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Gerry
Connolly’s ties to the developer community in
Fairfax
County
are too close for comfort. That’s something all
Virginians should worry about. Connolly is running
to become the next chairman of the Fairfax County
board
of supervisors. With more than one million
residents and a dynamic, high-tech economy, Fairfax
County
contains 1/7th of Virginia’s
population and accounts for 25 percent of the
state’s economy. It also pursues zoning and
development policies that affect regional
transportation systems and create a powerful
constituency clamoring for higher taxes – as in,
higher state
taxes.
As
the incumbent supervisor from Providence District, a
position he’s held for the last eight years,
Connolly represents Tysons Corner, one of Northern
Virginia’s
major business and retail centers. Tysons is booming
economically, but it also stands as a monument to
atrocious planning. Given Connolly’s financial
connections to one of Northern
Virginia’s
largest developers, the West Group, voters have a
right to wonder whose interests he holds paramount
– the public’s, or those of his developer pals.
Connolly’s
financial dealings, one also might think, would
prove of interest to Attorney General Jerry Kilgore.
Indeed, Kilgore recently opined that the Fairfax
supervisor might have violated the state’s
conflict-of-interest statutes. Some critics go further, charging that
Connolly has broken bribery and criminal conspiracy
laws. But Kilgore so far has remained out of the
fray.
Regardless
of how the conflict-of-interest issue is ultimately
resolved, the Connolly flap is a window into the
political economy of land development in the
Commonwealth. In Northern
Virginia’s
turbo-charged economy, tens, even hundreds, of
millions of dollars ride on the outcome of zoning
and land use decisions made by local boards of
supervisors. Even though most developers may behave
ethically, the incentives to influence the political process improperly are
undeniable. Elected officials who fail to adhere
scrupulously to conflict-of-interest laws fully
deserve the suspicion they bring upon themselves.
It’s
often said in jest that the Fairfax County Board of
Supervisors consists of eight mayors and a
babysitter. This mocking description contains much
truth. The chairman only has one vote and the other
supervisors usually defer to each other to avoid
opposition when it’s their turn to seek board
approval for their pet projects or zoning changes.
Most
political observers give Connolly credit for being a
savvy politician, an eloquent speaker and a fierce
debater. While the board is in session, Connolly
usually overshadows his board colleagues. An old
hand at politics, Connolly knows how to maneuver to
get his initiatives approved by the board.
Connolly’s
detractors describe him as an arrogant, partisan
hack in the pockets of the developers. His arrogance
can readily be seen in a quote recently published in
a local newspaper where Connolly, a
Democrat, referred to two of his Republican
colleagues on the Board as the “know-nothing
supervisors.”
Last
month, Supervisor Stu Mendelsohn, R-Dranesville,
made a motion to refer recent conflict-of-interest
allegations against Connolly to the Fairfax
County
commonwealth's attorney. The Democrat-controlled Board
voted down Mendelsohn’s motion with the help of
one Republican,
Elaine
McConnell, R-Springfield.
What
motivated Mendelsohn to propose such a drastic
motion?
On
Sept.
9, 2003,
The Washington
Post reported the findings of its in-depth
investigation into Connolly and his dealings with
the West Group, a leading commercial land developer
in Tysons Corner.
The
Post
concluded that Connolly had improperly lobbied the
Board for approval of housing development projects
proposed by the West Group, which is closely tied to
a recycling company, World Resources. Gerald Halpin,
West Group’s CEO, is also the founder and part
owner of World Resources. Halpin also happens to be
the father of World Resources President Peter Halpin.
Both companies are privately held; they share
offices and are controlled by some of the same
partners and investors.
According
to the Post, Connolly obtained his consulting
work with World Resources by repeatedly lobbying
West Group’s senior vice president, Tom Fleury,
for extra income to supplement his supervisor
salary. Connolly wasn’t shy in his approaches to
West Group asking for a job — he even lobbied
Fleury, who is West’s County zoning point person,
at one of Connolly’s own fundraisers.
In
what struck some observers as a quid pro quo,
Connolly motioned
the county board in January to approve West Group’s proposal
to build four 19-story luxury condo high rises in
Tysons Corner. Connolly pushed the necessary and
significant zoning variances through the Board but
never revealed that he had received consulting fees
from World Resources, which has overlapping
directorates with West Group.
Connolly
then unabashedly wielded a state law requiring
county officials voting on zoning variances to
disclose “any business or financial
relationship” with the applicant to disqualify
Mendelsohn from voting on West Group’s luxury
tower application. At Connolly’s insistence —
and over Mendelsohn’s objections — Mendelsohn
had to disqualify himself because his law partner
represented Gerald Halpin on an unrelated matter.
