Sully Incumbent Runs on Platform of Fiscal Conservatism, Constituent Service

Born: Lehman, Pa., moved to Fairfax County in 1982.

Education: 1983 George Mason University graduate, Bachelors Degree in government and politics.

Family: Single, a homeowner in the London Commons community of Centreville.

Occupation: Public servant.

Public Office: First elected to public office in 1991 as Sully District Supervisor.

In his very first run for public office in 1991, Michael Frey wanted to become a Fairfax County Supervisor for the newly created Sully District, a massive area carved out of the rapidly expanding westernmost section of the county.

Frey, a Republican, won the seat which he has never relinquished, becoming the only supervisor that the Sully District, which includes Centreville, Chantilly and Difficult Run, has ever known. Back then, it was the Northern Virginia version of the “wild west,” Frey said, with ongoing battles over how the district would grow and where development would happen.

Those development struggles have largely been resolved, but the massive population growth in the district has created new issues of traffic congestion and the delivery of services – such as good schools, public safety and healthcare.

Frey, who is running for reelection in the Sully District against Shahid S. Malik (D), a Chantilly businessman, says he is still the best one to do the job. The election is Nov. 8.

“Everybody is for small government until it comes to cutting some of the things that they want,” said Frey, a fiscal conservative. “In local government, what we are trying to do is deliver those services that people come to expect without raising their taxes.”

Frey is one of three Republicans on the Democratic-controlled Board of Supervisors. The Sully District is considered to be slightly Republican. It went for McDonnell in 2009, but supported President Obama in the 2008 presidential race. 

Frey doesn’t shrink from his GOP roots—his parents voted for both Richard Nixon (at least twice) and Barry Goldwater—and he says he is all about getting things done.

“It’s easy to be partisan when you’re on the outside,” Frey said. “On the board, we are less partisan. We look at an issue and see how we can solve it. That what the people who elected us have come to expect.”

Frey points to his record that has made priorities of education, public safety and transportation. He has supported keeping police funding level during these tight budgetary times and advocated funding to keep School Resource Officers at all the county’s middle and high schools.

Fixing the endless commute many Chantilly residents face is also a priority for Frey, who notes that studies show the average Fairfax County resident loses up to 70 hours a year stuck in traffic. He supported the creation of the public–private transportation collaboration which led to significant improvements to Route 28, authored the plan to replace Metro bus service in the Centreville/Chantilly area with the cheaper Fairfax connector service and help usher in numerous improvements to the local roads, including the median work on Stone Road and the widening of Poplar Tree Road.

He has led the way in of the Centreville Historic District – at the intersection of Routes 28 and 29—and emphasized the need for the preservation of the district green spaces that provide Centreville with a scent of its horse-farm, rural past.

Frey is probably proudest of his budget fights with the Democratic majority. He has voted against the five times in the past 10 years, wanting to preserve low tax rates for residents. However, he also doesn’t believe in budget deferments, like the one used by Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) to balance his state budget.

“We can’t pass a budget that is balanced by deferring payments to pension plan retirees,” Frey said. “When you are a partisan, it’s easy to be pure. But that hard line doesn’t solve problems and get things done.

“Here, at the local level of government, people expect us to get things done,” Frey said.

Check back tomorrow to read a profile of Frey's opponent, Shahid Malik.