Connolly's Two Roles Provoke Questions

A 1994 amendment to the county's comprehensive plan, adopted by the board a year before Connolly was first elected, called for rail stations in three general locations: Route 123 at Westgate Drive, Route 123 between Tysons I and II and Route 7 west of Westpark Drive, at least three-tenths of a mile from the SAIC complex.

County planners said that in 2000, as they studied alternatives for rail in Tysons, it became clear that a fourth station was needed at Routes 7 and 123 to accommodate growth.

"It seemed logical to put another station on Route 7," said former Fairfax transportation director Young Ho Chang. "The current location seemed to offer us the kind of accessibility we wanted."

Chang said that locating the fourth station was strictly a staff exercise, with no involvement from Connolly, other board members or SAIC. The new station, known as Tysons Central 7, became part of the plan -- known as the "locally preferred alternative" -- approved by the board Oct. 28, 2002. The vote was a key step toward getting federal money for the $5 billion project, currently under review by the Federal Transit Administration.

Connolly voted for the station alignment without disclosing to the board that he had been hired by SAIC that September.

He said he didn't think it was relevant.

"It frankly hadn't occurred to me that it was an issue," he said. "When we voted on the LPA, I had no awareness that there was a change in the location of the station." Connolly also said his employment by SAIC was already public knowledge, having been announced in an Oct. 9 company news release.

He said that County Attorney David P. Bobzien was aware of his new job status but raised no concerns. During the debate that preceded the October 2002 vote, Connolly stressed the importance of the rail extension and said it would allow major Tysons landowners such as Booz Allen Hamilton, WestGroup, Lerner Properties and SAIC to cluster properties around the stations. "Here is an opportunity for us to get it right," he said.

Punaro, who handles SAIC's real estate affairs, said the company had no role in siting the station.

SAIC also has a stake in the deliberations of the three-year-old Tysons land-use task force, which is headed by Clark Tyler, a transportation and economic development consultant for SAIC. The panel is likely to recommend to the supervisors additional density rights for SAIC and other Tysons businesses along the rail line.

Tyler said he has had no contact with the company regarding the task force.

On Bobzien's advice, Connolly did disclose his SAIC work before voting with the board to create a special taxing district -- one that included his employer -- to finance the Dulles rail project.

"Chairman Connolly said that he has been an advocate for rail for a long time and declared that he is able to participate in this hearing fairly, objectively and in the public interest," say the minutes of the Feb. 23, 2004, board meeting.

Connolly's relationship with SAIC is not the only instance in which his private employment has overlapped with his public duties. In January 2003, he joined the rest of the board in a 9 to 0 vote to approve WestGroup's plan for four luxury condominium towers in Tysons on the edge of McLean. Connolly was the project's main supporter, over the concerns of residents that WestGroup hadn't provided for adequate road improvements.

In September 2003, The Washington Post reported that Connolly did consulting work in 2001 for a company run by Peter J. Halpin, son of Gerald T. Halpin, WestGroup's chief executive. Connolly disclosed the position on his annual financial statement but did not tell his board colleagues or constituents about it before the January vote.

Connolly said that Bobzien told him that Virginia law does not require disclosure, because Connolly was a consultant, not an employee, and because the company, World Resources, did not do business directly with the county.

After the article was published, then-Supervisor Stuart Mendelsohn (R-Dranesville) proposed that the matter be referred to Commonwealth's Attorney Robert F. Horan Jr. for guidance on what kind of outside employment was permissible. The motion failed 8 to 2, with Mendelsohn and Supervisor Michael R. Frey (R-Sully) supporting it.

Connolly has recused himself on other occasions, such as when the board approved a plan for 570 apartments and townhouses on SAIC-owned property east of Gallows Road in March 2003.