Washingtonian Magazine Profile of Sharon Bulova
From Washingtonian Magazine, "Woman Power," October 2009
Sharon Bulova has to deal with a big transportation challenge—the increased traffic created by the relocation of 13,000 jobs to Fort Belvoir.
SHARON BULOVA
Chairman, Fairfax County Board of Supervisors
For Sharon Bulova, local politics started on the street where she lives. When she moved to the Kings Park West development in Fairfax, she joined the civic association. Bulova found herself leader of the group just as Fairfax County decided to build a new road through the neighborhood.
Bulova and Audrey Moore—then the supervisor for Bulova's supervisory district—worked out a compromise. The road went through, but a buffer of trees helped shield homeowners from traffic.
As the trees grew in Braddock, so did the political interest of the young mother taking night classes at Northern Virginia Community College and working as office manager of an electronics company. When a vacancy opened on Moore's staff, Bulova jumped at the chance to fill it.
Moore later was elected chairman of the county Board of Supervisors. Her term was less than successful, but it launched Bulova into electoral politics. She ran for a seat on the board. For 17 of her 21 years in the position, she was budget chairman. She became a transportation expert and mass-transit advocate. Thanks in part to her efforts, Virginia Railway Express now operates commuter-rail service to DC from as far out as Fredericksburg and Manassas. "VRE was my baby," Bulova says.
When Board of Supervisors chairman Gerry Connolly was elected to Congress, Bulova decided to run for his former post. She was elected in February.
Managing Fairfax County requires a lot more than getting tire trains to run on time. The county is facing budget short falls, increased youth-gang activity, and ever-growing traffic.
More than half of the county budget goes to education. That leaves all of the other essential programs to compete for the remaining tax dollars.
Bulova counts on the Fairfax tradition of citizen involvement to help deal with the tough issues. She's also held forums with county employees to get their budget ideas. Bulova loves her job, and her enthusiasm is contagious. Her son David now represents her old neighborhood in the Virginia General Assembly.
Where does she go from here? Both Tom Davis and Gerry Connolly used the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors chairmanship as a launching pad to run for Congress. Bulova insists she has no such ambitions: "This is the job I want."
