The freshman
Gerry Connolly is the biggest fish in Fairfax County. But the outgoing chairman of the Board of Supervisors will find himself in a much larger pond when he enters Congress as a newly minted member of the House in January.
Take the issue of office space: While Connolly currently enjoys the spacious office reserved for Fairfax’s top dog, he had to enter the lottery for freshman office space on Capitol Hill. And the results were … not favorable.
Because he was absent the first time his name was called, Connolly was bumped to the back of the queue, ultimately drawing No. 52 out of 54 freshman members.
“Who else wants to be on the 5th floor of Cannon?” he wondered aloud, referring to the office building that forces its occupants into perhaps the longest hike between their desk and the House floor.
But things are looking up for Connolly: According to his chief of staff, a new office suite recently opened up on the third floor of Cannon, meaning that’s two fewer flights of stairs he’ll have to run down if he’s late for a vote.