Mendelsohn’s
disqualification left all Dranesville voters
unrepresented on an issue of immense importance to
them. Many live in neighborhoods adjacent to or near
Tysons Corner,
meaning that they are impacted by the traffic
congestion caused by excessive development and poor
planning.
On
the other hand, Connolly claims he didn’t have to
disclose his receipt of hefty fees from World
Resource, because County Attorney David Bobzien told
him he was only a “consultant” for World
Resources, not an “employee.” Bobzien’s
opinion is, at the very least, questionable and in
all likelihood legally erroneous.
The
Code of Virginia requires local employees to seek a
written opinion from the commonwealth’s attorney
— not a verbal response from the
county
attorney.
Interestingly, Bobzien did not put his response in
writing until two years after he originally rendered
it, just before Connolly decided to run for
chairman.
Following
the defeat of Mendelsohn’s motion to turn the case
over to the commonwealth
attorney, Del. David Albo, R-Springfield, requested
Attorney General Jerry Kilgore to review it.
Kilgore’s office concluded that there were grounds
for thinking that a violation of the Act had
occurred. However, Kilgore also noted that the
attorney general had no authority to investigate and
prosecute violations of the Act involving county
officers and employees. Accordingly, Kilgore
referred the matter to Robert Horan, Fairfax’s
commonwealth attorney.
Luckily
for Connolly, Horan is now ensconced in Virginia
Beach prosecuting John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd
Malvo, the two accused in the infamous “sniper
attacks” that killed 10 people and terrorized the Washington metropolitan area last year. At the epicenter of a
trial receiving international publicity, Horan may
be in no position to provide a timely response to
Kilgore's referral. So far, his office has been
silent on the subject.
In a
recent letter, to which I was one of the
signatories, 50 Virginians implored Kilgore to reopen his
review of the allegations against Connolly. They
told him that they believe there is probable cause
to suspect that more serious offenses are involved,
namely, bribery and criminal conspiracy. As such,
they asked that he review the allegations with a
view of undertaking an investigation into this
matter. They also pointed that Horan, who is extremely
busy prosecuting the “sniper” cases,
should welcome any assistance that may be rendered
by Kilgore’s office.
Virginia’s
bribery statute (§18.2-447) applies to “any
benefit” provided as “consideration for or to
obtain or influence ... the recipient’s ...
vote”. World
Resource provided Connolly with significant
financial benefits, which served as consideration
not only for Connolly’s vote on the West Group
Tyson’s luxury tower proposal, but also to obtain
the votes of other supervisors whom Connolly
successfully lobbied.
§2.2-511
of the Code of Virginia specifically allows the
Attorney General to institute or conduct criminal
prosecutions in cases involving a conspiracy to
commit a felony. (It stands to reason that, if
Connolly violated the state’s bribery statute, it
required two or more persons to conspire in committing this crime). In such cases, the
attorney general need only seek Horan’s concurrence to
initiate a criminal investigation before a grand
jury of
Fairfax
County
citizens.
The
signatories of the letter to Kilgore stated that one
man with strong ties to prominent Northern
Virginia developers should not be allowed to break the
Commonwealth’s laws with impunity.
I
recently spoke to Kilgore about undertaking a
bribery investigation of Connolly’s activities. He
responded that proving bribery in a court of law is
difficult. Nonetheless, a grand jury investigation
could unearth details, not now known, documenting
the financial ties between Connolly and certain
developers. When witnesses testify under oath in the
presence of a grand jury, they often share new
details, especially when they come to the
realization that they too may be facing criminal
charges. In other words, they may sing like
canaries!
Recently,
some new allegations involving donations to
Connolly’s campaign have come to light. Campaign
Finance reports show multiple contributions from the
West Group and other developers whose applications
were pending before the board of supervisors.
Connolly received more than 120 checks for $199
each, more than $23,880 in the aggregate, from
individuals and companies in the development
industry. The $199 amount falls $1 short of the $200
threshold that would require a supervisor to
disclose the donation before voting on any
re-zonings requested by those developers who made
the donation.
We
all wonder how developers always seem to get their
way, even when they face fierce opposition from
public interest groups. Connolly’s too-close-for-
comfort
ties to the developer community may become a
showcase example of how the system is being
corrupted.
--
November 3, 2003
Mr.
Rodokanakis has provided consulting services to
the campaign of Connolly’s
opponent,
Mychele
Brickner.
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