By Bill Turque
Washington Post Staff Writers
Monday, October 15, 2007
On the wall of Gerald E. Connolly's conference room at the Fairfax County Government Center is "The Johnson Treatment," a series of four 1957 photographs that capture the characteristic mix of flattery, manipulation and menace that Senate Majority Leader Lyndon B. Johnson used to make his case to an overmatched committee chairman.
Connolly, a Democrat seeking his second term as chairman of the county's Board of Supervisors on Nov. 6, said he is no admirer of Johnson's and that there is no "Connolly treatment" for board members when he is seeking their support. The former Catholic seminarian likes to describe his role as "primus inter pares," or "first among equals."
But the photos, a Christmas gift from his staff, evoke something of Connolly's approach to the county's top elected post, a job with no real power other than that of persuasion: aggressiveness, relentless energy, an expansive policy agenda and a sometimes caustic attitude toward those who don't agree with him.
The former Providence District supervisor campaigned on six broad areas in his 2003 race: affordable housing, education, transportation, environmental stewardship, anti-gang enforcement and tax reform. There have been hits and misses and initiatives that his critics say are heavier on spin than substance. But to varying degrees, he has made a difference in each.
"My role is to be a noodge, a prod, a catalyst, an initiator," Connolly said.
Connolly pushed to set aside one penny of the tax rate to pay for improved storm water management and another for preservation of affordable housing. He's brought a new environmental consciousness to Fairfax government, partnering with the Sierra Club to launch a national "Cool Counties" initiative aimed at reducing local greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent by 2050. His advocacy helped lead to expansion of early childhood learning and all-day kindergarten in county schools.
Connolly spearheaded creation of an anti-gang task force that recently reported that gang-related crime dropped by nearly one-third last year in Fairfax -- although police are a little fuzzy on how they derived their numbers. Under Connolly, the board has resisted pressure to follow Prince William and Loudoun counties in considering measures to withhold services from illegal immigrants.
Even those who don't buy into all of Connolly's programs admire the drive and political skill with which he has pursued them.
"Gerry has not made a lot of mistakes in the last four years," said Supervisor Elaine N. McConnell (R-Springfield), who is not seeking reelection. "You can't find many chinks in the armor."
One soft spot in the armor is a tendency to take victory laps for such long-standing county achievements as low crime rates and high SAT scores. Critics say his success is more a triumph of marketing than governance.
"A lot of sound and fury signifying nothing," said Supervisor Michael R. Frey (R-Sully). "Gerry is very articulate. He's wonderful at laying out a vision, articulating a vision and spinning it to have you believe we're doing something when we're doing nothing."
As an example, Frey cites the "Penny for Affordable Housing" program, for which the county has spent about $20 million a year over the past three years to purchase and preserve more than 2,000 moderately priced units.
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.
Connolly has also had to deflect charges that his job at Science Applications International, a national security contractor where he works as a vice president for community relations, taints his views on development density in Tysons. One of the stations on the proposed Dulles extension is in front of the company's headquarters on Leesburg Pike (Route 7). And although there is no evidence that Connolly had a role in its placement, his critics say the appearance of conflict has damaged his credibility. Connolly says that, as long as the chairmanship doesn't pay a full-time salary, he has a right to make a living. He also points out that the company does no business with county government.
Many board members say Connolly has pursued his agenda vigorously but not by trampling over their prerogatives as district supervisors. They say the collegial tone was set at a February 2004 weekend retreat on McConnell's farm in Stanley, Va.
"Gerry really relies on all of us to be a part of the discussion," said Supervisor Penelope A. Gross (D-Mason).
But others who have worked with the board on county issues say they are struck by Connolly's almost complete dominance.
Charles W. Hall, co-founder of Fairfax Citizens for Responsible Growth, which fought with the board over the size of MetroWest, a planned community of 2,250 townhouses, apartments and condominiums that will go up just south of the Vienna Metro station, likens Connolly's role on the board as that of "the angry father figure, always capable of lashing out."
"He is more combative than they are," said Hall, who ran unsuccessfully this spring in the Providence District Democratic primary against incumbent and Connolly protege Linda Q. Smyth (D). "There is a real anxiety about getting on his wrong side."
Connolly has a low tolerance for even implied criticism. He was furious at Supervisor T. Dana Kauffman (D-Lee) after the 2003 election for telling a reporter that retiring Supervisor Stuart Mendelsohn (R-Dranesville) could have won the chairman's race had he run.
Privately, some board members said they are sometimes appalled at Connolly's treatment of people in public hearings. They mention his dressing down last April of Deputy County Executive Verdia L. Haywood, who had left him unaware of financial problems threatening to close a Centreville nonprofit group as the board was about to adopt its 2008 budget.
Connolly said that he brings "the normal range of human emotions" to his work as chairman and that he does not consider himself to be a harsh person. But he added:
"I believe in accountability. To be honest with you, it's one of the problems with government. Nobody is accountable when things go wrong."
Staff writer Amy Gardner contributed to this report.
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