THIS YEAR, the ballot in Northern Virginia's 11th District is notable for the name that doesn't appear. Discouraged by changing demographics and partisan demagogy, Republican Tom Davis is stepping down after seven terms in the House. This is a seismic shift for the region. Mr. Davis didn't reject partisanship, but he didn't value party above his district's needs or greater Washington's. Mr. Davis was a relentless advocate for Metro funding and D.C. voting rights, issues unpopular in his party but critical to the region's growth.
Democrat Gerald E. Connolly, a veteran local politician, is the best bet to extend this record of valuable service. As a long-serving member of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, Mr. Connolly is attuned to the needs of the district, which encompasses most of Fairfax and a large part of Prince William County. In his effective five-year tenure as chairman, Mr. Connolly has preserved affordable housing, promoted stricter environmental standards and continued to make rail to Dulles International Airport a priority. Mr. Connolly can be thin-skinned and stubborn, but there's no denying that his sometimes-abrasive style of leadership has produced results. His experience on Capitol Hill -- he worked for 10 years with the Senate Foreign Relations Committee -- would ease his transition to Congress.
Mr. Connolly's Republican opponent, Keith S. Fimian, is a likable and successful businessman, but he can't match Mr. Connolly in experience, and his grasp of the finer points of the economy is tenuous. He says that his priority is to balance the federal budget, but he doesn't plausibly describe how. The centerpiece of Mr. Fimian's campaign is the inaccurate charge that Mr. Connolly mismanaged Fairfax County, producing a projected $430 million deficit in fiscal 2010. In fact, most area jurisdictions face similar shortfalls, and Mr. Connolly has deftly managed Fairfax's budget without dramatically increasing taxes.
