Newly elected Rep. James Walkinshaw, D-Virginia, made affordable housing for Fairfax County a key issue during his campaign. Walkinshaw was sworn in Wednesday as the representative for Virginia’s 11th Congressional District, succeeding the late Rep. Gerry Connolly, who died in May.
In an interview with News4 a week before his victory, Walkinshaw shared how he planned to address the affordable housing issue.
“We have to increase the supply of all housing types. We got to meet [Fairfax County Board of Supervisors] Chairman [Jeff] McKay’s goal of 10,000 committed affordable housing units while we preserve all of the existing affordable units that we have,” Walkinshaw said.
Walkinshaw was referring to a goal set by McKay to create at least 10,000 homes by 2034. This initiative is part of Fairfax County’s plan for fiscal year 2025.
“This is the most important issue we’re facing right now, and we have a supply-and-demand problem. We have our 10,000 more by 2034,” McKay told News4.
Hispanics are one of the groups facing the most difficulties accessing affordable housing in the county. According to data from American Community Service, between 2019 and 2023, Hispanics accounted for 56% of renters in Fairfax who spent more than 30% of their monthly income on rent, the largest group in that category.
“We want Fairfax to be a place where every family can thrive, including our Hispanic neighbors,” Walkinshaw said.
Fairfax County leaders say they’re working to create 10,000 affordable housing units by 2034. News4’s Juliana Valencia spoke with Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay about the problem and solutions.
“What you’re seeing in Fairfax County is affordable housing being worked into all new developments, being built in every adversarial district in the county. And we need to keep up that momentum, because this is not just a humanitarian issue; it’s very much, as you mentioned, an economic issue,” McKay said.
Fairfax County faces housing challenges due to layoffs and high cost of living
The remarks of both officials came after a roundtable to discuss the issues that residents and the county are facing in terms of affordable housing. President Barack Obama’s former chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, was one of the guests.
On the panel, Walkinshaw and McKay acknowledged that cost of living is one of the challenges they face, as well as the layoffs of many federal employees due to President Donald Trump’s policies.
According to a report by the Northern Virginia Regional Commission, cited by the Fairfax Times, many young adults are considering moving out of the county due to what they describe as a lack of affordable housing.
As a solution, both officials emphasized the importance of fostering economic development by attracting companies from other locations.
“So I want to go to Congress and defund DOGE in the attacks on our federal workers that are hurting our local economy. And then in Fairfax, we’re going to continue to do what we’ve been doing, which is attracting private sector businesses from across the world,” Walkinshaw said.
“When young families and people decide where they’re going to live, one of the most important things to them is, first, can I afford to live there? And housing is the most expensive thing that any of us pay for,” McKay said.
“And so if we’re going to be competitive and keep drawing in businesses and keep drawing investment into Fairfax County, we’ve got to have the affordable units to support our workforce,” he said.
