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Va. lawmakers want to rename Fairfax Co. postal service facility after late congressman Connolly

A group of Virginia lawmakers hope to honor U.S. Rep. Gerry Connolly by renaming a postal service facility in Fairfax County after him.

Connolly, a Democrat who died in May, was a member of the county’s Board of Supervisors. He served as chairman before wining his seat in Congress in 2008.

Democratic Rep. James R. Walkinshaw, who won Connolly’s seat in a special election in September after Connolly’s death, along with Virginia Sens. Tim Kaine and Mark Warner, introduced legislation in November to designate the U.S. Postal Service facility at 10660 Page Ave. as the “Congressman Gerald E. ‘Gerry’ Connolly Post Office Building.”

During Connolly’s time in Fairfax County government, he contributed to the development of the Oakton Library, the Mosaic District and the 40-mile Gerry Connolly Cross Country Trail.

Following news of Connolly’s death, Fairfax County Providence District Supervisor Dalia Palchik said that Connolly prioritized regionalism even when he served in Congress.

“We all looked up to him. He was Fairfax,” Palchik said.

Walkinshaw, who was Connolly’s chief of staff, said in a statement that the late congressman was a “champion for federal workers and the Postal Service.”

Warner in a statement said renaming the post office facility in Connolly’s honor was a “fitting tribute.”

A bipartisan group of lawmakers from Virginia and other states signed on as cosponsors.

The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform unanimously passed the bill on Tuesday.

Democrats win another special election to replace longtime delegate in Fairfax County

Check back with WTOP for live results of Virginia’s special election. Voters in part of Fairfax County went to the polls on Tuesday to fill an open seat in Virginia’s House of Delegates for District 17.
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