5 Things to Know About Fairfax County Executive

Fairfax County Executive Anthony H. Griffin spoke at the recent annual meeting of the McLean Citizens Association.

Griffin, who was  appointed by the Board of Supervisors  on Jan. 15, 2000, and serves at the pleasure of the Board, is hardly a household name and he means to keep it that way. Here are some little known facts about Griffin:

1. He is a member of St. Dunstans Episcopal church on Kirby Road in McLean. He was raised in that church. He was married there as was one of his children. He lives between Reston and Fair Oaks but continues to belong to St. Dunstans because of the family ties.

2. He was born in Washington, D.C. His family moved to Arlington when he was a year old. He grew up in Northern Virginia. He is a graduate of Yorktown High School in Arlington.

3. He joined the Marines, became an officer and served in Vietnam. He served with the First Marine Division largely outside of Danang.

4. He worked for six years as city manager of Falls Church. He left in 1989 to become deputy county executive in Fairfax County.

5. He runs a city. Fairfax looks like a suburb but it's really a city with big-city problems. More than 1 million people now live in Fairfax which is more than lives in eight states. He oversees the county's $6.6 billion budget. That's a budget larger than four states.