The growing Tysons region is known for its business prowess and the escalating construction boom that has defined the skyline for a decade now, but last night’s US Senate debate between incumbent Mark Warner and challenger Ed Gillespie shows that Tysons is becoming an important political center as well. As the downtown of Fairfax County, the most populous and largest economic contributor in Virginia, Tysons has been the host of Governor Mcauliffe’s election night headquarters, several statewide debates, its fair share of stump speeches (almost exclusively filmed in front of the Silver Line), and now a pivotal federal race of statewide and nationwide importance.
The debate was held at Capital One’s Headquarters, tucked between three Fortune 500 companies (Capital One, Hilton, Freddie Mac) and a handful of high rise buildings currently under construction. The site is notable not only for being directly adjacent to the Silver Line, but for the new 470′ high rise building that is planned to begin construction this year, helping Capital One expand its own operations in town.
As far as the debate itself, it was what one would expect, a series of questions that will have little impact on every-day citizen’s lives. While same-sex marriage, Super PACs, and esoteric discussions of economic policy and ambiguous regulatory feigning may be the stuff of the 24-hour news cycle, it has almost no connection to citizenry. In terms of transportation infrastructure and modernization, school funding, and how each candidate would work to bring the all important jobs to a tepid Virginian economy (thanks to the sequester) the debate evidently ran out of time. That is a shame, as the Northern Virginia electorate is uniquely tethered to the decisions of both our state and federal politicians on a local level.
Regardless of your political leaning, it is a good sign that important debates like last night’s are being held in Fairfax, and I expect it won’t be the last one.