City Residents Elect Mayor, Council
Mayor, City Councilmembers all re-elected to serve two-year terms in May 2006.
Mayor Robert F. Lederer, a lifelong Fairfax resident, was elected to his third term as mayor in 2006. He served three terms on the City Council in the 1980s, and two more terms from 1998-2002. Lederer is the executive vice president of an international trade association in Tysons Corner. As mayor, he represents the city on the Virginia Municipal League Transportation Policy Committee and the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority. He led the redevelopment efforts for Old Town Fairfax as well.
Lederer attended Green Acres Elementary School, Lanier Middle School and Fairfax High School. He lives in the Cobbdale area of Fairfax with his wife Maureen and their three children.
* Councilmember Joan W. Cross has lived in Fairfax City since 1991 and is serving her third term on the council. Cross chaired the Board of Architectural Review for three terms and co-chaired the city’s Independence Day celebration for two years. She also chairs Destination Fairfax, a partnership that she helped found between the city and local businesses to increase tourism. Cross graduated from the University of Iowa and works as marketing director for a CPA firm the Burdette Smith Group, P.C.
In 2004, Cross was named Small Business Advocate of the Year by the Central Fairfax Chamber of Commerce. She lives in Olde Fairfax Mews with her husband Ron, and they have three children and one grandchild.
* Councilmember Jeffrey C. Greenfield is serving his seventh term on the Council. He has lived in Fairfax City all his life, having graduated from Fairfax High School and from George Mason University with both a bachelor’s degree and a master’s in public administration. Greenfield vice-chaired the Fairfax 2020 Commission, the Park and Recreation Advisory Board, and the Task Force for a More Livable City of Fairfax. He serves on the Local Emergency Planning Committee, the COG Board of Directors, and Historic Fairfax City, Inc. Greenfield is a program analyst at the U.S. Department of Agriculture and a small business owner. He and his wife Lisa live in Windy Hill.
* Councilmember Gail C. Lyon moved to Fairfax City in 1983 and is serving her third term on the City Council. She received an undergraduate degree from Radford University and a master’s degree in social work from Virginia Commonwealth University. Lyon serves on the COG Human Services and Public Safety committees and on the Retirement Plan Administrative Committee. She has also volunteered with the Country Club Hills Civic Association and the PTAs of Daniels Run Elementary School, Lanier Middle School and Fairfax High School. Lyon and her husband, Peter, have three children.
* Councilmember Gary J. Rasmussen is in his ninth term on the City Council. He worked in the federal government for 36 years until he retired in 1999, as deputy assistant secretary for vocational and adult education with the U.S. Department of Education. Rasmussen has chaired the city’s Planning Commission, and has been the City Council representative to the Northern Virginia District Planning Commission and the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission. He received a bachelor of science degree from the University of Wisconsin, and a graduate degree in University of Chicago. Rasmussen has been a resident of Fairfax since 1962, and lives in Mosby Woods with his wife Mary Jo.
* Councilmember R. Scott Silverthorne is serving his ninth term on the City Council. He is a lifelong resident of Fairfax and works as director of government relations at Capitol One Financial Corporation. Silverthorne sponsored the city’s successful open space referendum and represents the city on the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission. He has also served on the Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce, the Northern Virginia Regional Commission, and the bicentennial celebration of the City of Fairfax. Silverthorne graduated from Radford University in 1988.
* Councilmember Patrice M. Winter, who has lived in the city since 1986, is in her third term on the City Council. She serves on the COG Air Quality and Water Resources committees. In the past, Winter chaired the Commission for Women and was also president of the Country Club Hills Civic Association. She volunteers with the Noonday Optimist Club, Historic Fairfax City, Inc., and Daniels Run PTA. Winter is a practicing physical therapist and serves as spokesperson for American Physical Therapy Association. She has two children.