Lisa Downing challenges Jeff McKay in the Democratic Primary

Lisa Downing, a retired CIA agent who is running in the Democratic Primary for chair of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, says the board is beholden to developers, while she would focus on representing residents.

Downing is going up against board chair Jeffrey McKay, who has widespread support among local leaders. McKay was first elected as supervisor of the Franconia (formerly Lee) District in 2007 and was elected chair in 2019.

Downing talked about the need for more affordable housing and harmful impact of development on the environment at a virtual meeting on May 10 hosted by Donna Jacobson, president of the Lafayette Village Community Association in Annandale.

If elected, Downing vowed to “take back Fairfax from the developers and from this Board of Supervisors that are in their pockets.”

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A resident of Dunn Loring, Downing graduated from the New York Maritime College and worked for the CIA, where she started as an analyst. That job was “too boring,” so she moved on to paramilitary operations and influence operations during the Cold War and then to resource management.

The problem with Fairfax County government is its failure to prioritize, she said. “If you’re not willing to cut a program or to consolidate programs, you are going to fail.”

“We did not prioritize salaries for teachers, for firefighters, for police officers,” she said. And because “we did not stay competitive,” many employees left.

If elected, Downing would also prioritize resources for education, including nurses and counselors in the schools. “Our kids are traumatized.” After not being in school during the pandemic, “now all they hear about is the danger of going outside.”

Another priority is replacing the county’s firefighting equipment, which Downing said she recently found out is carcinogenic. “That’s above anything else in the budget,” she said.

The police are doing a good job she said, but they need more training on when to pursue a suspect and how to de-escalate a situation. “Every time a police officer has to fire a weapon, that’s a tragedy for both sides.” 

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Downing acknowledged she has no political experience and a “shoestring budget.” As a federal employee, the Hatch Act prevented her from getting into politics, but since she retired from the CIA in 2019, she said, “This is my first opportunity to step forward.”

She is running for board chair because she wants “to kick Fairfax County residents out of their complacency.”

“They’ve been on cruise control for too long. They have to know [the county government] is running off the road. It’s going down a dirt path, and eventually, it’s going off a cliff if they don’t wake up, shake up, and vote to bring in people who will respond to the residents.”

“It may not be me this year,” she said, “but in four years, somebody else is going to step forward.”