Dear friends,

Recent weeks have been marked by several notably sad announcements. First, former President Joe Biden announced on May 18 that he has been diagnosed with cancer. Three days later, our own beloved Congressman Gerry Connolly passed away after a short bout with esophageal cancer. On May 24th, former Hunter Mill Supervisor Cathy Hudgins passed away. Then on May 31st, Jerrauld Jones, a former Delegate, civil rights lawyer, and a sitting judge in Norfolk, passed away at age 70.

Congressman Gerry Connolly

YouTube: Celebration of Life for U.S. Congressman, The Honorable Gerald E. "Gerry" Connolly via Heritage Fellowship Church, Reston.

The passing of Congressman Gerry Connolly has brought into focus how well he served the Northern Virginia region and Fairfax County in particular over four decades of public service. Below you can see statements from local leaders on his passing, including my own.

As I've reflected on his passing over this last week, I am troubled by the cynical attitude many in our society have adopted towards age among our political leaders. It is true that we need a constant influx of young leaders with new energy to keep our democratic system vibrant, but we should celebrate those who dedicate decades of their lives to their community. Congressman Connolly fought for us as long and as hard as he could, and the way he conducted himself is a model for future leaders.

Those who wish to send condolences to the Connolly family, you can write to them through his district office in Fairfax:

10680 Main Street, Suite 140
Fairfax, VA 22030
(703) 256-3071

11th Congressional District Special Election

The timing of the special election to fill a vacant seat in Congress is up to the Governor. Earlier this week, Governor Youngkin announced that the General Election for the 11th Congressional District will be held on September 9th, 2025.

To meet this timeline, the 11th Congressional District Committee has called for a primary election to be held on June 28th - three weeks from Saturday - to determine the Democratic Party nominee. You can learn more at cd11votes.com.

I hope everyone will help spread the word - we need every voice to be heard in this process to choose who represents us in the House of Representatives at this pivotal time for our region.

Blockchain Advisory Committee

On May 7th, I chaired the first meeting of the Blockchain Advisory Committee, a subcommittee of the General Assembly's Joint Committee on Science and Technology (JCOTS). I have written an entry of my monthly column for FCNP.com that I hope to share with you soon about the research and oversight roles that I am envisioning for this new working group. I also wanted to share that this meeting, which took place on May 7th, can be viewed online through the House of Delegates' streaming video platform.

I expect the Committee to meet about four times per year, and every meeting should have an opportunity for interested citizens to give public comments about the Committee's work. Future meetings will be announced on the Committee's website here, and I will keep you informed as to our work in this newsletter as well.

Senator Salim and Jodi Kuhn, Executive Director of the Joint Commission on Technology and Science, at the first meeting of the Blockchain Advisory Committee.

FCNP April Column

Every month I write a column for the Falls Church News-Press focused on my office's ongoing legislative work. Earlier this month I wrote about actions taken at the Governor's May deadline to sign the budget and other legislation, including my bill SB 939 to allow state authorities to police mail theft violations. You can read my column here and every month at FCNP.com.

VDOT Traffic & Construction News

VDOT is holding public hearings this week and next on the proposed plans to add two HOT lanes to I-495 on the Woodrow Wilson Bridge. This project will impact daily commutes for many of us, so please take the opportunity to learn about the proposal and submit your feedback.

Monday, June 9, 6-8 PM

West Potomac High School

Cafeteria

6500 Quander Road

Alexandria, VA 22307

Wednesday, June 11, 6-8 PM

Nannie J. Lee Memorial

Recreation Center

1108 Jefferson Street

Alexandria, VA 22314

A virtual public information room containing the hearing materials and information, and opportunities to provide comments online, is available now.

Other Ways to Provide Comments:

Complete the online comment form at www.vdot.virginia.gov/495southside

Email to: [email protected]

Starting last weekend, Route 29 will be closed to through traffic between Clifton Road/Stringfellow Road (Route 645) and Fairfax County Parkway (Route 286) for four weekends to install a culvert as part of the Route 29 widening project, according to the Virginia Department of Transportation.

The Route 29 closures are scheduled to occur as follows, weather permitting:

10 p.m. Friday, June 6 to 5 a.m. Monday, June 9

10 p.m. Friday, June 13 to 5 a.m. Monday, June 16

10 p.m. Friday, June 20 to 5 a.m. Monday, June 23

The new culvert is being installed to carry Willow Springs Branch under Route 29.

Through traffic will be detoured via Clifton Road, Braddock Road (Route 620) and Fairfax County Parkway back to Route 29. The Route 29 widening project is making improvements along Route 29 between Union Mill Road and Buckleys Gate Drive to improve safety, traffic flow and bicyclist and pedestrian accessibility and connectivity. The improvements include widening 1.5 miles of roadway from four lanes to six, adding shared-use paths on both sides of Route 29, and connecting to pedestrian/bicycle trails at the Fairfax County Parkway/West Ox Road interchange

The project is scheduled for completion in spring 2026. You can get traffic, work zone and incident information online at 511.vdot.virginia.gov, via the free mobile 511Virginia app, or by calling 511 in Virginia anywhere anytime.

Upcoming Events

The funeral for former Hunter Mill Supervisor Cathy Hudgins will be held at Saint Thomas à Becket Catholic Church in Reston this Friday, June 6th.

Visitation - 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM

Funeral Service - 11:00 AM - 12:20 PM

Reception - 12:30 PM - 1:45 PM

Next Tuesday, my colleague Senator Ghazala Hashmi will be joining us in Woodbridge for a meet and greet event as part of her campaign to be Virginia's next Lieutenant Governor! This primary election is on June 17th, and early voting is opening now, so this is a great opportunity to get to know one of the candidates as you decide how you will cast your ballot.

The following week on Wednesday, June 18th I will be attending a workshop to talk about housing discrimination, what Fairfax County is doing to reverse historic inequities, and what we can do as a community to have better, fairer, and more affordable housing in the future. I hope you will consider joining me.

Commonwealth Spotlight

Team Salim Chief-of-Staff Aeshah Sheikh at the Falls Church Memorial Day parade with Concerned Citizens for Gun Violence Prevention, State Senator Ghazala Hashmi, Delegate Marcus Simon, and the Tooth Fairies.