Two candidates are on the ballot for Chairman of the Board of Supervisors; vote for one. Candidates were asked to provide a short bio and share a story of their interaction with a voter that led them to a commitment to take action, with a tight word limit. Candidates are printed here in the order they appear on the ballot. 

Envisioned and compiled by Mercia Hobson. 

For information on how and where to vote, see https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/elections/

More than 22,000 Fairfax County voters have already voted, out of more than 700,000 active voters on the rolls.

Arthur G. Purves (R)

Arthur G. Purves (R) grew up in Washington, D.C., and has a BA, MS, and MBA from the University of Pennsylvania. He retired after 40 years as a computer programmer.

He and his late wife, Carol, moved to Vienna in 1976. They had two children, who attended Fairfax County Public Schools in grades K–12, and eight grandchildren. He was president of the Marshall High School lacrosse and Thomas Jefferson High School crew boosters. For 26 years, he has been president of the Fairfax County Taxpayers Alliance. Arthur was Scoutmaster for a small Latino troop, helped a refugee family with asylum applications, was treasurer for the Fairfax Committee of 100, and served on the 2014 Fairfax County Meals Tax Task Force and the schools’ Family Life Education Advisory Committee.

Response: Years ago, I reached out to a gay activist whom I had opposed and with whom I’ve since been able to discuss LGBTQ issues, including the role of parents and schools in respecting transgender children. This is important to me because, in my 40-year career as a computer programmer, I worked with two transgender women, one for six years. Both were conscientious and capable.

Parents should have an open line of communication with their children, assuring them of unconditional love. Create a climate in the home where an LGBTQ child can feel safe coming out to their parents. That way, schools don’t have to get involved and can focus on academics. 

In the 1990s, I would have accused a child of making the wrong choice. It took me decades to conclude that people can be born LGBTQ. If only one percent of Fairfax County Public Schools students are LGBTQ, that’s still about 1,800. Rather than using punishment, the school board should help parents like me understand that, for many, it is not a choice. www.VOTEPURVES.ORG

Chairman Jeff McKay (D)

Jeffrey C. McKay (D). Age: 48; James Madison University; Franconia District Supervisor, 2007-2019; Chairman since 2020

Response: I am thrilled to be running for another term as Chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. We have been able to accomplish so much in four years, despite all that happened, including a global pandemic.

Since I became Chairman, we have built our environmental office from an office of 1 person to a team of 16. We have instituted a Zero Waste program, adopted an Environmental Vision, pledged carbon neutrality by 2040 for County operations, and launched CECAP - the Community-wide Energy and Climate Action Plan. We have doubled the affordable housing goal and have 4,000 units in the pipeline or built just since the Board took office. 

We were once again found to be the safest jurisdiction of our size in the country by the Major Cities Chiefs Association (which uses real data from police departments in 70 large localities). We have instituted meaningful policing modernizations and are setting records for recruiting classes, both in number and diversity.

We have made strong investments in mental health, especially in our youth, and are seeing results including in the most recent Youth Survey. There’s more work to be done on all these issues, and I trust the voters of Fairfax County to choose experienced, tested leadership to keep moving forward. WWW.MCKAYFORCHAIRMAN.COM