Jeff McKay

Jeffrey C. McKay
Chair of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors
Assumed office
January 1, 2020
Preceded bySharon Bulova
Member of the
Fairfax County Board of Supervisors
from the Lee district
In office
2008–2020
Preceded byDana Kauffman
Succeeded byRodney Lusk
Personal details
Born
Jeffrey Charles McKay[1]

(1975-09-06) September 6, 1975 (age 49)
Political partyDemocratic
ResidenceFairfax County, Virginia
Alma materJames Madison University (BS)
Websitehttps://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/chairman/

Jeffrey C. "Jeff" McKay is an American politician who is Chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors in Northern Virginia. He first won election to the board in November 2007, representing the Lee district, which includes the Springfield and Franconia areas.[2][3] In 2019, he was elected as chairman, taking office in January 2020.[4][5]

Education

McKay attended Bishop Ireton High School, a private Roman Catholic high school in Alexandria, Virginia.[6] He graduated from James Madison University in December 1996 with a bachelor's degree in political science.[7][8] He had served as president of the college Young Democrats during his sophomore and senior years, and as Chair of the Virginia Young Democrats College Caucus.[9] In 1998, McKay graduated from the University of Virginia’s Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership.

Political career

Shortly after graduating from JMU in 1996, McKay was hired as Chief of Staff to Lee District Supervisor Dana Kauffman.[10] He continued in that position for more than a decade, until Kauffman retired in 2007 and he won the November election to succeed him.[11] Following his time as Lee District Supervisor, McKay was elected countywide in 2019 to serve as Chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors.[12]

Since joining the Board, McKay co-created Fairfax County's One Fairfax[13][14] resolution and policy.[15] McKay supported expand benefits for employees, including six week of paid family leave and entering into the county's first collective bargaining agreement with unions.[16][17] He is Chair of the Dulles Corridor Advisory Committee, as well as on the board of the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority, Northern Virginia Transportation Commission (NVTC), the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, and the Virginia Association of Counties. Jeff was also named one of Northern Virginia’s 50 Most Influential People of 2024 by Northern Virginia Magazine.

Following an ethics complaint[18] regarding his purchase in 2017 of a home not listed in MLS from a developer who had business before the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, McKay was investigated by the Virginia State Police in 2019.[19] The investigation considered whether McKay's purchase of his family home from a developer friend for $850,000 in 2017 was an undisclosed gift, which would have been a misdemeanor. McKay denied malfeasance, and was later cleared of any wrongdoing.[20]

After their last pay raise in 2015, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors in March 2023 proposed a 36% pay increase for supervisors and a 45% pay increase for the board chair. Following hours of criticism from County residents, the board approved in an 8-2 vote a 29% pay increase for themselves and a 38% pay increase for the board chair (McKay). McKay stated before the vote: "The board does not enjoy raising its salary. I do not enjoy raising a future board's salary."[21]

In 2024, amid a housing shortage in the D.C. metropolitan area, McKay said that Fairfax County did not intend to follow the lead of other Northern Virginia counties in eliminating single-family exclusive zoning regulations. McKay said it was important to "protect the integrity of our single-family neighborhoods" and that Fairfax County was not capable of accommodating missing middle housing.[22] McKay supports relaxing rules for accessory dwelling units.[22]

On December 5, 2024 at a Post Election Virtual Legislative Roundtable[23] hosted by Dulles Area Transit Association (DATA) McKay discussed the importance of the American Legion Memorial Bridge revitalization project[24] and the shared “The bridge has to be rebuilt. It’s way overdue. We’re in a clock that is already ticking”.[25][26]

Personal life

McKay is a lifelong Fairfax County resident, born and raised on the historic Route One Corridor in Lee District.[27] McKay married Crystal Newsome in 2005.[28] They have two children, Leann and Aidan.[29]

Electoral history

Lee District general election results, 2007[30]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Jeff McKay 10,377 64.6
Republican Doug Boulter 5,656 35.2
n/a Write-ins 20 0.1
Total votes 16,053 100.0
Democratic hold
Lee District general election results, 2011[31]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Jeff McKay 14,425 98.1
n/a Write-ins 272 1.9
Total votes 14,697 100.0
Democratic hold
Lee District general election results, 2015[32]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Jeff McKay 13,104 96.8
n/a Write-ins 429 3.2
Total votes 13,533 100.0
Democratic hold
Fairfax County Chairman of the Board of Supervisors Democratic primary results, 2019[33]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Jeff McKay 29,702 42.5
Democratic Alicia Plerhoples 21,980 31.4
Democratic Ryan McElveen 11,439 16.4
Democratic Tim Chapman 6,851 9.8
Total votes 69,972 100.0
Fairfax County Chairman of the Board of Supervisors general election results, 2019[34]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Jeff McKay 195,342 66.5
Republican Joseph Galdo 97,608 33.2
n/a Write-ins 1,006 0.3
Total votes 293,956 100.0
Democratic hold

