Fairfax County Executive Announces Retirement

Fairfax County Executive Anthony H. Griffin, whose name is hardly a household word but who runs one of the largest counties in the U.S., yesterday announced his plans to retire.

Griffin, who attends church in McLean, has served as the county’s administrative leader since 2000, the second-longest tenure since the position was created in 1952, according to the county statement announcing the retirement.

"He's an outstanding county executive," said Dranesville Supervisor John Foust. "It will be very difficult to replace him."

Griffin's departure, slated for April 2012, means that next year Fairfax will replace its two top administrators: Griffin and school superintendent Jack Dale, who announced in September his intention to retire at the end of his contract.

Griffin, who stays out of the spotlight, oversees a county with a $6.6 billion budget that's larger than four states. He visited McLean in June to chat with the McLean Citizens Association.

"We've known this was coming and we've started the search process," Foust said. The supervisors have known since 2009 of Griffin's retirement because those seeking to retire must alert the county three years in advance. That's to help with succession planning, Foust said.

"He was a phenomenal leader during these very difficult budget challenges we've had over the past four years," Foust said. "Tony has been an institution and we all would prefer that he was staying,"

Under Griffin's leadership, Fairfax County was named “one of the best-managed jurisdictions in America” by Governing magazine. The county has consistently received bond ratings of AAA from Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s and Fitch Investors Service; only 23 counties in the U.S. have received AAA ratings from all three bond-rating services. Through the years, his leadership has encompassed projects both large and small such as emergency preparedness, Tysons Corner redevelopment, Dulles Rail and the plan to prevent and end homelessness. The county also has the lowest rate of violent crime in the country, the county announcement said.

5 things to know about Tony Griffin:

1. He is a member of St. Dunstans Episcopal church on Kirby Road in McLean. He was raised in that church. He was married there as was one of his children. He lives between Reston and Fair Oaks but continues to belong to St. Dunstans because of the family ties.

2. He was born in Washington, D.C. His family moved to Arlington when he was a year old. He grew up in Northern Virginia. He is a graduate of Yorktown High School in Arlington.

3. He joined the Marines, became an officer and served in Vietnam. He served with the First Marine Division largely outside of Danang.

4. He worked for six years as city manager of Falls Church. He left in 1989 to become deputy county executive in Fairfax County. Current salary: $244,989.
 Age: 64

5. He really runs a city. Fairfax looks like a suburb but it's really a city with big-city problems. More than 1 million people now live in Fairfax, which is more than live in eight states. He oversees the county's $6.6 billion budget. That's a budget larger than four states.