Lives of Consequence
Anthony H. Griffin ’68
Former Fairfax County, Va., County Executive
Tony Griffin ’68 retired as Fairfax County Executive in 2012 after serving in local government for 37 years, 13 as County Executive. Fairfax County, Va., is a full service local government with more than 12,000 full time employees and a total budget in excess of $6 billion.
Under Griffin’s leadership, Fairfax County was named “one of the best managed jurisdictions in America” by Governing Magazine and maintained a Triple A rating from all three rating agencies during his tenure. In 2003, Griffin was awarded the Stone Practitioner Award from the American Society of Public Administration for his commitment to improve intergovernmental cooperation, especially in response to the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attack on the Pentagon, the anthrax incidents in 2001 and the regional sniper attacks in 2002.
Additionally, Griffin represented Fairfax County on the District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority, served as chair of the Chief Administrative Officers Committee of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG) and was appointed to the Department of Homeland Security’s local, state, tribal and federal Preparedness Task Force by former U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano. In 2007, Griffin was elected as a fellow to the National Academy of Public Administration and in 2011 was presented with the International City/County management Association’s Mark E. Keane Award for sustained career excellence. In 2014, the COG awarded the first Ronald F. Kirby Award for Collaborative Leadership to Griffin.
Upon leaving local government, Griffin joined the faculty of George Mason University’s Department of Public and International Affairs as Practitioner in Residence, where he taught courses related to local government management until 2014. He was also a member of GMU’s three Centers on the Public Service, where he helped develop programming and research projects.
Griffin earned a B.A. in American history from Hobart, where he served as a student adviser and a member and editor of Echo and Pine, Little Theater and St. John’s Guild. After graduation, he enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps and was commissioned an officer in December 1968. After further training he went to Vietnam in September 1969 and returned stateside a year later. After leaving active duty at the end of 1971, he enrolled at Virginia Tech University from which he received two master’s degrees in public administration and planning.
Griffin began his career in local government with Arlington County, Va., in 1975 where he worked for eight years as an aide, assistant, acting county manager and deputy manager. In 1983 he became city manager for the City of Falls Church, Va., and in 1989 moved to Fairfax County as deputy executive for Planning and Development. In late 1999, he was selected as county executive, a position he held until retirement.
Griffin is a Virginia governor appointee to the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Board, which governs National and Dulles airports and is building the 26-mile extension of Metrorail to Dulles Airport and Loudoun County. He is also an at-large member of the Fairfax Water Authority which serves nearly two million people. Griffin is currently a trustee and vestry member of St. Dunstan’s Episcopal Church, in McLean, Va., where he was a former senior warden.