James R. Walkinshaw picked the rich blue shade on his office walls 16 years ago, but on behalf of his then-boss, Rep. Gerald E. Connolly.
Walkinshaw, who worked as the Virginia Democrat’s chief of staff for more than a decade, returned to Congress earlier this month as a member. He won a special election to finish Connolly’s unexpired term after the longtime lawmaker died in May.
His office is filled with reminders of his time with Connolly: the furniture, which looks the same, he says. A large planter pot gifted from New York Rep. Paul Tonko, who was in Connolly’s freshman class. A set of coasters emblazoned with the U.S. House of Representatives seal, first purchased from the gift shop during Connolly’s first term and now incomplete after someone nabbed a few during a meeting years ago.
