Former Mayor David Meyer Recognized By Fairfax County Supervisors

FAIRFAX CITY, VA — Fairfax County Board of Supervisors presented Fairfax City Mayor David Meyer with a proclamation, recognizing him for his capable leadership in the city and across Northern Virginia.

"What I want to talk about is just what a great friend he is and collaborator," Chairman Jeff McKay said, after introducing the resolution during the board's meeting Tuesday morning. "You run across a lot of people in public life, and not all of them always have the calmness, the demeanor, the professionalism, the collaborative spirit that Dave Meyer has."

McKay called Meyer a model of public service and thanked him for being a friend and a partner.

"We had a lot of tough things to deal with, mainly the pandemic and all the effects on all of our residents of that," he said. "You've been a stalwart supporter, and somebody that I've admired throughout that time and am proud to count as a partner."

Each of the supervisors took turns lauding Meyer, many had worked with him over the years on regional commissions or city-county initiatives.

Mason District Supervisor Penny Gross recalled one time when Meyer showed up late for a meeting of one the regional commissions they served on together.

"The reason he was late was an elderly constituent had called him," Gross said. "She had a pipe burst or something in her house, and she called the mayor to get it fixed. And what did the mayor do? He put on his blue jeans, rolled up his sleeves, and went to fix her pipe. That made him late. How many of us would actually do that?" The story elicited laughter from many in the room.

When Meyer stepped to the podium, he thanked the supervisors for their remarks. He reminded them that the first 30 years of his life were spent in Fairfax County, which was good preparation for serving as mayor of the City of Fairfax.

"My father for many years was a coach in the Vienna Little League, and my mother was an election officer in the Vienna Community Center for almost 30 years," he said. "So, they imbued to me a sense of very quiet modeling of public service and serving the community."

Meyer also thanked the supervisors for providing collaborative opportunities between the city and county.

"We did an amazing amount of groundbreaking work in so many areas," he said. "We established a stronger relationship with George Mason University. We worked collaboratively to ensure that the reconstruction of I-66 didn't have a negative impact on the communities along the highway."

Meyer recalled a March 2020 meeting of public officials at the Sherwood Community Center in Fairfax City.

"Chairman McKay and I and many of you were there to talk about this unusual virus that no one really understood what was happening," he said. "We didn't realize that we were on the cusp of a global pandemic that was going to change the future of the whole planet. We were somewhat ground zero in this area for that. There's no better example of how regional cooperation can make a difference in saving lives, and that's what happened in Northern Virginia. We couldn't have done that without the county and the county couldn't have done it without the the talented people from from the state health department."

It was also during the pandemic that a national reckoning about race in America had started, Meyer noted, forcing every community, including Fairfax City, to have an honest conversation about the past.

"I found great help and guidance to me personally about the initiative for One Fairfax, because One Fairfax isn't just Fairfax County," he said. "It's really One Fairfax writ large. ... We did several things in concert and in parallel with the county to look at our history through a much wider aperture to understand fully why things turned out the way they did, the legacy that we inherited, what we should do about that, and what we're called to do about that."

Meyer went on to thank Mayor Catherine Read and City Councilmember Jon Stehle, who were at the Fairfax County Government Center on Tuesday for the presentation. He also thanked Fairfax County Executive Bryan Hill, former County Executive Ed Long, Fairfax City Manager Rob Stalzer, and former City Manager Bob Sisson, and those who worked for them for helping to keep the city and county moving forward together.

McKay read the following resolution, which was adopted unanimously by the board of supervisors:

"Whereas David Meyer was elected mayor of the City of Fairfax in 2017;

"And whereas prior to his tenure as mayor, David Meyer, a resident of the City of Fairfax since 1981, served capably for five terms on the Fairfax City Council;

"And whereas David Meyer's love of Fairfax is evident, including in his service on the Historic Fairfax City Board of Directors and as co author of 'Fairfax Virginia: A City Traveling Through Time;'

"And whereas during his tenure, David Meyer led the City of Fairfax through challenges like the pandemic, growth and economic development and achievements like the city's triple A bond rating, one of only four cities in Virginia with that rating;

"And whereas David Meyer has also contributed his time and talent through service as a regional leader on the Virginia Northern Virginia Transportation Commission and Northern Virginia Regional Commission;

"And whereas David Meyer has been a supportive, dedicated and knowledgeable collaborator and partner in helping to make Fairfax City and Fairfax County and the region a great place to live, work and play and do business;

"Now therefore be it resolved that the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors on behalf of all residents of Fairfax County does hereby congratulate David Meyer for his achievements as mayor, expresses his gratitude for his service and wishes him well in all his future endeavors."