References

  1. ^ "About Chairman McKay | Board of Supervisors - Chairman".
  2. ^ "Fairfax County - Lee district". Fairfax County. Retrieved March 12, 2010.
  3. ^ "Jeff C. McKay - 2007 - District Supervisor". The Washington Post. 2007. Archived from the original on October 12, 2008. Retrieved March 12, 2010.
  4. ^ "2019 November General". Archived from the original on January 1, 2020.
  5. ^ "Democrats pick up one board seat in Fairfax but GOP's Herrity hangs on". Washington Post.
  6. ^ "Meet Jeff". McKay for Chairman. Retrieved January 6, 2019.
  7. ^ "Scholarly Commons". JMU Libraries. Archived from the original on October 29, 2023.
  8. ^ "Evolve 1997 Bluestone". commons.lib.jmu.edu. p. 138. Archived from the original on April 19, 2023.
  9. ^ James Madison University (September 26, 1996). "September 26, 1996". The Breeze. 74 (10).
  10. ^ "Exit Dana Kauffman: Enter Jeffrey McKay". www.connectionnewspapers.com. January 24, 2007. Archived from the original on October 20, 2023. Retrieved January 7, 2019.
  11. ^ "Exit Dana Kauffman: Enter Jeffrey McKay". www.connectionnewspapers.com. Retrieved January 6, 2019.
  12. ^ "Democrats pick up one board seat in Fairfax but GOP's Herrity hangs on". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved January 11, 2022.
  13. ^ "One Fairfax | Topics". www.fairfaxcounty.gov. Archived from the original on October 4, 2023. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
  14. ^ "RESOLUTION "One Fairfax"" (PDF). www.fairfaxcounty.gov. July 12, 2016. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 4, 2022. Retrieved November 3, 2023.
  15. ^ "Fairfax Co. adopts policy in hopes of reducing social inequality". WTOP News. November 25, 2017. Retrieved January 11, 2022.
  16. ^ Times, Lydia Antonio-Vila/Fairfax County (July 3, 2020). "Fairfax County passes six weeks of paid family leave". Fairfax County Times. Retrieved January 11, 2022.
  17. ^ Radio, Will Vitka/WTOP (October 21, 2021). "Fairfax County passes collective bargaining ordinance". INSIDENOVA.COM. Retrieved January 11, 2022.
  18. ^ Schweitzer, Ally (May 21, 2019). "Ethics Complaint Filed Against Fairfax County Board Chair Candidate Jeff McKay". WAMU. Archived from the original on July 7, 2022. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
  19. ^ "Fairfax Supervisor McKay meets with state police, says he has nothing to hide regarding home sale". The Washington Post. Retrieved September 26, 2019.
  20. ^ Antonio Olivo, Fairfax Supervisor Jeff McKay cleared of wrongdoing in house purchase The Washington Post, December 3, 2019
  21. ^ Flores, Christian (March 21, 2023). "In 8-2 vote, Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approves massive raises for own positions". WJLA. Archived from the original on April 5, 2023. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
  22. ^ a b "To increase housing, Fairfax County pursues alternatives to ending single-family-only zoning". FFXnow. January 17, 2024.
  23. ^ Dulles Area Transportation Assoc. (December 6, 2024). DATA Dec 5, 2024 Post Election Virtual Legislative Roundtable. Retrieved December 12, 2024 – via YouTube.
  24. ^ "American Legion Bridge". Northern Virginia Transportation Alliance. Retrieved December 12, 2024.
  25. ^ Dulles Area Transportation Assoc. (December 6, 2024). DATA Dec 5, 2024 Post Election Virtual Legislative Roundtable. Retrieved December 12, 2024 – via YouTube.
  26. ^ "Local leaders want to maintain pressure on Maryland over American Legion Bridge | FFXnow". www.ffxnow.com. December 12, 2024. Retrieved December 12, 2024.
  27. ^ "About Chairman McKay | Board of Supervisors - Chairman". www.fairfaxcounty.gov. Retrieved January 11, 2022.
  28. ^ "McKay Officially Enters Lee District Race". www.connectionnewspapers.com. Retrieved January 7, 2019.
  29. ^ "Meet Jeff". McKay for Chairman. Retrieved January 7, 2019.
  30. ^ "Fairfax County Lee District general election results, 2007". Retrieved October 13, 2022.
  31. ^ "Fairfax County Lee District general election results, 2011". Retrieved October 13, 2022.
  32. ^ "Fairfax County Lee District general election results, 2015". Retrieved October 13, 2022.
  33. ^ "Fairfax County June 2019 Democratic Primary Results". Archived from the original on October 14, 2022. Retrieved October 13, 2022.
  34. ^ "Fairfax County 2019 November General Results". Archived from the original on November 10, 2022. Retrieved October 13, 2022.