Gerry Connolly, who was first elected to Congress in 2008 and represented Virginia’s Congressional District 11, which includes parts of Fairfax County as well as Fairfax City, died Wednesday at 75.

In a statement to WTOP, his family said he died “peacefully at his home this morning surrounded by family.”

“He was a skilled statesman on the international stage, an accomplished legislator in Congress, a visionary executive on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, a fierce defender of democracy, an environmental champion, and a mentor to so many,” the statement read.

In November, he was diagnosed with cancer and began chemotherapy.

In April, Connolly announced that he was stepping down from the House Oversight Committee and would not be seeking reelection.

Virginia Sen. Mark Warner pointed to his friendship with Connolly, whom he’d known for more than three decades.

Speaking with WTOP on Wednesday morning, he called Connolly a fighter.

If you were “in a political fight, or any kind of fight, you wanted him in the foxhole with you. He was tough. He was pugnacious. He always had that great sense of humor,” Warner told WTOP.

Warner joked that some of Connolly’s best moments might not be for family ears.

But: “They were fun ones,” he said.

Warner said that anyone who worked with Connolly “has a Gerry Connolly story.”

“Some of them were spicy,” Warner said, but, “he always brought a sense of fairness to every fight and was willing to stand up to anybody. He hated bullies, and one of the reasons why, candidly, he had such problems with his current administration.”

James Walkinshaw, who represents the Braddock District on Fairfax County’s Board of Supervisors, served as Connolly’s chief of staff on the Hill for more than a decade.

Connolly spent several years studying to be a Catholic priest, which Walkinshaw believes influenced how he governed.

“He really felt like he as a leader in the community, had a duty to serve all of us with every fiber of his being,” Walkinshaw told WTOP. “He put his mind, body and spirit into the work that he did on our behalf each and every day, and I think probably it came from that pastoral mindset that he had.”

The Democratic Party of Virginia said it was mourning Connolly’s loss, calling him “a true giant in Virginia politics.”

“Over decades of leadership — first as Chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors and then as a Congressman for 16 years — he demonstrated an unwavering commitment to the people of Fairfax County, Northern Virginia, and beyond,” said the Democratic Party of Virginia.

“Gerry never wavered in his pursuit of justice, equity, and good government. He was a champion for federal workers, a defender of democracy, and a fierce advocate for Virginia on the national stage. His sharp intellect, quick wit, integrity, and deep devotion to making our country a better place earned him the respect of colleagues on both sides of the aisle.”

Rep. Eugene Vindman, who represents Virginia’s 7th District, said he’d been honored to build a friendship with Connolly.

“Gerry supported me and my family when I was his constituent standing up for the Constitution, and we will never forget the kindness and care he showed us. I looked up to him and valued his wisdom on everything from legislating to family. I know his legacy will always challenge me and my colleagues to put our constituents first, never back down from a fight, and stand up in the name of democracy. I thank him for his years of service. May your memory be a blessing, my friend,” Vindman said in a statement.

Connolly’s legacy: ‘Doing big things is difficult’

Connolly was a political fixture — in Virginia and beyond — for decades. He was first elected to the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors in 1995.

In 2003, he was elected chairman of the board, and he continued pushing for transportation investment that had been debated among officials for decades. Connolly sought billions in state and federal dollars to develop the Metro rail system’s Silver Line connecting the national capital region to Tysons Corner.

His dream was realized with the Silver Line’s opening in 2014, and eight years later, the rail line was extended an extra 11 miles to reach Dulles International Airport.

As the extension opened in 2022, Connolly said: “Doing big things is difficult — the world is filled with naysayers.”

“He kept the faith for many, many decades when it could have failed,” Walkinshaw said of the Silver Line project.

During his time in local government, Connolly also contributed to the development of the Oakton Library, the Mosaic District and, of course, the 40-mile Gerry Connolly Cross Country Trail.

“He’s a singular figure in our community, who had just an incredible, immeasurable impact,” Walkinshaw said. “That impact is etched in every corner of Northern Virginia; the things that he worked on that made our community a better place, and the impact is also etched in the many, many lives that he touched, mine being one of them.”

Connolly’s local government experience launched his congressional career. He was elected in 2008 after flipping an open Republican-held seat by nearly 42,000 votes. In his victory speech, Connolly said he would use his position to ensure the federal bureaucracy is “a responsive, accountable instrument for the people we serve.”

“If we insist the government must work for all of our citizens again, we cannot fail,” Connolly said.

Connolly got his first taste of Congress while working as a staffer for the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations in the 1980s. Decades later, Connolly became a member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs