Frederick Babson

Frederick Augustus Babson, Jr. (July 9, 1930 – September 17, 1999) was an attorney and politician from Fairfax County, Virginia who was the inaugural holder of the position of Chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, a job he held from 1968 to 1970.[1][2]

Frederick Babson
Chair of the Fairfax County
Board of Supervisors
In office
1968–1970
Preceded byPosition created
Succeeded byWilliam Hoofnagle
Member of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors from the Falls Church District
In office
1964–1967
Preceded byRobert C. Cotten
Succeeded byDistrict abolished
Personal details
Born(1930-07-09)July 9, 1930
Savannah, Georgia
DiedSeptember 17, 1999(1999-09-17) (aged 69)
Arlington, Virginia
Political partyDemocratic
Alma materUniversity of North Carolina
OccupationAttorney

Babson came to the area in 1958 to work for Turney & Turney, a law firm in Washington, D.C.[3]

In June 1960, Babson was appointed by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors to coordinate the county's defense against the City of Falls Church, which sought to annex roughly 4.5 square miles of the county.[4] After several months gathering evidence to fight the suit, Babson resigned in February 1961 to return to private practice with what was now the law firm of Turney, Major, Markham and Sherfy.[5]

In 1963, Babson was elected to the Falls Church District seat on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, defeating incumbent Republican Robert C. Cotten.[3][6][7] In January 1966, he was elected Chairman of the Board by his fellow supervisors.[8]

Fairfax County voters approved a referendum in November 1966 that changed the county's plan of government from the county executive form, under which the county had operated since 1952, to the new urban county executive form.

A significant change to the Board of Supervisors was the change of the chairmanship from a single year term selected by the supervisors from among their membership to an at-large office directly elected by the voters of the county. Babson declared his candidacy for this newly created chairmanship in January 1967.[9]

Babson won the chairmanship the November 1967 election, defeating former Mason District Supervisor Stanford E. Parris and Vienna Mayor James C. Martinelli.[10]

In November 1969, Babson resigned as chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, citing the low pay of $10,000 per year for the part-time office as motive.[11] Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge Arthur W. Sinclair appointed Fairfax County School Board member William S. Hoofnagle to serve out the rest of Babson's term on December 10, 1969, and Hoofnagle took office in January 1970.[12]

Babson's resignation from the Chair effectively put an end to his political career. In 1974, he attempted to mount a campaign as an independent for Virginia's Eighth Congressional District.[13] He also unsuccessfully sought the seat of retiring Senator William L. Scott in 1978, but did not receive his party's nomination.[14]

He died after brain surgery in 1999.[3]

References
  1. "Fairfax County to Receive Art Display Featuring Board of Supervisors Chairmen". Fairfax County. Retrieved April 17, 2010.
  2. Shear, Michael D. (November 29, 1999). "Fairfax Debates a Push for Power; Officials Divided Over Need for Stronger Executive or Chairman to Lead County". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 17, 2010.
  3. Barnes, Bart (21 September 1999). "Frederick Babson Jr., Fairfax Official, Dies". The Washington Post. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
  4. Chapman, William (30 June 1960). "Fairfax Supervisors Defer Government Change Decision: Referendum Date". The Washington Post. ProQuest 141224238.
  5. "Anti-Annexation Official Resigns Post in Fairfax". The Washington Post. 9 February 1961. ProQuest 141299548.
  6. Dewar, Helen (13 October 1963). "Two Attorneys Vie for Falls Church Seat". The Washington Post. ProQuest 141870396.
  7. "N. Virginia State, Local Vote Results". The Washington Post. 6 November 1963. ProQuest 141991842.
  8. Boyd, Kenneth M. (6 January 1966). "Fairfax to Seek Urban Status". The Washington Post. ProQuest 143000152.
  9. Yenckel, James T. (9 January 1967). "Babson Runs For Chairman In Fairfax". The Washington Post. ProQuest 143319602.
  10. "Final Results in Fairfax". The Washington Post. 9 November 1967. ProQuest 143080273.
  11. Klose, Kevin (20 November 1969). "Babson Quits Board In Fairfax". The Washington Post. ProQuest 143588884.
  12. Bredemeier, Kenneth (11 December 1969). "School Unit's Hoofnagle Named Chairman of Fairfax Supervisors". The Washington Post. ProQuest 143666878.
  13. Omang, Joanne (8 June 1974). "8th District Seat Sought By Babson". The Washington Post. ProQuest 146162840.
  14. "Fairfax Man Eyes Scott's Senate Seat". Merril News Service. The Free Lance-Star. March 1, 1977. Retrieved April 17, 2010.


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