McKay accused of using position as supervisor to benefit from a land deal
 |
| Jeff McKay speaks at his campaign kickoff event in January. |
With just a few weeks until the June 11 Democratic primary,
Jeff McKay, the Lee District supervisor who’s considered the frontrunner in the
race for chair of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, has become embroiled
in a controversy over allegations that he benefited from a land deal.
issued statements denouncing McKay’s conduct.
The allegations against McKay, first reported by WAMU, are
described in a memorandum from the Nelson Mullins law firm that says the supervisor
“used his public position for private financial gain.”
application and later obtained property on Roxann Road from Kingstowne developer
Warren Halle after the property was funneled through an entity affiliated with
McKay’s friend Michael McGhan.
associates created Roxann LLC, the entity that ultimately purchased the
property from Halle’s company and transferred it to McKay, the memo states. After
the rezoning was approved, McGhan obtained permits to build a house on the
property. The house was conveyed to McKay in 2017.
buyers in various transactions, and Supervisor McKay never revealed his
conflict of interest or potential conflict to the board before the rezoning vote
occurred,” the memo states. “The Roxann Road property was purchased by
Supervisor McKay and his wife at a below market rate and was never publicly
listed for sale.”
behalf of McKay disputing the allegations and stating that Nelson Mullins “invented some smoke
but there is absolutely no fire.”
that the names involved in these transactions were hidden from the public for some nefarious reason. Recorded deeds and deeds of trust reflect the names of
the parties as well as the consideration paid. A recorded deed in the land
records of Fairfax County is deemed to be notice to the world.”
Supervisor McKay,” Hanes states. “Halle sold the lots [on Roxann Road] to
McGhan. There was no bribe, no violation of any criminal statute involved in
the purchase of McKay’s home.” The sale “represents fair market value.”
into a conspiracy with Halle and McGhan to ensure approval of a land use case, that
Halle bribed McKay in exchange for land use approval, or that McKay engaged in
any criminal conduct.
Alicia Plerhoples, a professor at Georgetown University who is running against McKay in the Democratic primary, accuses McKay of being too cozy with developers.
there is smoke, there is not always fire. But the corruption allegations
against Jeff McKay are the very reason why I refuse to take political
contributions from developers,” Plerhoples says.
campaign has received more than $89,000 from the real estate and construction
industry and $50,000 from businesses affiliated with the Halle company.
while also overseeing zoning approvals is not illegal, but it raises the
specter of impropriety and gives the public doubt about whose interests the Board
of Supervisors serves as Fairfax County continues to grow,” she states.
the fact that the Roxann Road property was not publicly listed, and as a result, McKay was able to purchase
it at an affordable price. “Private sales occur all the time, but we need to hold
our elected officials to the highest standards of integrity,” she said. “One of
the principal roles of the Board of Supervisors is approving development
throughout the county. We need stronger internal board policies to keep
developers at arms’ length to avoid even the appearance of a conflict of
interest.”
more than $835,500 of his own money to his election campaign for board chair, said the allegations
against McKay are “serious and troubling,” and the Board of Supervisors “should
immediately refer this matter for investigation in the proper forum.”
confirm elements of the transactions were structured so that, ‘the property
then could be purchased at a price Supervisor McKay…could afford after selling
his family home,’” Chapman states.
an at-large member of the Fairfax County School Board, said the allegations against
McKay “are disturbing and reopen the wounds of a painful history of untoward
development deals in Fairfax County.”
“I was born in Fairfax County in the 1980s, and I have early memories of vast
swaths of bucolic farmland and horses roaming near my childhood home in Tysons
Corner,” McElveen says. “During my lifetime, we have lacked a commitment to
sustainable development from our Board of Supervisors, and when I see
allegations emerge about quid pro quos involving board members and developers,
I am deeply saddened as a constituent, taxpayer, and resident.”
“The appearance of a conflict of
interest is unequivocal,” he says. “My discomfort with the fact that a supervisor has such
a close relationship with a developer is my primary and enduring concern, and
that concern is not alleviated by the response.”
If
elected, he vows to strengthen the board’s commitment to transparency and
ethical behavior. “Years of greedy,
selfish development have driven many residents away and prevented many members
of our local workforce and youth from returning,” he states.
“As this race has played out,” McElveen says, “I have had no need to reject
donations from developers or make a pledge to do so, because developers have
known from the outset where I stand – with the everyday residents of Fairfax
County.
