The longest-serving member of Fairfax County’s board will not seek another term this November. Springfield District Supervisor Elaine McConnell, a Republican first elected in 1983, on Monday confirmed her intention not to run for a seventh term.
McConnell, 80, is the second supervisor to announce her planned retirement from the 10-member panel this year, after Lee District Supervisor Dana Kauffman. Besides being the current board’s senior member, she also is the second-longest-serving supervisor in the county’s recent history. Her 24 years on the job trails only Joe Alexander, who retired in 1995 after 32 years in the role.
Her colleagues, some of whom have worked with McConnell for nearly two decades, had kind words for the supervisor. Their statements underscore the relative harmony, at least outwardly, between the board’s seven Democrats and their three Republican counterparts.
“I have never known you to take a cynical action, or say an unkind thing,” Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Gerald Connolly said to McConnell at Monday’s board meeting.
Mount Vernon District Supervisor Gerry Hyland said McConnell had “listened in a way that is an example for anyone who would want to sit in these [elected] positions.” Lee District Supervisor Dana Kauffman said she brought “a rare blend of common sense, economic understanding and animal husbandry” to the board, referring to her farming experience. McConnell also is a long-time educator.
Her decision sets the stage for an electoral battle in one of the county’s only GOP strongholds. On Sunday, McConnell tossed her support to Republican Pat Herrity, the son of former Board of Supervisors Chairman John “Jack” Herrity. Democrat Mike McClanahan also is vying for the seat.
