The Town of Herndon is governed by a mayor and a six-member Town Council elected in May for two-year terms. The council meets the second and fourth Tuesdays, at 7:30 p.m., in council chambers in the Town Hall.
MICHAEL L. O'REILLY
Mayor
Michael O'Reilly is a native of Northern Virginia, having been raised in the Baileys Crossroads area of Fairfax County. He moved to Herndon with his wife, Annie, in 1980, living first in the Hunters Creek subdivision and, in 1985, his family moved into the Barker Hill subdivision. From 1979 until 2002, O'Reilly practiced law with the law firm of Rees, Broome & Diaz in Tysons Corner. In August 2002, O'Reilly, along with his sister Nancy O'Reilly, opened their own legal practice, the O'Reilly Law Firm, in downtown Herndon. O'Reilly has served as the chairman of the Architectural and Heritage Preservation Review Boards and as a member of the Herndon Planning Commission. In 2000, he was elected to the Herndon Town Council. After serving two terms on the Town Council, O'Reilly decided to run for Mayor, and was elected to his first term in 2004. He is a member of the Dulles Corridor Rail Association, the Northern Virginia Regional Partnership and the Northern Virginia Regional Commission. He is also a member of the Herndon Council for the Arts, the Friends of Runnymede and the Herndon Dulles Chamber of Commerce.
DARRYL SMITH
Vice Mayor
Vice Mayor Smith began his career serving the Town of Herndon in 1973 when he joined the Herndon Police Department as a patrol officer. In 1976 he was promoted to patrol supervisor and in 1977 he became the department's first youth crime prevention officer. He also served as the first criminal investigator and the first supervisor of the criminal investigations section. He served as an administrative lieutenant from 1987 to 1989 and then became the supervisor of the field operations division. In 1990 he was promoted to captain of the police department. For the last 13 years he has served as the field operations commander and the support services division commander. Smith is an Assessor for the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies Inc., and has received many awards for his volunteer and community service work. His awards include the Fairfax County Volunteer Award and Citizen of the Year for 1986 and 1997, and in 1978 he was recognized by the Jaycees as the Outstanding Young Law Enforcement Officer. From 1996 to 2004 Smith served as the town's liaison to Vecinos Unidos/Neighbors United, an award-winning volunteer organization that offers homework assistance, organized soccer, Girl and Boy Scout troops and other educational and cultural opportunities to the children of Herndon. Smith served as the chairman of community service for the Herndon Rotary Club and as a Herndon Optimist youth basketball referee and football coach. Smith graduated from the FBI National Academy in 1990 and holds a fifth-degree black belt from the World Tae Kwon Do Federation and has competed internationally in the Law Enforcement Olympics.
CAROL A. BRUCE
Town Council
Carol Bruce has been a Herndon resident since 1980. She was elected to her first term on the Town Council in 1988. In 1990, she became the first woman to win a second term. After serving a third consecutive term, she chose not to run in 1994 in order to focus on starting her own business. She returned to the council in 1996, and became vice mayor in 2000. In January 2002, she became the first woman to serve as Herndon's mayor, having been appointed to fill the unexpired term of former Mayor Tom Rust. She chose to run for her former council seat in the 2002 election, where she served as the town’s vice mayor again, and has chosen to continue her work this year for another term as a council member. A graduate of American University, she is a writer/editor and owner of Carol Bruce Communications. She is a past president of the Herndon Historical Society and co-chair of the Herndon Homes Tour Committee. She is a member of the Herndon Dulles Chamber of Commerce and the Advisory Board for HCTV. She is a former member of the Board of Directors of the Council for the Arts of Herndon and the Executive Steering Committee of the Herndon Festival.
DENNIS HUSCH
Town Council
Dennis Husch and his wife, Nancy, are 20-year residents of Herndon. He has served on the Town Council since July of 1994. He has also served as committee chairman for a local Cub Scout Pack, as president of the Herndon Optimist Club and as a member of the mayor's Hispanic Task Force. He has also been a member of the YMCA Planning Committee and the Ball Field Inventory Task Force.
Husch has been an advocate for lowering real estate taxes, fiscal responsibility, strategic planning, active recreation, and improving the quality of life and sense of community. He has supported efforts to revitalize Herndon's older neighborhoods and to establish clear policies that encourage downtown redevelopment.
Husch holds a degree in business from Strayer University and is a program manager for a defense contractor where his focus is customer service, fiscal management and strategic planning.
HARLON REECE
Town Council
Harlon Reece earned a BA in music education from Wayland College and an MS in technology of management from American University. After graduating from college, Reece began a career as an officer in the United States Marine Corps. His assignments included a variety of command and management positions including a tour in combat during the Vietnam War, where he was awarded the Bronze Star. He completed his Marine Corps career in 1978 and retired at the rank of lieutenant colonel to begin a second career in business. He was a division vice president in charge of East Coast operations until his retirement in 1996. Reece is currently in his third term as member of the Herndon Town Council.
Before he became a member of the Town Council, Reece served as a member of the town’s Architecture Review Board/Heritage Preservation Review Board (1998-2000). He served on the mayor’s Neighborhood Investment Leadership Team (1998-1999) and is currently the town’s appointed member of the board of directors for the Dulles Area Transportation Association. He is the past president of the Council for the Arts of Herndon, treasurer of the Friends of Runnymede Park, a member of the Advisory Board of the Dulles Corridor Rail Association, and a member of the Advisory Panel for the Arts Council of Fairfax County. He is also a member of a number of local civic organizations including Herndon Rotary Club, Herndon Towne Square Singers, Herndon Historical Society, Herndon Cable Television, and Hands Across Herndon.
STEVEN MITCHELL
Town Council
Steven Mitchell is a graduate of Herndon High School's 1969 class. He served on Town Council from 1992 to 1994 and then again from 1995 to 1996. He was the Herndon Optimist Club president-elect from October 1995 to September 1996, president October 1996 to September 1997 and then past president from October 1997 to September 1998. Mitchell has been successfully self-employed since 1972 in the general contractor, home builder, land development and building/development consulting fields. He is currently a member of the Herndon Optimist Club, the Herndon United Methodist Church, the Herndon Moose Lodge and the Town of Herndon Zoning Ordinance Review panel. In the past he has participated as a coach and sponsor of various youth athletic teams, while in high school he was a member of the Interact Club from 1968-69, he donated money to the first fundraiser to re-establish the HHS Interact Club, he donated time and support to build a sign wall at Herndon Elementary School, to build visitor's dugout at Herndon High School and to construct dugouts and a press box at Bready Park.
ANN NULL
Town Council
Ann Null is one of three new members to the 2004 Town Council. She and her family have lived in Herndon since 1991 in the Heritage Preservation District, and she is active in the community as a Sunday School teacher and choir member. Null graduated from George Mason University in 1980 with a BA in economics and immediately began working in the Financial systems automation industry. She worked from 1980 to 1992 for financial companies like Prudential and SallieMae. In 1997 she became a full-time home-educator, which she continues to do. She also became an active member and office holder in SHARENET, Home School Legal Defense Association, Home School Net (HSN), AboutFace (International CranioFacial Support), Teach and Train K-6th Home School Co-op (TnT), Tech/Gap (Junior & Senior High School Home School Co-op). She also is involved with the Herndon Hammerheads Swim Team, Optimist Summer Baseball, Scout Troop 1577 and Citizens for Herndon.