wants to escape the parents angry with him over the huge cuts proposed in this year's Fairfax County school budget?
Apparently he hasn't been on the internet. He helps to create a mess in this county and then wants to cut and run. Brilliant!
This guy is a bum. A Selfish, whats in it for me, thug politician. Seriously, who gets re-elected and then a month or two later is running for a higher office? Why'd he waste OUR money running for re-election? This is one "public servant" we do not need.
The idea that he could do less harm in Congress than he can in Fairfax County is ludicrous.
He sold his soul to developers in Fairfax in exchange for big bucks. He will find much bigger fish to bilk at the congressional level.