The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors paid tribute today (Tuesday) to the contributions of two longtime local leaders who once sat on the board dais.
Rep. Gerald Connolly (D-11) and Catherine Hudgins were honored for putting the public first and emphasizing solutions to complex challenges.
Connolly, who died May 21 at the age of 75, has served as a district supervisor and chair of the Board of Supervisors before winning election to Congress in 2008.
“His true legacy is in the personal relationships he had with so many,” current Board Chairman Jeff McKay said.
McKay said Connolly’s humor could cut across the partisan divide, and helped defuse contentious situations.
“He made you laugh,” the board chair said. “I always looked forward to going to an event Gerry was part of.”
Mount Vernon District Supervisor Dan Storck said Connolly had much in common with former supervisor Gerald Hyland, who died in January.
Both had “a love for people” and an ability to get things done, whether they were dealing with the federal budget or the intricacies of a school-boundary adjustment, Storck said.
“It’s about relationships,” Storck said, noting that Connolly had forged many through the years.
Preparations for a Sept. 9 special election to determine Connolly’s successor in Congress are underway, with the local Republican and Democratic committees both planning to select their nominees on June 28.
Hudgins, who represented the Hunter Mill District on the Board of Supervisors from 2000 to 2019, died May 25 at the age of 81.
“She was a genuine person in everything she did,” Springfield District Supervisor Pat Herrity said. “What she did came from the heart.”
McKay called Hudgins “another true legend,” pointing to her support of transit and the establishment of the “One Fairfax” equity policy.
Her death, like Connolly’s, represented “a huge loss for all of us,” McKay said.
Hudgins and her husband moved to Reston in the late 1960s. That community is the centerpiece of the Hunter Mill District, now represented by Walter Alcorn on the Board of Supervisors.
“I find myself striving to live up to her legacy,” said Alcorn.
Cathy Hudgins headshot via Fairfax County
