Heading Into Election Year, Connolly's Ambitions Influence Board's Tone

One issue Connolly will face questioning on from voters is the perception that he is too close to the county's development community. Although Fairfax is largely built out, several projects have generated debate. MetroWest, the office, retail and apartment development at the Vienna Metro station, was approved by the board this year in support of a "smart growth" strategy to curb sprawl by clustering high-rise construction around mass transit.

But the issue of what constitutes acceptable density in Fairfax remains unresolved and volatile.

"Gerry and all of the candidates [for supervisor] need to be prepared to address this issue," said Deborah Reyher, a Vienna environmental lawyer who fought construction of homes abutting the Washington & Old Dominion Trail. "I think we have had a Board of Supervisors that has belittled our concerns and been very slow to respond to the legitimate needs of citizens who take these issues seriously."

Adds Davis: "You have a county that has trended Democratic over the last three cycles, and Gerry has funded himself very well. But there's still an unease out there over traffic and development that any of us who hold office have to face."

Connolly said his critics overstate his ties to developers, noting he has good relations with the county's business community, of which developers are a part. He noted that he "pulled the plug" on a project near the Vienna Metro he believed was too far from the train station.

Connolly's greatest vulnerability might turn out to be style, not policy. A voluble former Catholic seminarian from Boston who enjoys peppering his rhetoric with Latin, Connolly can be charming and funny.

But in public and behind the scenes, he can also be thin-skinned and prone to bursts of temper. After a top zoning official said publicly last summer that the building industry has a lot of influence on the supervisors, Connolly said, he called her into his office to dress her down.

Several board colleagues said they were unhappy with Connolly's treatment of two neighborhood leaders who testified at a hearing last week on a proposed apartment and retail project at the Dunn Loring-Merrifield Metro station.

When one leader, Becky Cate, an activist who ran against Supervisor Linda Q. Smyth (D-Providence) in 2003, criticized Smyth for not supporting the listing of local schools that would receive developer donations from the project, Connolly lashed out.

"You're trying to create a tempest in a teapot, and frankly it's political," Connolly said.

"I get no rebuttal?" Cate asked.

"It sounds political to me. I don't know how you rebut that."

Cate said later, "I thought he treated me very rudely. He takes the bully pulpit far too seriously."

Connolly said he was trying to correct what he described as "blatantly dishonest testimony" from a political enemy of Smyth's. Others said his tactics with staff and people who disagree with him on issues represent a blind spot.

"I would say Gerry's primary vulnerability is Gerry," said Eric Lundberg, the county's GOP chairman.

Kauffman, who praises Connolly's drive and ability to set an agenda said: "He does carry a big stick. I just wish maybe from time to time he'd speak more softly.

"He's great to have on your side, but you don't want to get in his way."

Connolly said critics often think of his passion as bluster. "Most people find me authentic," he said.