Springfield District Supervisor Pat Herrity To Seek 5th Term On Fairfax County Board

SPRINGFIELD, VA — Springfield District Supervisor Pat Herrity officially kicked off his re-election campaign on Thursday, telling residents that his singular focus since getting elected to the board in 2007 has been bettering the lives of Fairfax County residents.

Herrity, a Republican who will be seeking his fifth term as Springfield District supervisor, said the challenges faced by Fairfax County and the nation in recent years — a global pandemic, “unprecedented obstacles” for business owners and record-setting inflation — can best be handled by someone like him who has demonstrated “strong, experienced leadership on the Board of Supervisors.”

“Sixteen years ago, I made the decision to take ... public service to a higher level and run to become Springfield District Supervisor because I did not like the direction the county was heading,” Herrity said in a speech Thursday morning at West Springfield High School announcing his re-election campaign. “Taxes had doubled in eight short years from $2,400 to $4,800, our teachers’ salaries were slipping and we were mired in congestion.”

Fast-forward to 2023 and Herrity said Fairfax County needs someone as Springfield District supervisor with the experience and track record to keep getting results for the district and the entire county. "I humbly consider myself the most qualified to serve our community," he said.

Two other residents of the Springfield District have announced plans to run against Herrity, the only Republican on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors.

Albert Vega, a Springfield resident and co-founder of Alexandria-based company Building Momentum, announced last fall that he would be seeking the Democratic nomination for the Springfield District supervisor’s race. Corazon Sandoval Foley, who previously ran for supervisor against Herrity in 2015, also is running for Springfield District supervisor as a member of the Independent Green Party.

No Republican has announced plans to challenge Herrity for the Republican nomination for the Springfield District supervisor's seat.

Herrity, son of long-time former Fairfax County Board Chairman Jack Herrity, is a 1978 graduate of West Springfield High School and received an accounting degree from Virginia Tech.

On Thursday, he listed many of his accomplishments since joining the Board of Supervisors in January 2008, including:

• Leading two rounds of pension reform efforts to address the county’s pension plans and balance its compensation program.
• Calling for a faster reopening of public schools during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Leading an effort to address rising crime and the public safety staffing crisis by calling for increased pay and recruiting befits for Fairfax County police officers.
• Leading the development of Fairfax County’s 50+ Committee Action Plan, as chair of the board’s Older Adults Committee, to make the county a better place for older adults.
• Leading the effort to address senior tax relief.
• Creating and leading Fairfax County’s Sports Tourism Task Force to diversify the county’s revenue stream with tourism dollars and build high quality sports venues in the county, including the county’s first sports tourism facility, Patriot Park North, which will be opening this year, and the indoor downhill ski facility on the side of the I-95 Landfill.

As the only Republican on the Board of Supervisors, Herrity said he still has the passion "to stand as a backstop and a check on the excesses of the Board majority, and make sure that each decision made considers the impact it will have on every single one of our county’s residents."

"As I weighed my decision to run for re-election or to run for Chairman of the Board, I reached out to constituents across the county," Herrity said Thursday. "What I heard loud and clear from both Republicans and Democrats was the need for balance, the need for a common sense, fiscal conservative voice, the need for experience, the need for a public servant focused on local issues instead of divisive national issues."

The election for the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors will take place on Tuesday, Nov. 7.