Fairfax County Board seat to be filled by a former school board member

The race to replace Braddock District Supervisor James Walkinshaw on the Board of Supervisors began quietly. With the odds stacked in favour of him moving to Congress the race has begun to take place.

Ilryong Moon is a veteran of Fairfax County’s School Board and intends to run for the Braddock Supervisor post if Walkinshaw is elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. Moon confirmed this.

Moon, who has lived in Braddock District, Pennsylvania, since 1987, and raised my two sons there, expressed his love for the community in a message sent last week to supporters.

Walkinshaw, the Democratic candidate for Virginia’s 11th Congressional District was selected on June 28, after Rep. Gerry Connolly passed away in May. In a special election on September 9, he will be up against Republican Stewart Whitson.

If Walkinshaw is elected — which seems likely, given that the district has a strong Democratic tilt — he will have to give up his seat on the county board before he can be sworn in as a member of Congress.

The remaining board members would have 45 days under Virginia law to choose a placeholder. Then, a special election would be held, but after the previously scheduled November elections.

Moon, who lives at Kings Park West in London, is the only candidate to have publicly expressed interest in the Seat, which Walkinshaw holds since 2020. If he runs, it would be Moon’s second attempt at joining the County Board of Supervisors.

Moon was the Democratic candidate in 2009 for a special election to fill the seat that was left vacant after Sharon Bulova became the board chair. Moon lost to John Cook, a Republican candidate, by 89 votes.

Moon, a familiar name in county politics since 40 years, is now in his third stint on the School Board after being elected in 2023 to an at-large position.

Moon was first appointed to the Braddock District board in 1995. He was then elected to represent Braddock District that following year. Moon served as chairman of the board until 1999, when he joined the county planning commission.

Moon was re-elected to the board in 2004 as a member at large, and served until 2019. During that time, he was elected chairman of the school board three times and served another three years in vice-chairman’s position.

Other candidates include Rachna sizemore Heizer who represents the Braddock District currently on the school board and Mary Cortina who has been representing the district on planning commission since 2020.