As Fairfax County has turned from “purple” to “blue” over the past couple decades, one member of the Board of Supervisors has bucked the trend, moving from relatively normal conservative to hard-right. That would be Springfield district Supervisor Pat Herrity, who is now the sole remaining Republican on the 9-members-plus-Chairman Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. For some background on Herrity’s hard-right turn, see:
- With His Nasty, Xenophobic, Trumpian Campaign, Fairfax Supervisor Pat Herrity (R) Demonstrates Why Republicans Keep Losing Badly in Northern Virginia
- Fairfax Republican Pat Herrity Continues His Anti-Immigrant Demagoguery, Is Voted Down 7-3
- In Increasingly Blue Fairfax County, Supervisor Pat Herrity (R) Demagogues on Illegal Immigration, Overstates Legal Defense Fund Money 1,000-Fold
- Video: Fairfax Supervisors James Walkinshaw, Dalia Palchik, John Foust Rip Trump EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler For Opposing 5-Cent Plastic Bag Tax (Herrity actually defended Wheeler!)
So clearly, Herrity needs to go, and certainly should not be representing a district that went about 60% for Ralph Northam in 2017. Of course, Herrity’s been there a long time, and it’s possible that many voters don’t realize how right wing he’s gotten. Which is why we need a strong Democratic opponent for Herrity, who will make it crystal clear why Herrity is not who he used to be and needs to go.
With that, see below for a candidacy announcement video by Albert Vega, who is the first announced Democratic candidate for this seat. Vega describes himself as “a PhD Engineer, small business founder, and problem solver” who “want[s] to be our District’s voice in a conversation that is focused on protecting our environment, solving our infrastructure challenges, and building a more equitable community.” As Vega says in his video, “unfortunately…as Springfield’s representative on our Board, Pat Herrity has been antagonistic to our teachers, unimaginative on transportation, neglectful of our environment, dismissive of our workers and silent when it comes to protecting the basic human rights of our residents – and that’s when he bothers to vote at all.” Vega adds that Herrity “is that broken part, stalling the engine that drives our county,” and says he’s running “to get that engine running again,” to be a voice “that’s in sync with our values” and “focused on actually creating solutions” (which Herrity clearly is NOT!).
The bottom line is that Pat Herrity has moved hard right, is wildly out of sync with the increasingly diverse and increasingly BLUE Springfield district, and most definitely needs to be voted off the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors next year. Democrats need a strong candidate to accomplish that goal, and Albert Vega certainly appears impressive from his kickoff video and from what I’ve heard about him. So we’ll see if other Democrats get in this race, but for now, I’m just glad to see someone who appears to be very serious and substantive announce for this seat!
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