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Keith Fimian and Gerry Connolly “” two contenders vying for the same congressional seat. This past week, we got Tom Davis’s take on why he supports Keith Fimian to lead Virginia’s 11th Congressional District. Now Rep. Jim Moran (D-VA, 8th District), lets ExecutiveBiz readers in on why he’s backing Gerry Connolly, chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors.
You“™ve been a friend, in certain respects, to the government contracting community. Can you provide any insight as to why you believe Gerry Connolly would be a strong supporter?
Jim Moran: Gerry Connolly works for a government contractor, SAIC. He understands how important government contracting is to Northern Virginia and to the country. He has not taken any of these “no new taxes,“ “no new government spending“ and “no earmark“ pledges because those are not helpful in terms of sustaining the federal commitment to government contracting. The most important thing is that he knows the business, he used to be on the staff of the foreign affairs committee in the Senate and he“™s done a good job as chairman of the county“™s legislative committee.
How do you perceive Connolly“™s business background at SAIC in particular as being an asset in Congress, especially these days?
Jim Moran: There are a lot of aspects of the contracting business that many members are not familiar with. Tom Davis was familiar with them because Tom had worked for a government contractor. I“™ve been familiar with them because I have worked with them closely as well, but I think it is important to understand the role that outsourcing plays, that A76 plays, and the fact that we need war procurement specialists in the government. We need to accelerate the pace of funding government contracts. The world of government contracting is an alien world to too many members of Congress and Gerry, having worked for government contractors, presents a unique asset that we have very few of within Congress today.
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