GOP District 7 Candidate Supports First Responders, Parental Involvement In Schools

Thursday, 9:30 a.m.: This story was updated with new information about Luellen Hoffman Maskeny provided by the Virginia Department of Elections and the Fairfax County Republican Committee.

RESTON, VA — Patch has learned more details about Luellen Hoffman Maskeny, the Republican who recently entered the District 7 House of Delegates race.

Candidates had until 7 p.m. on Tuesday to file the necessary paperwork in order to appear on the November ballot.

Andrea Gaines, an external affairs manager with the Virginia Department of Elections, told Patch that Hoffman filed a candidate qualification and statement of economic interest before that deadline. The Republican Party also filed a Certification of Non-Primary candidate, which means that she was the GOP's nominee in the District 7 race.

Born in Portsmouth, Virginia, Hoffman is a lifelong resident of Reston, according to Nick Anderson, the vice chair of operations for the Fairfax GOP.

Related: Keys-Gamarra Wins Primary For Open House Seat: Unofficial Results

A graduate of George Mason University and George Washington University, Hoffman was an adjunct professor at Mason. She also was a teacher from 2018 to 2019 (elementary) and 2021 to 2022 (middle school).

A cancer survivor, Hoffman wrote the book "Special Dream" after her husband, Michael Maskeny, died of respiratory failure and complications following gall bladder surgery in 1994. She has two sons, John and Mark.

From 2006-2017, Hoffman was the director of exhibits for the National Defense Industrial Association, according to her LinkedIn page. For the last six years, she's worked as the director of sales at SOFX Inc., an IT company based in Charleston, South Carolina.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Hoffman was a Johns Hopkins certified contact tracer for SNHD.

As a half-marathon runner, Hoffman participated in the Mayor's Midnight Marathon in Anchorage, Alaska. She's the owner of a corgi named Winnie and is a contributing writer for "The New Barker" magazine.

Hoffman's reason for running is to "Share my experience, strength and hope by serving the Reston community on the state level."

If elected, Hoffman will also:

• Support First Responders to ensure Reston remains a safe place to live, work and raise a family.
• Support Parental involvement in public schools and keep schools safe with extra security measures.
• Work to preserve Reston's natural resources: Parks, Lakes and open spaces with clean water and air.

Hoffman will face Democratic nominee Karen Keys-Gamarra in the Nov. 7 general election. To secure her spot on the ballot, Keys Gamarra defeated three opponents in Tuesday's Democratic Party Primary.