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The race to succeed Braddock District Supervisor James Walkinshaw is beginning to take shape as he campaigns for an open seat in Congress.

Ilryong Moon, a longtime Fairfax County School Board member, confirmed that he intends to seek Walkinshaw’s position on the Board of Supervisors if Walkinshaw is elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.

Moon said he has lived in the Braddock District since 1987, raised both of his sons there and wants to keep the community a strong place to live, work and raise a family.

Walkinshaw secured the Democratic nomination for Virginia’s 11th Congressional District on June 28. The seat has been vacant since Rep. Gerry Connolly died in May. Walkinshaw will face Republican Stewart Whitson in a Sept. 9 special election.

The congressional district strongly favors Democrats, making Walkinshaw the likely winner. If elected, he would have to leave the county board before taking office in Congress.

Virginia law would give the remaining supervisors 45 days to appoint a temporary replacement. A special election would follow and could be held as soon as Nov. 4, alongside elections already scheduled for that day.

Moon, a Kings Park West resident, is the first potential candidate to publicly signal interest in the Braddock seat, which Walkinshaw has held since 2020.

If Moon enters the race, it would be his second campaign for the Board of Supervisors. He was the Democratic nominee in a 2009 special election triggered by Sharon Bulova’s election as board chair. Republican John Cook defeated him by 89 votes.

Moon has been involved in county politics for four decades and is now serving his third separate stint on the school board. He won an at-large seat in 2023.

He was first appointed to the school board in 1995 and elected to represent the Braddock District the following year. He served through 1999 before moving to the Fairfax County Planning Commission.

Moon returned to the school board as an at-large member in 2004 and remained there until 2019. During that period, he served three years as chairman and another three as vice chairman.

Other possible contenders include Rachna Sizemore Heizer, the Braddock District’s current school board representative, and Mary Cortina, who has represented the district on the planning commission since 2020.