Rep. James Walkinshaw, formerly a Fairfax County supervisor, took office in September as the new representative for Virginia’s 11th Congressional District. He succeeded Rep. Gerry Connolly, who died in May. Now, Walkinshaw shares how he’s adjusting to the new role and his goals for the upcoming year.
What is one thing the late Congressman Gerry Connolly taught you?
I was his chief of staff for 11 years, so we worked together for a long time. One thing is, if you want to be in politics, you have to enjoy people and like the absurdity of the human experience. You have to be able to laugh at yourself, and not take things too personally, and just enjoy the day-to-day interaction with a lot of different people, with a lot of different perspectives from a lot of different walks of life.
How are you settling into your new role?
The thing that’s been a surprise, obviously, was the [federal government] shutdown, and the fact that the House of Representatives was also effectively shut down for seven weeks. I was still there with other Democrats — making the point that we should be there working — but there wasn’t any official business of the House taking place. Shutdowns are hard for our region, hard for our community.
What issues and opportunities do you anticipate for 2026?
The biggest challenge that will face us early in the year is that the government funding runs out again on January 30, so we need to find a way to address that pretty quickly. The health care affordability issue is very real and very urgent. I talk to my constituents every day who share with me the fact that their health care premiums are set to skyrocket, and so we’ve got to find a way to deal with that.
You’re a NoVA native. What’s special about this region?
I think the word that comes to mind for me with respect to Northern Virginia is dynamic. We have a dynamic economy. We have a dynamic culture, and when I was born here in 1982, it was, for the most part, filled with people who looked like me and looked like my family. But today, 30 percent of the district that I represent is foreign-born. It has become a destination for some of the best and brightest and hardest working people from across the globe who want to come here and reach their dreams.
What are your go-to Northern Virginia restaurants?
I have a 5-year-old, so our palates are relatively simple. We love Old Dominion Pizza in Fairfax City, we love Guapo’s in Merrifield. But if it was me and my wife on a date night, I think Clarity in Vienna is definitely a favorite of ours. My dad was a plumber, and I would spend a lot of summers and holidays working with him on construction sites. Anytime we were in the Chantilly area, we would get lunch at Willard’s barbecue. If I’m anywhere within 10 miles of Willard’s around lunchtime, I make a point to have lunch there.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity
Feature image of James Walkinshaw, public domain
This story originally ran in our January issue. For more stories like this, subscribe to Northern Virginia Magazine.
