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John Foust

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John Foust
Member of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors
from the Dranesville district
Assumed office
2008
Preceded byJoan M. DuBois
Personal details
Born
John William Foust

(1951-09-05) September 5, 1951 (age 73)
Johnstown, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseMarilyn Jerome Foust
Children2
EducationUniversity of Pittsburgh
George Washington University Law School (JD)
OccupationLawyer
Website[1]

John William Foust (born September 5, 1951) is an American politician serving as a member of the Fairfax County, Virginia Board of Supervisors from the Dranesville district. The district includes McLean, Great Falls, Herndon and portions of Vienna and Falls Church. Foust made an unsuccessful bid as the 2014 Democratic candidate for Virginia's 10th congressional district in the U.S. Congress.

Personal life and education

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Foust grew up in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, the oldest of five brothers. After graduating from Bishop McCort High School in Johnstown, he became the first person in his family to attend college and earned a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Pittsburgh in 1973. To pay for his education, he worked each summer as a laborer in the steel mills and on the railroad tracks. Foust earned an M.B.A. from the West Virginia College of Graduate Studies in 1976, and a J.D. degree from George Washington University Law School in 1981.[1][2]

In 1984, John married Dr. Marilyn Jerome, a partner in Foxhall Ob-Gyn Associates in Washington, D.C. They have two sons, Matthew, a graduate of Vanderbilt University's Peabody College of Education and Patrick, a graduate of the Georgetown University Walsh School of Foreign Service.

Career

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After graduating from the University of Pittsburgh, Foust worked full-time for C&P Companies, performing and supervising economic, cost analysis, and regulatory studies. During this time, he attended night law school classes. He then practiced construction law in Northern Virginia until his election to the Board of Supervisors.

He served as the president of the McLean Citizens Association, and as chairman of the Environmental Quality Advisory Council's legislative committee. He also served as the chairman of the Chain Bridge District of the Boy Scouts of America.

Foust lost the June 1999 Democratic primary for the 34th District seat in the Virginia House of Delegates to Carole Herrick, who lost the November election to incumbent Republican Vincent F. Callahan Jr.[3]

Foust ran against Republican Joan Dubois for the Dranesville District seat on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors vacated by Stuart Mendelsohn in 2003, losing by 510 votes out of the over 23,000 cast.[4] In a 2007 rematch, Foust defeated Dubois with 53.5% of the vote. He then won re-election against Dennis D. Husch in 2011.[2][5] Foust won reelection to a third term on November 3, 2015, defeating his Republican opponent.

As a member of the Board of Supervisors, Foust serves as the chairman of the Board's Audit Committee and as Vice Chairman of the Board's Budget and Transportation Committees. In addition, Foust serves as Chairman of the Fairfax County Economic Advisory Commission and also serves on the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission, the Route 28 Transportation Improvement Commission, the Mosaic Community Development Authority, the Dulles Rail Phase I and Phase II Transportation Improvement District Commissions, the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, and the National Capital Region Emergency Preparedness Council.[2]

He plans to retire from the Board of Supervisors at the end of his term in January 2024.

U.S. House campaign

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Following the retirement announcement of Republican Frank Wolf, Foust ran for Congress unsuccessfully in Virginia's 10th congressional district in 2014.[6]

Some endorsers of John Foust included the American Federation of Government Employees,[7] The Human Rights Campaign,[8] Everytown For Gun Safety,[9] and the National Education Association.[10]

During the campaign, Foust was criticized for saying of his opponent, Barbara Comstock, "I don't think she's even had a real job."[11] When confronted in a TV interview about his comments, he said: "The problem is, those jobs were so hyper-partisan, and that was the point I was making."[12]

Electoral history

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1999 Virginia State House District 34 Democratic Primary results [13]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Carole Loop Herrick 658 58.64
Democratic John W. Foust 464 41.36
Fairfax County Supervisor: Dranesville, 2003 [13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Joan M DuBois 11,966 51.09 −8.61
Democratic John W. Foust 11,456 48.91 +48.91
Fairfax County Supervisor: Dranesville, 2007 [13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic John W. Foust 13,067 53.49 +4.58
Republican Joan M DuBois 11,318 46.33 −4.76
Fairfax County Supervisor: Dranesville, 2011 [13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic John W. Foust 15,222 60.63 +7.14
Republican Dennis D Husch 9,857 39.26 −7.07
Member House of Representatives, Virginia 10th District 2014[14]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Barbara J. Comstock 125,914 56.49
Democratic John W. Foust 89,957 40.36
Libertarian William B. Redpath 3,393 1.52
Independent Brad A. Eickholt 2,442 1.1
Independent Greens Dianne L. Blais 946 0.42
Fairfax County Supervisor: Dranesville, 2015 [13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic John W. Foust 15,007 54.26 −6.37
Republican Jennifer Chronis 12,612 45.60 +6.34
Fairfax County Supervisor: Dranesville, 2019 [13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic John W. Foust 23,468 65.42 +11.16
Republican Ed Martin 12,298 34.28 −11.32

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "John Foust, Dranesville Supervisor". The Connection. 16 October 2003. Retrieved 11 December 2013.
  2. ^ a b c "About Supervisor John W. Foust". Fairfax County. Archived from the original on 13 December 2013. Retrieved 11 December 2013.
  3. ^ Melton, R H; Timberg, Craig (9 June 1999). "Gilmore's Clout Takes a Beating in Primaries". The Washington Post. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
  4. ^ "Unofficial Returns - General Election - November 4, 2003" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
  5. ^ "November 8, 2011 General and Special Elections - Official Returns" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 December 2015. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
  6. ^ Pershing, Ben (9 December 2013). "Democratic Fairfax supervisor John Foust entered the 2014 race to unseat Republican Rep. Frank Wolf". Washington Post. Retrieved 11 December 2013.
  7. ^ Kauffman, Tim. "AFGE Endorses John Foust for Congressional Seat Being Vacated By Frank Wolf". AFGE. Archived from the original on 20 October 2014. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
  8. ^ "2014 Endorsements". Human Rights Campaign. Archived from the original on 19 October 2014. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
  9. ^ "Everytown Releases Endorsements, TV Ads and Announces Gun Sense Voter Campaign Road Show Heading to Washington State". Everytown For Gun Safety. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
  10. ^ "Recommended Candidates". The NEA Fund. Archived from the original on 1 August 2018. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
  11. ^ Olivo, Antonio. "Comments by John Foust, N.Va. candidate for Congress, called insensitive to women". www.washingtonpost.com. Retrieved August 22, 2014.
  12. ^ Olivo, Antonio. "Foust questioned over 'real job' comment during TV interview". www.washingtonpost.com. Retrieved October 15, 2014.
  13. ^ a b c d e f The Virginia Public Access Project. "John Foust Profile - Elections". Retrieved June 24, 2014.
  14. ^ "November 4, 2014-General-Election Results". Archived from the original on 7 November 2014. Retrieved 9 February 2014.