Herrity has held senior management positions in a number of Northern Virginia government contracting and technology companies.[5][6] He and his wife Nancy have two children.[6][7]
Herrity was reelected in 2011 and 2015 without major-party opposition.[10] In 2019, he narrowly defeated Democrat Linda Sperling by around 600 votes out of more than 40,000 cast.[13] Since 2020, Herrity has been the only Republican on the Board of Supervisors.[14] In 2023, Herrity was endorsed by The Washington Post editorial board and Democratic state senatorChap Petersen.[15][16] He defeated Democratic challenger Albert Vega by 14 percentage points.[17]
Herrity was described by The Washington Post in 2019 as a "voice of fiscal restraint on the board".[13] In office, Herrity advocated for reforming Fairfax County's employee compensation and pension programs, and for increased law enforcement funding.[1][6][19] He vocally opposed a proposed 4 percent county tax on prepared food and beverages, which voters defeated in a 2016 referendum.[6] In 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, Herrity supported allowing for optional in-person learning in schools[20] and opposed Northern Virginia easing restrictions later than the rest of the state.[21]
In 2022, Herrity was the only member of the Board to not vote for a climate resilience plan, abstaining due to concerns about its cost.[22] He voted to put a list of reproductive health resources on the county's website in 2022, and called for the list to also include adoption resources and support for full-term pregnancies.[23] Herrity was one of two board members to vote against a 30% member pay raise in 2023.[24] In 2024, Herrity called on Fairfax County to end sanctuary county policies for undocumented immigrants and honor detainment requests from Immigration and Customs Enforcement.[25]
