Couldn't Stop Thinking: Gerry Connolly

What I’ve been looking up today: Gerry Connolly, the late representative from the Virginia suburbs of Washington, DC. I met him at a Kings Point Club event when I was a freshman (or soon to be freshman?) at the academy. Already a familiar local name from his service on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, his first two elections in 2008 and 2010 were competitive. In a place like Virginia, “safe seats” are earned, not given. He was likewise unflappable as boundaries changed again, Northern Virginia’s other representatives retired, lost re-election, or resigned to seek higher office. Just now, I learned that he was a key advocate for Information Technology modernization and accountability across the US government, and perhaps a reason why I had to trade in work laptops every two years. Gerry Connolly was a knowledgeable advocated for what mattered to his constituents: the civil service. Apparently, that was a major reason he ran for reelection in his twilight years: to guarantee his longtime staffers a federal retirement. Democratic Party internal policies were not kind to him, with their strict adherence to seniority in choosing who would serve as a ranking member on the House Oversight Committee. This year was “his turn”, and Mr. Connolly’s frail appearance juxtaposed with contender Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez became a flashpoint in left-wing circles. Legacy is something that is often revealed after death. Congress must act on this year’s spending bill, and hometown realities mean that the most caustic disestablishmentarian ideas against the civil service have been removed. We expect that the new laptops will keep coming.