Editorial: For the 11th Congressional District

Votes on big-ticket items such as health care reform and financial bailouts frequently make headlines, but a congressman’s work, by definition, also has to embrace constituent service.

It’s for this reason, among others, that Rep. Gerald E. “Gerry” Connolly should be re-elected when voters head to the polls Nov. 2.

Virginia’s 11th Congressional District spans Fairfax City and parts of Fairfax and Prince William counties. A longtime supervisor in Fairfax, Connolly was a household name in both that county and in Fairfax City when elected to the House. He wasn’t as well-known in Prince William, though, when he began his first term in Washington.

That no longer can be said. The Democrat has done yeoman’s work in learning about the county, attending or participating in countless events here, even when they were outside the boundaries of his district.

He re-opened a constituent office in Woodbridge, steered stimulus dollars to the region and even donated money to the Boys & Girls Club in Dale City. That made a positive out of what had been a negative (campaign contributions that later were judged to be questionable).

Connolly also has broken with his party when he believed it was in the people’s interest. He keeps a critical eye on the federal deficit, and he has taken heat from the White House for supporting the temporary extension of the Bush tax cuts. He also favors the notion of “pay as you go” legislation, which means new proposals shouldn’t be passed unless they’re accompanied by revenue increases or spending decreases.

The congressman has shown admirable bipartisanship on other matters. He has stood with fellow Prince William-area Reps. Robert J. Wittman and Frank R. Wolf, both Republicans, in boosting teleworking and in supporting the federal 287(g) program, which enables local law-enforcers to help deport criminal illegal immigrants.

And Connolly’s voice has been among the chorus questioning the Obama administration’s plan to shutter the Joint Forces Command in Norfolk and severely curtail government contracting, the latter which could mean job loss in Northern Virginia.

His opponent, Republican Keith Fimian, seems to have been successful in business and in other organizations. But, when it comes to representing most of Prince William County in Congress, Connolly is the right choice.