Map of Fairfax County Supervisor districts from the county's website.

Fairfax County is the DC area’s biggest jurisdiction, with over 1.1 million residents. Its 10-member Board of Supervisors has a big role in housing and transportation policy, with ripple effects across the region. That’s why we reached out to candidates in three key supervisor races to learn more about their views ahead of the Democratic primary June 20.

There are three key Democratic primaries this year. Four Democrats are vying to replace retiring Vice Chairman Penny Gross in the Mason district, a dense, diverse swath of inside-the-Beltway communities including Annandale, Lincolnia, and Seven Corners. Dranesville supervisor John Foust is also stepping down, sparking a competitive primary to represent his sprawling district containing Great Falls, Herndon, and McLean. In the Springfield district, the winner of the Democratic primary will go up against Republican Pat Herrity, who’s been in office since 2007 and is the son of a former supervisor. Here’s a map of the districts for reference, and here’s how you can find your district.

We sent candidates this questionnaire and are sharing the responses we received here as a service to the public. Questionnaire responses also inform our endorsement decisions, which we’ll announce later this month.

Wait, how does this work?

Virginia county governments work a little differently than DC or Maryland. For starters, instead of an elected mayor or county executive, Fairfax has an appointed county executive who makes recommendations to the Board of Supervisors. Like the DC Council, voters do elect a board chairman (currently Jeff McKay, who’s also up for election this year), who is effectively the public face of the county.

Fairfax County also names its districts, and recently renamed one of them due to its connection with Confederate general Robert E. Lee. The naming convention creates some unusual problems, such as the Springfield district, which actually doesn’t include Springfield but rather parts of Burke and the Fair Lakes area.

When they take office next year, the three new supervisors will tackle some big challenges, like Fairfax County’s rising home prices and working with the Virginia Department of Transportation, which controls most roads in the county, to create safer places to walk and bike. Supervisors also play a role in picking the Planning Commissioner that represents their district–and in turn, the commission sets policy for housing, land use, and transportation–so it matters what supervisors think about those issues.

Here’s what the candidates had to say

Below we are excited to share the questionnaire responses we received. Click on a linked name to view that applicant’s questionnaire.

Dranesville Mason Springfield

And don’t forget, our Elections Hub is your one-stop shop for questionnaires, endorsements process details, and our endorsements themselves. Access the hub anytime from the “2023 Elections” link in the upper right corner of our website.