Joe Alexander Transportation Center

Here follows a news article written by Mike Salmon on September 3, 2020 and published in the Connection newspaper:

In his 32 years and eight terms as Lee District Supervisor, Joe Alexander (D) was determined to help people in the Franconia area so much that when Metro eyed another site for the Blue Line station, he “persuaded Metro,” to move it to the present location and combine it with other transportation systems, and it’s now named the “Joe Alexander Transportation Center.”

On Sunday, Aug. 30, Joe Alexander died at the age of 90, leaving behind a legacy in the Springfield area that will live on.

“Joe got it relocated,” said former Lee District Supervisor Dana Kauffman, who was Alexander’s assistant for many years before being elected to Supervisor.

“Joe was known as the ‘pothole politician,’ and no request was too small,” Kauffman said.

Alexander was sitting at the table when President Jimmy Carter signed the Metro funding bill in 1980.

“He was magnificent in reaching out and engaging,” Kauffman added.

When he first started at Lee District, there were several different water companies serving the district, and Alexander looked at that as a challenge. “People couldn’t flush with confidence,” Kauffman said. Alexandria worked with the companies and when he was finished, everything was merged into Fairfax Water.

In the 1960s, there were many gravel operations dominating the landscape, including a stretch of land that went from behind Edison High School to an area behind Hayfield Secondary School. In the early 1970s, the gravel companies were winding down operations, and it became one big dirt track for motorcycles and a dumping ground, before Alexander stepped in. He worked with the companies, and now the old gravel pits are Kingstowne, Manchester Lakes, dotted with a few ponds and parks.

He was also involved with turning parts of the gravel operations into Lee District Park and the Greendale Golf Course.

At one time, Mike’s American Grill had the “Joe Alexander Burger,” on the menu. It was a bacon-cheddar cheeseburger with mustard and mayonnaise.

“Joe not only lived through the transformation of Fairfax County from farmland to Virginia’s burgeoning economic engine, he oversaw its transformation.” — Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay

JOE ALEXANDER was born on Dec. 21, 1929 in Pittsburgh. His father landed a job at Fort Belvoir, so the family moved to the Franconia area in 1931. Joe went to school in Fairfax County, and was on the Mount Vernon High School football team. In 1953, after training to be a pilot at a local airfield, he became a fighter pilot in the Korean War. He followed in the legacy of his father, Milton Alexander, who was the chief magistrate of Fairfax County in the early years, and went into local politics in the early 1960s. The family owned Franconia Hardware for years, which was located right across the street from the current Franconia Government Center. His mother, Celia, was the postmaster in Franconia.

“Joe Alexander – Lee District’s longest serving Supervisor, a veteran combat pilot, respected local banker and business owner who will best be remembered as an architect of the region’s Metrorail system and transformational pothole politician, passed away over the weekend,” wrote Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay, former Lee District Supervisor. “Joe not only lived through the transformation of Fairfax County from farmland to Virginia’s burgeoning economic engine, he oversaw its transformation. He was a role model for me as I made my way through Fairfax County Government.”

Alexander could have run for higher office, but chose to stay in Lee District. He became a volunteer docent at the Franconia Museum at one point.

Carl Sell, one of the founders of the museum, wrote a book in 2009 called “Franconia Remembers Joe Alexander,” and it’s currently available at the museum.

Joe Alexander’s funeral is planned for Sunday, Sept. 6 at noon, at King David Memorial Garden in Falls Church, 7482 Lee Hwy, Falls Church.


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Here follows the September 1, 2020 memorial from Jeffrey McKay, the Chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors remembering the life of Joe Alexander:

Joe Alexander – Lee District’s longest serving Supervisor, a veteran combat pilot, respected local banker and business owner who will best be remembered as an architect of the region’s Metrorail system and transformational pothole politician, passed away over the weekend. Joe not only lived through the transformation of Fairfax County from farmland to Virginia’s burgeoning economic engine, he oversaw its transformation. He was a role model for me as I made my way through Fairfax County Government.

