Connolly's Authority Flows From Firm Hand

But waiting lists for housing are still lengthy because hundreds of these units are occupied when they are purchased by the county, often by families with incomes too high to qualify for housing assistance.

Connolly doesn't dispute the charge that the program has yet to place large numbers of needy people seeking housing. The initial goal, he said, was to "stop the hemorrhaging" of older affordable units being razed by developers.

"I'm a big believer in not making perfect the enemy of good," he said, adding that the units will be allocated over time.

Other county housing initiatives, including federally subsidized housing, a rental program and senior housing, are drawing scrutiny and criticism. The Washington Post reported recently that county taxpayers are underwriting rents for families that make well into the six figures. Connolly said that although the number of these cases is relatively small, there are legitimate oversight problems.

The Fairfax Redevelopment and Housing Authority "needs to tighten up its system," he said.

Connolly's promise to diversify the county's tax base also has been difficult to achieve. Fairfax received authorization from the General Assembly to raise taxes on cigarettes, hotel rooms and real estate transactions. But the county's reliance on real estate tax revenue is heavier than ever, representing about 60 percent of general fund revenue this year, up from about 58 percent in 2004.

Connolly touts the lowering of the tax rate on his watch, from $1.13 for each $100 of assessed value to 89 cents, although the decreases have not been nearly enough to offset higher property tax bills driven by years of soaring residential assessments. The average bill, while estimated to have dipped slightly in the fiscal year that began July 1 as the housing market has flattened, has increased from $4,083 in 2004 to an estimated $4,830. The board also eliminated a $25-a-year auto decal fee last year, at Connolly's initiative.

Transportation issues remain the most vexing. Supporters credit Connolly's leadership with helping win voter approval of a $165 million bond package in 2004 -- the first such measure in a decade -- although the bulk of the funds were earmarked for Metro, with relatively little for road improvements. He also lobbied aggressively for General Assembly approval of the transportation funding bill that will bring about $500 million a year to Northern Virginia.

Connolly counts himself as a leader in the effort to extend Metro to Dulles International Airport. He has been a vocal advocate of placing the aboveground segment planned for Tysons Corner in a tunnel, aligning himself with the McLean-based coalition of businesses and residential groups pushing for the redesign. But Connolly said he is not willing to fight for a tunnel at the risk of losing federal funding for the $2.5 billion venture that is still under review. That leads critics to say Connolly has tried to have it both ways politically and has contributed to delays that have swollen the cost of the project by $1 billion since the end of 2004.

Connolly said that the judgment is unfair and that his interest in the tunnel predates the creation of TysonsTunnel.org, financed by WestGroup, a major Tysons landowner.

Meanwhile, traffic congestion and lack of mobility remain the major quality-of-life issue in Fairfax and a large part of Republican challenger Gary H. Baise's campaign message. He charges that Connolly's closeness to the development community has left him unable to extract sufficient road and transit improvements from builders.

Connolly, who has received about 30 percent of his $979,000 campaign treasury from real estate and construction interests, said he has not been reluctant to say no to developers, citing his decision to oppose a planned 2,000-home project near Hunter Mill Road and the Dulles Toll Road because it was too far from a Metro station.