Fimian: Connolly spends too much

Keith Fimian's campaign is accusing Rep. Gerald E. "Gerry" Connolly, D-11th, of dressing up for Halloween in the middle of the summer.

Fimian, a Republican, is running for a second time against Connolly, who is serving his first term in Congress.

In a campaign mailer, Connolly highlighted his record of voting against several measures, including the so-called Wall Street bailout and congressional pay raises.

The flier also cited Connolly's record of supporting "pay-as-you-go" legislation and the End Government Reimbursement of Excessive Executive Disbursements Act.

Fimian's campaign, however, cried foul, saying that Connolly left out some other votes, including one for the first installment of the $800 billion stimulus package, the $1.4 trillion health care bill and the cap-and-trade bill.

Fimian campaign manager Tim Edson said Connolly is trying to remake himself ahead of the Nov. 2 election.

"In a desperate attempt to fool voters and cover up trillions in reckless spending, Connolly has resorted to dressing up as a fiscal conservative," Edson said. "And after asking for more money in earmarks than anyone else in the state of Virginia, Connolly makes the misleading claim to have voted against wasteful pork barrel spending."

Edson went further and implied that Connolly was being duplicitous with the mailer.

"It is a known fact that Gerry Connolly will say anything to get elected, even at taxpayer expense. Finding himself trailing Keith Fimian by 5 percent in the polls, he will say anything to hide his record of failure," Edson said.

Connolly spokesman George Burke said the mailer is simply a statement of fact and is there for the voters to judge.

"Gerry Connolly believes his constituents have a right to know how he has voted on issues like reducing the deficit and cutting wasteful spending, and this mailing just lays out the facts," Burke said. "The facts are that he voted against the Wall Street bailout, broke with his own party to oppose $269 billion in spending bills, championed legislation to give the president a line-item veto to cut spending, supported the formation of a bipartisan commission to reduce the federal debt, and voted twice to prevent automatic pay raises for members of Congress."

Burke said Connolly tries to cut spending where he can, even if it's in a small way.

"Gerry Connolly doesn't just talk about fiscal responsibility, he practices it. In 2009, he returned more than $100,000 in unspent office funds to the federal treasury," Burke said.

Connolly readily acknowledges his vote for the first part of the stimulus package but notes that he voted against the second round because there was money left over when it was time to vote again, Burke said.

The vote for the first part of the package was necessary, Burke said.

"The stimulus bill was a direct response to the economic meltdown of 2008," he said.

In addition, Connolly's office provided the following record on federal government money that came to Prince William County:

• $64 million to the Prince William schools, saving 304 teaching positions for a year

• $9.8 million for widening Prince William Parkway between Hoadly and Old Bridge roads

• $9.5 million for energy efficiency upgrades to county school buildings

• $25 million to improve the at-grade railroad crossing on Va. 28 in Manassas so traffic will no longer have to stop for passing trains

• $6.2 million for highway and bridge repairs in Prince William

• $3.9 million for eight additional buses for the Potomac and Rappahannock Transportation Commission

• $5 million for Northern Virginia Electric Cooperative for smart grid technology grid

• A $767,000 grant for Manassas to hire four additional police officers

• $528,000 to the Prince William police for equipment

• $1.2 million to keep the doors open at the Greater Prince William Community Health Center

• $5.5 million for repairs and rehabilitation at Prince William Forest Park

• A $516,000 Community Development Block Grant

• $790,000 for homelessness prevention

• $4 million for neighborhood stabilization

• A $727,200 Homelessness and Rapid Re-Housing Program grant awarded to Action in the Community Through Service

• $75 million for high-speed rail improvements from Powell's Creek in Prince William to Arkendale in Stafford County

• $7 million in small business grants to Prince William companies

• $562 million in contracts to Northern Virginia federal contractors to manage federal programs

The stimulus funding also allowed county schools to:

•Restore middle school athletics

• Reduce proposed increases in class sizes

• Restore Standards of Learning remediation funding

• Reverse plan to charge for IB, AP and SAT tests

• Restore funding for Godwin Middle School's renewal

Small businesses in Prince William also received $7 million in grants under the stimulus bill, Burke said.

Edson, though, said Connolly is playing both ends against the middle.

"This is classic Gerry Connolly. On one hand, he pretends to vote against exploding federal spending," he said. "On the other, he offers a Christmas tree of items from the failed stimulus he voted to spend $800 billion on. He literally has taken both sides of the issue."

Edson said the spending will have consequences.

"Connolly's spending is at the cost of more debt to China, higher taxes and fewer jobs. And next year when the economy continues to falter do to Congress' destructive policies, will Connolly's answer be spending hundreds of billions more? Connolly bankrupted Fairfax County with his reckless spending, and now he is bankrupting America."

Senior Reporter Keith Walker can be reached at 703-369-6751.