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As the 1990's began, the Chamber was preoccupied with the
economic condition in the county. In addition to 1989's downsizing,
some citizens had launched a tax revolt at the close of the
previous decade, citing the fact that county revenue grew
twice as fast as inflation and five times faster than population
increases between 1980 and 1989. Amidst this clamor, the frenzied
building pace of recent years produced a glut of speculative
office space that drove down rents and weakened the strength
of real estate investments.
 The
business climate in late 1990 was very grim due to the recession,
so I thought we needed to have some fun. So we held a black
tie and Bermudas Chairman's Ball. A hotel guest saw Senator
Clive Duvall walking in green shorts and his tux and exclaimed
to his wife, "That poor man forgot his pants!"
-L. Burwell Gunn, Chairman, 1990-1991
Indeed, the first eight months of 1989 saw 27 percent
less office space leased than the same period a year earlier
and lenders were beginning to foreclose on property in Fairfax.
The Washington Post reported that to attract tenants
building owners offered as much as eighteen months of free
rent on a ten year lease.
In early 1990, declaring that "the magnitude of transportation
issues in Fairfax County and Northern Virginia has paralyzed
the region's political leadership," the Fairfax County
Chamber announced an ambitious ten-year $1.5 billion transportation
plan. Tolls on I-66, a local gas tax, and county government
contributions were proposed to widen Interstate 66, complete
the Fairfax County Parkway, and undertake other improvements.
Chamber President Gary Hevey told the Post that
this was a "pragmatic, doable program, which can be accomplished
over the next 10 years." Indeed, the paper editorialized
that it was a "proposal that the politicians would do
well to digest and then execute." However, the weak economy
ultimately short-circuited this plan.
 The
Chamber's advocacy on behalf of the business community also
involves federal lawmakers. Here, the Chamber's leadership
team, led by Chairman Gary Hevey (center) pays a visit to
Capitol Hill,, where they met with Senators John Warner (center
right) and Chuck Robb (center left) and Congressman Frank
Wolf (third from left). (Photo, Fairfax County Chamber of
Commerce.
As 1990 drew to a close, the Chamber produced a
professional evaluation of the business community's role in
local economy and civic life. The "Fairfax Futures"
report was meant to counter the misconceptions of citizens
and political leaders about business growth. "We must
not lose sight of the good things happening here. And we need
to understand who is paying for them," the report urged.
It cited research by George Mason University economist James
T. Bennett that showed businesses providing a disproportionate
share of taxes and donating much time and money to local charities.
As the Chamber's public relations
effort was implemented, and as the entire nation suffered
economically, the county suffered its worst post-war recession.
Real estate values, especially those of high rise office buildings,
continued to plunge. Nearly a quarter of Fairfax County's
office space was vacant in January 1991, and unemployment
was increasing. "It is obviously a very painful time
for employers and employees across the board," Chamber
President Judith Forehand told the Washington Post.
"The
deal-closing, scene-making, dream spinning days aren't likely
to return."
 Fairfax
County Government Center Complex (photo courtesy of theFairfax
Office of Public Affairs)
By
1992, more than 7,300 jobs had been lost in Fairfax, an unprecedented
occurrence in a jurisdiction that added nearly 180,000 jobs
between 1980 and 1990. The "deal-closing, scene-making,
dream spinning days aren't likely to return. An era of diminished
expectations has arrived," declared the Post.
Newsweek magazine termed the county government "financially
troubled" and highlighted the perceived excesses of the
new county government headquarters under construction in Fair
Oaks. The Fairfax County Chamber urged economy in the building's
completion and other county expenditures. It also sought a
reversal of the County's development restrictions.
Of the 1991 local electoral choices, the Chamber said, "[p]erhaps
at no other time in our history has this decision been more
critical."
 Tysons
Corner has been a popular retail location since the 1960's,
but now is known worldwide for its concentration of corporate
offices and tech jobs. Tysons Corner has 22 million square
feet of office space and McLean is ranked seventh in the U.S.
for computer software jobs. (Photo courtesy of the Fairfax
County Public Library Photographic Archive.)
"For the last four years, a series of actions by the
county government has served to alienate and discourage the
business community. Some political leaders have tried to polarize
the county by pitting the business community against the residents.
They seem to forget that the businesses in Fairfax County
are residents too." After several incumbents were turned
out of office and the new Board of Supervisors proposed a
tax on restaurant sales to address a budget deficit, the Chamber
also argued against that levy. The Chamber, however, supported
merit pay for school teachers and otherwise continued its
active commitment to public education.
In August 1991, in recognition of the increasingly significant
role that high technology companies played in the local economy,
the Northern Virginia Technology Council became legally independent
of the Chamber at a ceremony featuring Lieutenant Governor
Donald Beyer, Jr. Within a few years, it became one
of the nation's most successful and visible technology organizations.
In 1995, under new President Lorraine Lavet and Chairman
Joel Birken (titles since bestowed upon the professional
head of the organization and the leader of the Board of Directors),
the Chamber played the lead role in another effort to abolish
the gross receipts tax levied by localities.
During the year, the Leadership Fairfax program became independent
of the Chamber. In addition to many industry executives, by
1999 two members of the Board of Supervisors, the Sheriff,
one member of the House of Delegates and other elected officials
had completed the program.