Raised in rural Franconia, by a father who rose to be both the volunteer Fire Chief and the County Court System’s Chief Magistrate and a mother who ran the post office co-located in the family hardware store, Joe was born to serve his community. After returning from the Korean War and taking over management of that store, Joe was urged to run for Supervisor by fellow business leaders. He began the first of his 8 consecutive terms in office as John Kennedy won the Presidency and continued to serve year through Bill Clinton’s first term. Presidents came and went but Joe remained and delivered.

Nicknamed Pothole Joe, no level of constituent service was too small to rate a personal response. Over 32 years, with the help of scores of loyal citizen volunteers, Joe shepherded his district from un-regulated gravel pits into the vibrant planned communities we know today; most notably Kingstowne. He first brought unified water and sewer service then sidewalks and streetlights to neighborhoods that lacked the most basic services.

Joe’s career was shaped through his transportation work. He was a founding member of the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission in 1964, which represents our area’s interests in mass transit systems like WMATA, VRE, and Fairfax Connector. Joe also served on the Metro Board starting in 1971. There he played an instrumental role in shaping WMATA and ensuring its presence in Fairfax County and thus transforming public transit in our region. He didn’t stop with WMATA by rail however. With other regional leaders, he transformed four private bus companies into the Metrobus system. All of this work on transit is why Fairfax County commemorated his legacy through the Joe Alexander Transportation Center in Springfield (commonly known as the Franconia-Springfield Metro Station).

Finally, not only was Joe a key figure to transforming Fairfax County, he was a figure in preserving its history. As a member of the Board and volunteer for the Franconia Museum, Joe also dedicated his time to sharing the history of the community he loved and that loved him in return.

It is Joe’s leadership and commitment to public service and his community that was instrumental in creating the Fairfax County we know today.

Joe passed peacefully at home on Sunday at the age of 90. He will be greatly missed.


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Here follows an article written by Bob Heittman in 2003 and published in the "Franconia Legacies" newsletter by the Franconia Museum:

Joe Alexander and his family have been an important part of Franconia’s history. The Franconia-Springfield Metro Station is housed in the Joe Alexander Transportation Center (named by popular demand) to recognize the significant contributions Joe has made to transportation planning in our area.

Joe’s parents migrated to Franconia from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Joe’s father had taken a job as an electrician at Fort Belvoir around 1931. At first the family lived on Beulah Road, in a house that was not blessed with indoor plumbing. Joe and his family built a house on Franconia Road and later the Franconia Hardware Store. Joe attended the Franconia Elementary School for seven years, and then Mt. Vernon High School to graduation. He attended Virginia Polytechnic Institute (VPI) achieving a Baccalaureate in Business Science, and continued on to his Master’s degree in Public Administration.

After college and during the time of the Korean Conflict, Joe spent three years in the U. S. Air Force as a pilot and a commissioned officer, a 1st Lieutenant. Joe then returned to Franconia, worked in the Hardware store, and in 1956 married Davie. They lived on Leewood Drive in Rose Hill, and later moved to their present home on Craft Road in Sunny Ridge. They had two daughters Cathy and Cheri.

Upon winning elected office, Joe had no office and so the Franconia Hardware store, which was already a gas station and Post Office, became the Lee District Supervisor’s office also. Mrs. Helen Wilson, the office chief, had a desk directly opposite Joe’s Mom Celia, the Post Mistress. Joe, according to folk in the area, was “the only elected representative in the County that could catch h—l over a pound of nails”. When the Groveton Police Station was built both the Lee and Mount Vernon District Supervisors shared offices upstairs. In 1971 the Franconia Police Station was built and Joe finally had his own office. Joe served 32 years as the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors representative for Lee District. He also served as Chairman, when Board members served as Chair on a rotating basis. During his tenure as Lee District Supervisor, Joe held leadership roles on the Metro Board, and the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission. Some of Joe’s significant contributions include establishing the I-95 Shirley Highway Express Bus-on-Freeway program and the Virginia Railway Express.

Many members of Joe’s family were also important leaders in the community. His wife Davie was the Executive Director of the Mount Vernon – Lee Chamber of Commerce for fifteen years. Milton, Joe’s father, was Chief of the Franconia Fire Station, and also a Magistrate of the Fairfax County Courts. Joe also served as a volunteer Fireman with Station #5, and has been awarded the honor of being a Lifetime Member.