Cathy Hudgins
Catherine M. "Cathy" Hudgins (born 1944) is an American politician who served as a member of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors from 1999 to 2019; representing the Hunter Mill district, which includes the town of Reston and town of Vienna. She is a member of the  Democratic Party and was the first African American and non-white person elected to the Board of Supervisors. Political career
Hudgins served as a Virginia national committeewoman on the Democratic National Committee for two terms starting in 1984. She supported Jesse Jackson for president in the 1988 primaries. In 1993, Hudgins was selected as Secretary of the Fairfax County Electoral Board, where she served until 1994. In 1995, she became Chief of Staff for Board of Supervisors Chair Katherine Hanley. Hudgins was elected to the Board of Supervisors in November 1999 in an upset. She defeated incumbent Republican supervisor Robert B. Dix, Jr. Dix's share of the vote was split by and independent conservative candidate, John Thoburn, the owner of several Christian private schools and longtime opponent of the Supervisor. In 2003, Hudgins faced Republican J.D. "Doug" Bushee and defeated him 63%–36%. In 2007, Hudgins faced no major party opponents and defeated three independent candidates, including Marie T. Huhtala, a retired career foreign service officer who had previously served as Ambassador to Malaysia from 2001 to 2004. Michael Williams was also an independent, but later ran for office as a Republican and served in county Republican leader. Geraldine A. Butkus appeared on the ballot as an independent but was affiliated with the Independent Green Party. In that year's campaign, the major issue was development in the Hunter Mill district, including the construction of high-density residences. In her last two campaigns for reelection, Hudgins was unopposed. In January 2019, she announced she would not run again in that fall's county election. She was succeeded by fellow Democrat Walter L. Alcorn. Personal life
Born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas in 1969, Hudgins was married to Willie L. Hudgins, Jr. for 48 years In 1969, the Hudgins family moved to Reston, becoming some of the first residents of the planned community. Hudgins worked for twelve years in the private sector for AT&T as a programmer, consultant, and analyst. Willie Hudgins was a lawyer who was at one time section chief and chief litigator for the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice and later joined Kelley Drye & Warren. In April 2013, Cathy Hudgins was diagnosed with noninvasive breast cancer. Electoral history

References

External links
Fairfax County - Cathy M. Hudgins
Washington Post bio

Living people
Virginia Democrats
Politicians from Pine Bluff, Arkansas
Women in Virginia politics
African-American people in Virginia politics
African-American women in politics
People from Reston, Virginia
George Mason University alumni
University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff alumni
Members of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors
American computer programmers
American women computer scientists
American computer scientists
AT&T people
1944 births
21st-century American politicians
21st-century American women politicians
21st-century African-American women
21st-century African-American politicians
20th-century African-American people
20th-century African-American women