Page Avenue Post Office May Be Renamed to Honor Late Congressman
Published on December 04, 2025
Congressional representatives this week introduced legislation to rename one of the city’s two post offices in honor of the late Congressman Gerald E. ‘Gerry’ Connolly, who died earlier this year.
If approved, the post office at 10660 Page Ave. would be called the “Congressman Gerald E. ‘Gerry’ Connolly Post Office Building.”
Connolly represented Fairfax City and Fairfax County for three decades at the local and federal levels. He served on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors from 1995 to 2008, including two terms as chairman (2004-08), and on the U.S. Congress 11th District from 2009 to 2025.
The legislation is being brought forward by Rep. James Walkinshaw, Connolly’s successor for the 11th Congressional District, and U.S. Senators Tim Kaine and Mark Warner. The bill is being co-sponsored by Reps. James Comer, Rob Wittman, Morgan McGarvey, Bobby Scott, Jennifer McClellan, Don Beyer, Brett Guthrie, Mike Turner, Rep. Suhas Subramanyam, and Eugene Vindman.
“Gerry Connolly was a singular force for good in Fairfax,” Walkinshaw said in a statement. “I watched him pour his intellect, integrity, and energy into serving this community every single day. He devoted his life to lifting up disadvantaged community members and giving voice to those too often unheard.”
Mayor Catherine Read said, “Gerry Connolly was a great representative of Fairfax City as our Congressman since 2009. He was also instrumental in supporting our city in his elected roles with Fairfax County, a jurisdiction we are partnered with on many programs and services. He extolled the importance of local government at every opportunity and emphasized the level of accountability involved in serving your neighbors as an elected official. His contributions to Northern Virginia in various roles on regional commissions goes back decades.
“Congressman Connolly was instrumental in my election as the first woman mayor of Fairfax City in 2022. He was a great supporter and worked hard on behalf of my campaign. He was also a good friend. It was his wish to be buried in the Fairfax City Cemetery, and for many months, I watched for his headstone to arrive. His wife, Smitty, carefully tended his burial place with planters of flowers, which I could see on my drive to City Hall every day. As I drove to a work session on the evening of Oct. 7, I looked over as I always do and saw there was a headstone there. It made me happy to see it.
“It’s now my habit to look for Gerry’s resting place on my daily drive to City Hall, and immediately beyond that view is a stop sign at Page Avenue where the city’s post office is located. The renaming of the post office is a fitting tribute to Gerry Connolly, and also a very practical connection, since Gerry is now providing eternal oversight to the post office that is nearly adjacent to his final resting place.”
On Dec. 3, the House bill was advanced by the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform to the full chamber. The legislation must be approved by both the House and Senate before being signed into law by the president.