A Fairfax City post office could be renamed in honor of the late Rep. Gerry Connolly under bills introduced this week in Congress.
The legislation, championed by Rep. James Walkinshaw in the House and Virginia Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine in the Senate, would formally designate the post office at 10660 Page Avenue as the “Congressman Gerald E. ‘Gerry’ Connolly Post Office Building.”
Connolly, who represented Fairfax County as a local and federal lawmaker for more than 30 years, died earlier this year of esophageal cancer.
“Introducing this bill with Sens. Kaine and Warner is deeply meaningful because it honors a giant whose legacy is etched into every corner of our community,” Walkinshaw said in a statement. “The best way to honor Gerry is to continue the work he loved and serve Fairfax with the same devotion he brought to it.”
A longtime Mantua resident, Connolly was first elected to public office in 1994. A Democrat, he represented the Providence District on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors until 2003, when he became the board’s chair.
In 2008, Connolly won election to represent Virginia’s 11th Congressional District, wrestling away a seat that had been held by the Republican Party since the mid-1990s.
Connolly was in his ninth Congressional term at the time of his death. He was succeeded by Walkinshaw, his political mentee, in September.
“Gerry Connolly was a singular force for good in Fairfax, and for 11 years I had the privilege of working beside him as his chief of staff,” Walkinshaw said. “I watched him pour his intellect, integrity and energy into serving this community every single day. He devoted his life to lifting up disadvantaged community members and giving voice to those too often unheard.”
Warner, who was elected to the Senate the same year that Connolly was first elected to the House, called the proposal a “fitting tribute to a colleague and friend whose impact will be felt in Fairfax and across the Commonwealth for generations to come.”
“Whether he was fighting for federal employees, strengthening our transportation network or standing up for democratic values at home and abroad, Gerry Connolly always led with integrity and purpose,” Warner said.
Kaine praised Connolly’s legacy of “protecting federal workers and advocating for foreign aid” as well as his work as a Congressman to secure “transformative transportation investments,” such as funding for Metro’s Silver Line.
“Gerry Connolly was a one-of-a-kind public servant and fighter for Virginia’s 11th Congressional District,” Kaine said. “I’m proud to join my Virginia delegation colleagues to introduce this bipartisan legislation to honor my friend Gerry’s legacy.”
Along with the aforementioned lawmakers, seven other members of Virginia’s Congressional delegation — Reps. Don Beyer, Suhas Subramanyam, John McGuire, Bobby Scott, Rob Wittman, Jennifer McClellan and Eugene Vindman — have co-sponsored the legislation.
My bill to rename the Post Office on Page Avenue in Fairfax after Congressman Gerry Connolly is headed to the floor of the House. @SenTimKaine and @SenatorWarner are leading the effort in the Senate to honor Gerry’s decades of service to our community. pic.twitter.com/Sr4mCJu9Bi
— Rep. James Walkinshaw (@Rep_Walkinshaw) December 3, 2025
The House bill was advanced yesterday (Tuesday) by the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform to the full chamber. Like a traditional law, the legislation must be approved by both the House and Senate before being signed by the president to be enacted.
If the bill is signed into law, a dedication ceremony would be held at the post office, where a plaque honoring Connolly would be placed.
According to U.S. Postal Service data, there have been 980 postal facility dedication bills have been signed into law since 1967, including 88 by the 117th Congress that lasted from 2021 to 2023.
