Anonymous wrote:

What does this mean? There won’t be an actual vote to replace him?

Anonymous wrote:Descano will have more trouble getting independent voters than some alternatives.

Descano isn’t running.

Anonymous wrote:

Pekarsky was attacking the "old man" endorsements earlier on X. Those comments are no longer there. I saw it prior to the announcement about Connolly's death.

Looks like Ben Tribbett is her campaign manager.

Descano will have more trouble getting independent voters than some alternatives.

Pekarsky co-patroned the Fairfax casino bill that was not going to be built in her own Senate district. She’s as bad as Surovell.

Have always like Walkinshaw. Hope he gets it!

Really hoping it’s Walkinshaw. Pekarsky is a lightweight. I don’t think she was hardline on school closures during Covid though the same way Cohen and Frisch were. Not saying she was a thought leader on the subject or anything but I don’t think she was outspoken on keeping schools closed until some unreasonable “metric” could be reached.

Anonymous wrote:Steve Descano would be a perfect replacement

Blah blah blah.

OP started a reasonable post, you could have the courtesy to reply in kind, especially as the second post, instead of attempting to derail the thread.

Anonymous wrote:Steve Descano would be a perfect replacement

Descano is a major douchebag.

Descano has a track record Walkinshaw could only dream of.

Met Walkinshaw during his first campaign and was impressed. And his office has been responsive.

Steve Descano would be a perfect replacement

Gerry Connolly, who has represented VA-11 in Congress for some time, has announced he is not seeking re-election due to health regions (a recurrence of cancer, unfortunately).

He has endorsed James Walkinshaw, the current Braddock District member of the Fairfax Board of Supervisors, to succeed him. Walkinshaw was also previously Connolly's chief of staff for almost a decade in Congress.

Separately, Stella Pekarsky, a current member of the Virginia state member and FCPS School Board member, has also announced she is seeking Connolly's seat.

Walkinshaw has impressed me as a thoughtful member of the Board of Supervisors. He would look out for NoVa residents, including federal employees, and be a consistent, principled voice of opposition to the dangerous policies of Donald Trump. Conversely, Pekarsky was one of the least impressive School Board members in recent FCPS history. She was part of the group that kept schools in Fairfax closed for many months, and did nothing during her four years on the School Board to address the overcrowding at Chantilly HS, which the kids of many of her constituents attended. She rolled over when other Democrats like Karen Corbett Sanders and Karl Frisch pushed through unnecessary capital projects that diverted spending to schools in their districts. She is loud and obnoxious, but rarely in command of the facts. The Republicans on Capital Hill would chew her up and spit her out, and she would be easily ridiculed by the right-wing media.

Walkinshaw is by far the better choice.