Fredericksburg City Council Member Timothy P. Duffy
FXBG Advance: You have a long history in Fredericksburg, Tim, but you aren’t from here originally. Tell us about your background, and how you found your way to Fredericksburg.
Tim Duffy: I spent the first 12 years of my life in Fairfax County, in the community of McLean. My teen years, however, were spent in rural Loudoun County. It was quite a change to go from an affluent community to rural Loudoun County. But a lot of good came from the move.
In high school I worked as a stone mason, and I learned the craft of stone masonry. Beyond this I learned skills like carpentry and plumbing. These remain hobbies that I continue to enjoy. Whether it’s working to put in patios, or fixing up the 1930s-era house that we have.
Doing this work also afforded me the opportunity to travel all through the lovely backroads of extreme northern Virginia fixing walls.
Advance: So how did you find your way to Fredericksburg?
TD: I chose to attend college at Mary Washington, where my brother also attended. I met my wife there, and both my brothers’ wives attended there. So Fredericksburg quickly became the place for us.
After school, I commuted to the University of Virginia where I did my master’s and doctorate degrees in American history. When I got done, however, the market for university professors was poor, so I made the decision to go into teaching at the middle- and high-school levels.
Advance: That’s a great testament to the beauty and power of the city to draw people in. But it’s also true that you wrestled with a difficult issue in your early years in Fredericksburg. Could you share more about that?
TD: In my mid-20s, I was diagnosed with depression, and it was a pretty severe case. Over the course of time, with the help of counseling and medication, I was able to find my way forward.
I enjoy talking with people in public about this experience, because it’s been a revelation for me and my life.
I was paralyzed by fear and anxiety. It took time, four to five years, to work through what I was confronting. I learned that you have to keep working on the problem, because not every counselor you work with is going to be a good fit. You have to persevere. It’s a struggle, but it’s worth it.
In my journey, I ultimately was led me to a place where I found the freedom to be free, and to be happy. And it’s pretty awesome.
The journey was about more than me and my professional helpers, though. I also enjoyed a strong support network.
My mother had depression, and I was able to talk with her about that. Knowing that she got through it was important to me.
I also had very supportive professional colleagues. That could see that I was struggling and would encourage me to find the help that I need.
And, of course, my family was very supportive. I couldn’t have come through it without them.
Advance: You clearly had a great support network around you. Are there other people in your life who’ve inspired you?
TD: My sister Michelle Duffy. She has passed away, but she had the greatest influence on me.
Born with spina bifida, she was paralyzed from the waist down, and had limited use of one arm.
My parents fought for her to go to traditional public schools. They were encouraged to send her to a school with children who suffered emotional and intellectual conditions, but this was not her problem.
Michelle ended up working at the CIA as a secretary, and after my parents moved West, she stayed in Northern Virginia and caught two busses every day to go to work.
She weighed like 80 pounds. Lived on her own.
She affected me growing up, making me more sensitive to all the challenges people face. Her’s were obvious, but not every person’s struggles are obvious.
Advance: When did you get interested in City Council?
TD: Kerry Devine was a colleague of mine at Walker-Grant Middle School. She was about 3 doors down from me.
I’d complain to her periodically that council wasn’t working well together. This was about 15 years ago. She encouraged me to do something about it.
So making council work better became my purpose for running. I saw it as my role to get council moving forward together. I’m proud of our work together and how we do things. That’s because it’s important for people to see government functioning successfully.
Advance: You have an even-keeled temperament. Is that what you credit your success on council to?
TD: Perhaps. However, it can also be a bit of a liability, because there are times you need to pound the desk. But I believe that we have benefitted from the work that we have done about our vision. I think there’s agreement on what we need to do for our city.
I’ve been on council since 2014. Ran 2014, 2018, and 2021, and I’m on until at least 2025. I really do enjoy it. Our council, our team, and our staff. I’m particularly proud of our two hires – Tim Baroody as city manager and Kathleen Dooley as our city attorney.
Advance: While council has worked better in recent years, it hasn’t always been smooth. The Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) debate has been tempestuous. (The Advance will have more on Thursday about the vote taken Tuesday night on the ADU proposal. The motion failed on a 3-3 vote, with Duffy voting against it.)
TD: I know that ADUs cause great consternation among some. It’s unfortunate that we took a lot of energy into a relatively minor issue. We need to move on to more important things. Diversifying our income streams. Improving educational opportunity for everyone. Find funding for salaries to recruit and retain talent.
Advance: Speaking of education, you have been teaching here for a long time. Tell us about that experience.
TD: I started teaching at UMW in 1990. Usually a course or two every semester. I was at Fredericksburg Academy from about 1995 – 2007. Then made the switch to city schools.
Advance: Why did you make that switch?
TD: I always wanted to get back to public education. I’d never been to a private school until I worked at one.
Advance: How do you compare your experiences at Fredericksburg Academy with those at Fredericksburg City Schools. (Editor’s note: In the interest of full disclosure, both Tim and the FXBG Advance editor are on the faculty at James Monroe High School.)
TD: In a private school, you choose your students. That makes things quite different from a public school. In the private school setting, I often saw teachers taking credit for students’ success that the teachers didn’t really deserve. With many of those kids, sometimes the best thing you can do is get out of their way.
Being in a public school, you don’t choose your students. We must take every student, and we must educate them. You’re measured by how much you move each and every student. It’s a real mission, and you have to feel it. And I certainly feel that.
I’m proud to be working on the frontlines of education in this region.
Advance: There are many complaints currently about test scores in the public schools. Are you satisfied with the progress being made?
TD: It’s really important we improve the educational growth of our students. I’m determined to keep working on that. That’s the most important thing we can do as a locality – make sure our kids are ready to lead a fulfilling life, and they’re ready for the challenges ahead of them, whether they be occupational, social, emotional, or just learning to be good citizens.
It’s really hard to do, and I’m determined to work with the folks that we have.
Advance: How do you see the relationship between UMW and the city?
TD: Well, I’m a bit biased here. When I was at Mary Washington in the early 80s, Fredericksburg really wasn’t a university town.
I believe, however, that Dr. Paino has done a good job at UMW bringing the university and the town closer together.
It’s important that university thrive, and I’m about growing the stature of that university.
