On Nov. 7 this year, Virginia residents will be asked to elect a representative for the House of Delegates for District Six, and on the ballot is Republican Kristin Hoffman.
She will be squaring off against Democrat R.C. Sullivan, Jr. who is currently a member of the Virginia House of Delegates representing District 48 which, after redistricting over 2020 and 2022, became District Six.
Hoffman has lived in Vienna, Virginia for nearly thirty years — most of her adult life — where she raised two sons with her husband.
Her eldest attended United States Military Academy West Point and currently serves as a Blackhawk helicopter pilot. Her other son graduated from Virginia Tech with a degree in biochemistry and is currently working in veterinary medicine and research.
Hoffman attended the University of Pennsylvania where she earned a degree in Economics. She went on to earn an MBA in Marketing and Entrepreneurial Management at the Wharton School of Business, after which she spent 30 years working in the technology field doing program and product management.
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During the COVID-19 pandemic, she stepped away from paid work and devoted her attention to the community, serving on the board of directors of a local non-profit .
‘We need strong leadership’
Hoffman is running on a platform that seeks to lower taxes and costs for families, empower parents and strengthen schools, improve the region’s transportation and infrastructure, support law enforcement and first responders and keep parks and trails beautiful.
She said that she decided to run because the community needs “strong leadership in our state capital.”
“A lot of people only take the time to vote when it’s a national election because it’s glitzy and sexy and they see it on the news. But, most of us are impacted by local and state legislation,” Hoffman said.
If elected, Hoffman says her top priority is to work to bring civility and productive debate back to the House.
“I think at the highest, highest level we need to bring civility and debate back to our government process,” Hoffman said, adding that, “We need to get rid of all this partisanship and we need to look at things holistically and we need to debate them realistically and in a very, very civil manner.”
In addition, among her top priorities is public safety, because according to Hoffman, “We can’t do our jobs if we don’t feel safe.”
“With all the theft that’s been going on in businesses and at the retail level it causes our costs to go up. So, we really have to make sure that we have a safe environment for all of us to live,” she said.
A focus on small business
Hoffman told Vision Times that two thirds of all jobs in the district are created by small businesses, and that “we have to really promote our small business owners … and we’ve got to provide our small business owners with the freedom to run their businesses efficiently and effectively,” adding that, “Right now we’ve got too much regulation that hinders a lot of our small business owners.”
She advocates for loosening regulations and a “rigorous licensing routine” that prevent trades people, like plumbers and electricians, from states with comparable regulations from working in the district.
“We also have to look at some of the rules and regulations when it comes to licensing, particularly among some of our professionals,” she said, adding that, “If we can have more people come in to do those jobs it keeps the cost down for everybody and people can get the services they need.”
A dedicated public servant
She says that unlike other delegates who continue to work in a career while serving as a representative in the House of Delegates, she is in the position to dedicate all of her time to being a public servant.
If elected, she said District Six residents will “get a delegate who will be your delegate 12 months out of the year. You will have a delegate that will read every single piece of legislation and delve into why this legislation is important, and the upstream and downstream implications of it.”
Also among her top priorities is ensuring students get a proper education by “teaching our kids how to think, not what to think.”
“We need to give [students] the skills that they need for the future. We need to support every child … and we should reward children who work really hard,” she said, adding that, “And I also have to say, we have to make sure that parents are the ones that have the voice.”
“I’m running for Delegate because I love our community. I will be an independent, respectful voice who is focused on empowering parents, strengthening our schools, reducing crime, and fighting the fentanyl epidemic. I also believe in fiscal responsibility and will strive to eliminate waste from our budgets while demanding financial accountability,” she says on her campaign website, adding that, “Virginia’s best days are ahead.”
