John Foust

{{Infobox officeholder

| name = John Foust

| image = File:VA- Labor 2014 Meet and Greet John Foust (cropped).jpg

| imagesize = 180px

| order = Member of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors
from the Dranesville district

| term_start = 2008

| term_end = 2023

| preceded = Joan M. DuBois

| succeeded by = James N. “Jimmy” Bierman

| birth_name = John William Foust

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1951|9|5}}

| birth_place = Johnstown, Pennsylvania, U.S.

| party = Democratic

| spouse = Marilyn Jerome Foust

| children = 2

| education = University of Pittsburgh
George Washington University Law School (JD)

| occupation = Lawyer

| religion =

| website = [http://www.foustforvirginia.com/]

}}

John William Foust (born September 5, 1951) is an American politician who served as a member of the Fairfax County, Virginia Board of Supervisors for the Dranesville district from 2008 to 2023. 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, which he lost by a margin of roughly 16% to Republican Barbara Comstock.

Personal life and education

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.{{cite news|title=John Foust, Dranesville Supervisor|url=http://www.connectionnewspapers.com/news/2003/oct/16/john-foust-dranesville-supervisor/|accessdate=11 December 2013|newspaper=The Connection|date=16 October 2003}}

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

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.{{cite news|last1=Melton|first1=R H|last2=Timberg|first2=Craig|title=Gilmore's Clout Takes a Beating in Primaries|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=9 June 1999|access-date=27 September 2015|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/local/daily/june99/virginia9.htm}}

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.{{cite web|title=Unofficial Returns - General Election - November 4, 2003|url=http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/elections/result/resu0307.pdf|access-date=27 September 2015|archive-date=24 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924102213/http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/elections/result/resu0307.pdf|url-status=dead}} In a 2007 rematch, Foust defeated Dubois with 53.5% of the vote. He then won re-election against Dennis D. Husch in 2011.{{cite web|title=About Supervisor John W. Foust|url=http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/dranesville/bio.htm|publisher=Fairfax County|accessdate=11 December 2013|archive-date=13 December 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131213204743/http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/dranesville/bio.htm|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|title=November 8, 2011 General and Special Elections - Official Returns|url=http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/elections/webreports/resu1111.pdf|access-date=27 September 2015|archive-date=23 December 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151223041157/http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/elections/webreports/resu1111.pdf|url-status=dead}} 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.

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

U.S. House campaign

Following the retirement announcement of Republican Frank Wolf, Foust ran for Congress unsuccessfully in Virginia's 10th congressional district in 2014.{{cite news|last=Pershing|first=Ben|title=Democratic Fairfax supervisor John Foust entered the 2014 race to unseat Republican Rep. Frank Wolf|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-politics/fairfax-supervisor-john-foust-will-enter-2014-race-to-unseat-rep-frank-wolf/2013/12/09/68a122e2-60f1-11e3-bf45-61f69f54fc5f_story.html|accessdate=11 December 2013|newspaper=Washington Post|date=9 December 2013}}

Some endorsers of John Foust included the American Federation of Government Employees,{{cite web|last1=Kauffman|first1=Tim|title=AFGE Endorses John Foust for Congressional Seat Being Vacated By Frank Wolf|url=https://www.afge.org/?PressReleaseID=1624|website=AFGE|accessdate=20 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141020224422/https://www.afge.org/?PressReleaseID=1624 |archive-date=20 October 2014}} The Human Rights Campaign,{{cite web|title=2014 Endorsements|url=http://www.hrc.org/resources/entry/2014-endorsements|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141019140113/http://www.hrc.org/resources/entry/2014-endorsements|url-status = dead|archive-date=19 October 2014|website=Human Rights Campaign|accessdate=20 October 2014}} Everytown For Gun Safety,{{cite web|title=Everytown Releases Endorsements, TV Ads and Announces Gun Sense Voter Campaign Road Show Heading to Washington State|url=http://everytown.org/press/everytown-releases-endorsements-tv-ads-and-announces-gun-sense-voter-campaign-road-show-heading-to-washington-state/|website=Everytown For Gun Safety|accessdate=20 October 2014}} and the National Education Association.{{cite web|title=Recommended Candidates|url=https://www.neafund.org/Home/Candidates|website=The NEA Fund|accessdate=20 October 2014|archive-date=1 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180801095844/https://www.neafund.org/Home/Candidates|url-status=dead}}

