McDonnell Touts Early Ties to a Changed Northern Va.

Region Has Become Increasingly Liberal Since Candidate's Upbringing in Fairfax County

By Anita Kumar

Friday, August 14, 2009

Robert F. McDonnell grew up in a neighborhood of military and government families not far from Mount Vernon, where his mother organized tours. He worked summers as a busboy and caddy at Fort Belvoir. He played football at Bishop Ireton High School, once scoring a touchdown against the undefeated T.C. Williams team celebrated in "Remember the Titans." And in 1976, McDonnell married a Redskins cheerleader from McLean.

It was a pretty typical Northern Virginia childhood and one that the Republican constantly focuses on in his campaign for governor, which hinges in part on whether he can convince area voters that he understands their problems and knows how to fix them. McDonnell has spent almost half his time campaigning in Northern Virginia and has already mailed 10 brochures and spent more than $1 million on television ads in the region.

At his official kickoff rally in Annandale in the spring, McDonnell said he has firsthand knowledge of the area's unique issues and shares its residents' values. "I was raised in Fairfax County by a dad who was a World War II veteran and a mom who balanced family and work," he said. "Growing up in Northern Virginia, I learned from them the values that have lasted a lifetime."

But Northern Virginia has changed dramatically since McDonnell left for college in 1972. The population of Fairfax County has more than doubled to 1.1 million, with foreign-born residents increasing from 3 percent to almost 30 percent. Tysons Corner was still mostly farmland in the early 1970s, and many of today's vital commuter routes, including the Dulles Toll Road and Interstate 66 inside the Capital Beltway, were years away from being built.

As it has grown, the region has become increasingly liberal and is the main reason Democrats have won several recent statewide races and turned the once reliably Republican state into a national battleground.

That could pose a challenge to McDonnell, whose conservative social positions -- he opposes abortion in all instances except for when the life of the mother is in danger and favors a ban on same-sex civil unions -- could be a turnoff for many area voters.

Democrat R. Creigh Deeds, who won the Democratic primary in June despite being the only candidate not from Northern Virginia, said McDonnell's priorities are out of touch with the region's voters on social issues, roads and education. He has sought to highlight McDonnell's position on abortion, holding a rally on the topic Monday in Alexandria.

"This election is not about where you're from, it's about what you stand for," said Deeds, who is from rural Bath County.

McDonnell has played down his conservative views, focusing instead on proposals that address quality of life issues such as transportation and education, both of which were announced at events in Northern Virginia. Standing on a parking deck looking over I-66, he pledged to widen the highway inside and outside the Beltway and to set aside a portion of sales tax collections in the region to pay for road projects. At George Mason University, he said he would put the state on a course to award 119,000 additional associate's and bachelor's degrees in the next 15 years.

He acknowledges the vast changes in Northern Virginia since he left for college, but says he has continued to travel regularly to visit his father and his wife's family in Northern Virginia and that he understands the concerns of voters in the region.

"Not only did I grow up there, I maintained a constant connection to Northern Virginia," said McDonnell, 55, who lives outside Richmond after 20 years in Virginia Beach. "What I'm saying to people is, 'I am a Fairfax native. I grew up here. I've maintained 50 years of connection to your community. I have seen this community grow. I understand what you contribute to the commonwealth of Virginia. We must keep you strong.' "

Paul Skelly, an Alexandria lawyer and former classmate from Bishop Ireton, said he encourages people to support McDonnell because of his regional connections. "He's very attuned to Northern Virginia with the deep roots he's got," he said.

"Bob has been in and out of Northern Virginia as a real person for decades," said Tom Farrell, a high school pal of McDonnell who is president of Dominion Resources and one of the Republican's biggest donors. "He lived a real life there -- going to the pharmacy, going to the grocery store. He knows a lot about daily concerns there."

McDonnell spent the first years of his life in the Fort Hunt area, and after a three-year stint in Germany, his family settled in a brick, two-story home in Riverside Estates near Mount Vernon. His father, John, was in the Air Force, and his mother, Emma, stayed home for a while to raise their five children.

He describes his neighborhood as Mayberry -- a simple, tranquil place where families rarely thought about safety and often left their doors unlocked. His longtime neighbor, Mary D'Amico, said most of the families on Wagon Wheel Road had a large number of children who would play together outside with no fear of crime. "They were free to do what they wanted," she said.

McDonnell lived down the street from Mame Reiley, one of the state's top Democratic political consultants, and in high school he dated Dee Gilmore, chief of staff to Republican Rep. Randy Forbes.

He worked every summer -- lining baseball fields for the city of Alexandria, delivering the Mount Vernon Gazette, and even briefly working construction on the McPherson Square Metro stop. His sister, Eileen Reinaman, who lives in Stafford County, said the family spent Saturday mornings collecting driftwood and skipping rocks at a nearby spot dubbed River Annex near Fort Belvoir and Sunday mornings at Alexandria's Good Shepherd Catholic Church, where McDonnell was an altar boy.

McDonnell frequently visited Mount Vernon, which led to a life-long admiration for the nation's first president and a belief in the Founding Fathers' desire to create a government that did not trample on individual rights. An enormous painting of Washington with his head bowed in prayer adorned the wall of McDonnell's attorney general's office.

His yearbooks are filled with references to football. He was team captain, played wide receiver and was one of the few to score a touchdown against T.C. Williams. "It was far and away the best game of my career," McDonnell said.

McDonnell described himself as a "geeky jock" obsessed with his telescope and said that at the time he considered a future in science or engineering. But instead he joined the Army, and went into business and eventually law.

He met his future wife, Maureen, at a party in Northern Virginia following his first year at college. The third of nine children, Maureen was working at the State Department and taking classes at Northern Virginia Community College.

They married after he graduated from college and briefly lived in a one-bedroom apartment at Belle Haven Towers in Alexandria before leaving Northern Virginia for good.

The family still has the house on Wagon Wheel Road, even though it's empty. McDonnell's father, John, 93, moved into a rehabilitation facility more than a year ago. A blue-and-white "McDonnell for Governor" sign is in the front yard.

Staff researcher Meg Smith contributed to this report.

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