 Chairman
Ed Bersoff tells a White House audience, including President
Bill Clinton, that business will benefit from reduced government
paperwork requirements during the 1995 ceremony to sign the
"Paperwork Reduction Act" into law. (Photo, Fairfax
County Chamber of Commerce)
In 1996, when a series of local tax increases were
suggested, the Chamber worried about the potential of hampering
economic recovery. It ran radio ads to push first for reduced
county spending. Raising revenue without other adjustments
would be another "reflection of our unwillingness to
say no to nearly any new spending program over the past several
years," Chairman Edward H. Bersoff told the Board
of Supervisors.
 The
Fairfax County Chamber is the only chamber of commerce with
two full-time lobbyists representing the Northern Virginia
business community in Richmond and before the Board of Supervisors.
©Wayne K. Hill, Jr.
By the end of the decade, the circumstances had changed and
so too the Chamber's position. With the economy booming, the
Chamber pushed for new school construction and transportation
improvements. Among other projects, it pushed for a new 12-lane
Woodrow Wilson Bridge to replace the forty year-old span that
had long exceeded its design capacity. The county's inadequate
infrastructure was seen as a result of the state's continuing
practice of allocating insufficient money for Fairfax's needs.
 Virginia
Governor James S. Gilmore, III promoted his transportation
package for Northern Virginia, at the Chamber's Board of Directors
meeting in October, 1999 (Photo, Fairfax County Chamber of
Commerce)
Because state and local government responsibilities
had grown and changed over past years while tax collection
mechanisms remained the same, the Chamber began to call for
an overhaul of the tax system to better coordinate revenue
sources with service requirements. In the meantime, because
Fairfax's economic successes had allowed the state to enjoy
extraordinary revenue gains, the Chamber pushed for the state
to share some of its tax dollars with localities. With only
fourteen percent of Virginia's population, Fairfax County
businesses and residents provided twenty-four percent of the
Commonwealth's income tax revenue. Chairman Todd Stottlemyer
and President Judy Gray urged the Board of Supervisors not
to reduce taxes in 1999 because doing so might make the situation
seem less acute and therefore make state leaders even more
reluctant to direct revenue to Fairfax County.
The 1990's closed out with the swearing-in of the Chamber's
first African-American Chairman, attorney James W. Dyke, Jr.
Building upon the work of previous Chairmen, Dyke and the
Chamber's leadership brought renewed attention to Northern
Virginia's transportation needs. "So far, only the Fairfax
County Chamber of Commerce has stepped into this leadership
void, by calling for creative discussion with the governor
of potential transportation solutions and funding sources,"
wrote the Washington Post. Due largely to the Chamber's
advocacy, the 2000 session of the Virginia General Assembly
was dominated by the transportation issue, and a $2.6 billion,
six-year plan emerged to fund infrastructure projects around
the Commonwealth.
 The
Valor Awards, now in its 22nd year, is the business community's
way to say "thank you" to the public service heroes
of Fairfax County. (Photo, Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce)
By its seventy-fifth year, the Fairfax County Chamber
of Commerce has grown to become "The Voice of Business
in Northern Virginia." Its leaders have been called upon
to discuss pressing business issues with the President of
the United States. A former dairy community of about 23,000
residents is now home to nearly one million citizens.
No longer a suburb of Washington, D.C., most Fairfax County
residents work here as well. Indeed, the county has the fifth
largest amount of office space in the United States today.
Fairfax's businesses, many at the forefront of the new technology-based
economy, are known worldwide. The County is home to about
2,000 technology companies with 60,000 local employees. Over
half of the world's daily Internet traffic flows through the
county. No doubt those founders who had gathered at the courthouse
years before would be pleased and proud.
In
the Chairmen's Words...
1990 was the year that the real estate market crashed and
the area entered into the worst recession in years. The Chamber
persevered, and led the country in changing from a predominant
no growth attitude to supporting EDA efforts and otherwise
opening back up for business. It was a very tough but rewarding
year for the Chamber and set the stage for the prosperity
we see today.
L.
Burwell Gunn, Chairman, 1990-1991
The best
part of my 15+ years (and still counting) association with
the Chamber has been meeting hundreds of people I would not
have otherwise met. I have received much more from the Chamber
than I will ever be able to give back.
Dale
Peck , Chairman, 1991-1992
My year
as Chairman followed some difficult times for our country
and the economy as a whole. The year was one of continued
recovery, a more positive business climate and growth. We
recognized Fairfax County as "The Region's Pride, The
Nation's Envy." What a great year!
Michael
Anzilotti , Chairman, 1992-1993
For 75
years, the Chamber of Commerce has shown that the concern
of our business community is not limited to just commerce.
It also includes the business of education, the business of
art, the business of government, and the business of growing
strong families and individuals.
Ed
Bersoff , Chairman, 1995-1996
The Chamber
has a consistent track record of promoting and advocating
for the best interests of its member companies and the over
650,000 businessmen and businesswomen they employ. It is truly
the voice of business in Northern Virginia.
Terrie
G. Spiro, Chairman, 1997-1998
The Fairfax
Chamber has been and continues to be the leading advocate
for our County's and our region's continued economic prosperity
and outstanding quality of life. The Chamber is second to
none in its strong representation of the interests of business.
Todd
Stottlemyer, Chairman, 1998-1999
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