During the campaign, Foust was criticized for saying of his opponent, Barbara Comstock, "I don't think she's even had a real job."{{cite web|last1=Olivo|first1=Antonio|title=Comments by John Foust, N.Va. candidate for Congress, called insensitive to women|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-politics/comments-by-john-foust-nva-candidate-called-insensitive-to-women/2014/08/22/441becb0-2a07-11e4-86ca-6f03cbd15c1a_story.html|website=www.washingtonpost.com|accessdate=August 22, 2014}} 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."{{cite web|last1=Olivo|first1=Antonio|title=Foust questioned over 'real job' comment during TV interview|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-politics/foust-tries-to-defend-real-job-comment-comstock-campaign-he-just-doesnt-get-it/2014/10/15/6c90c958-5488-11e4-ba4b-f6333e2c0453_story.html|website=www.washingtonpost.com|accessdate=October 15, 2014}}

Electoral history

{{Election box begin no change

| title = 1999 Virginia State House District 34 Democratic Primary results {{cite web| url = http://www.vpap.org/candidates/profile/elections/12911| title = John Foust Profile - Elections | author = The Virginia Public Access Project | accessdate = June 24, 2014}}

}}

{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change

| candidate = Carole Loop Herrick

| party = Democratic Party (United States)

| votes = 658

| percentage = 58.64

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change

| candidate = John W. Foust

| party = Democratic Party (United States)

| votes = 464

| percentage = 41.36

}}

{{Election box begin | title=Fairfax County Supervisor: Dranesville, 2003

}}

{{Election box winning candidate with party link|

|party = Republican Party (US)

|candidate = Joan M DuBois

|votes = 11,966

|percentage = 51.09

|change = -8.61

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link|

|party = Democratic Party (US)

|candidate = John W. Foust

|votes = 11,456

|percentage = 48.91

|change = +48.91

}}

{{Election box begin | title=Fairfax County Supervisor: Dranesville, 2007

}}

{{Election box winning candidate with party link|

|party = Democratic Party (US)

|candidate = John W. Foust

|votes = 13,067

|percentage = 53.49

|change = +4.58

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link|

|party = Republican Party (US)

|candidate = Joan M DuBois

|votes = 11,318

|percentage = 46.33

|change = -4.76

}}

{{Election box begin | title=Fairfax County Supervisor: Dranesville, 2011

}}

{{Election box winning candidate with party link|

|party = Democratic Party (US)

|candidate = John W. Foust

|votes = 15,222

|percentage = 60.63

|change = +7.14

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link|

|party = Republican Party (US)

|candidate = Dennis D Husch

|votes = 9,857

|percentage = 39.26

|change = -7.07

}}

{{Election box begin no change| title=Member House of Representatives, Virginia 10th District 2014{{cite web|title=November 4, 2014-General-Election Results |url=http://cms.sbe.virginia.gov/public/?p=election_summary&id=1&loc=true |accessdate=9 February 2014 |url-status = dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20141107151421/http://cms.sbe.virginia.gov/public/?p=election_summary&id=1&loc=true |archivedate= 7 November 2014 }}

}}

{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change|

|party = Republican Party (US)

|candidate = Barbara J. Comstock

|votes = 125,914

|percentage = 56.49

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change|

|party = Democratic Party (US)

|candidate = John W. Foust

|votes = 89,957

|percentage = 40.36

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change|

|party = Libertarian Party (US)

|candidate = William B. Redpath

|votes = 3,393

|percentage = 1.52

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change|

|party = Independent (politician)

|candidate = Brad A. Eickholt

|votes = 2,442

|percentage = 1.1

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change|

|party = Independent Greens of Virginia

|candidate = Dianne L. Blais

|votes = 946

|percentage = 0.42

}}

{{Election box begin | title=Fairfax County Supervisor: Dranesville, 2015

}}

{{Election box winning candidate with party link|

|party = Democratic Party (US)

|candidate = John W. Foust

|votes = 15,007

|percentage = 54.26

|change = -6.37

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link|

|party = Republican Party (US)

|candidate = Jennifer Chronis

|votes = 12,612

|percentage = 45.60

|change = +6.34

}}

{{Election box begin | title=Fairfax County Supervisor: Dranesville, 2019

}}

{{Election box winning candidate with party link|

|party = Democratic Party (US)

|candidate = John W. Foust

|votes = 23,468

|percentage = 65.42

|change = +11.16

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link|

|party = Republican Party (US)

|candidate = Ed Martin

|votes = 12,298

|percentage = 34.28

|change = -11.32

}}

External links

[https://web.archive.org/web/20080724053239/http://projects.washingtonpost.com/votersguide/2007/va/candidates/john-w-foust/ Washington Post bio]
[http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/dranesville/bio.htm Official Fairfax County bio] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100528101143/http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/dranesville/bio.htm |date=2010-05-28 }}
[https://web.archive.org/web/20120201115018/http://www.foustforsupervisor.com/ County Campaign Website]
[http://www.foustforvirginia.com/ Congressional Campaign Website]