Leon Mark Dudenhefer (born September 25, 1952) is an

American politician The politics of the United States function within a framework of a constitutional federal republic and presidential system, with three distinct branches that share powers. These are: the U.S. Congress which forms the legislative branch, a bic ...

. A

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

, he was elected to the

Virginia House of Delegates The Virginia House of Delegates is one of the two parts of the Virginia General Assembly, the other being the Senate of Virginia. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-numbe ...

in 2011. He represented the 2nd district, made up of parts of

Prince William William, Prince of Wales, (William Arthur Philip Louis; born 21 June 1982) is the heir apparent to the British throne. He is the elder son of King Charles III and his first wife Diana, Princess of Wales. Born in London, William was educat ...

and

Stafford Stafford () is a market town and the county town of Staffordshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It lies about north of Wolverhampton, south of Stoke-on-Trent and northwest of Birmingham. The town had a population of 70,145 in t ...

counties in

Northern Virginia Northern Virginia, locally referred to as NOVA or NoVA, comprises several counties and independent cities in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. It is a widespread region radiating westward and southward from Washington, D.C. Wit ...

. Previously, he served 2005–2011 on the Stafford County

Board of Supervisors A board of supervisors is a governmental body that oversees the operation of county government in the U.S. states of Arizona, California, Iowa, Mississippi, Virginia, and Wisconsin, as well as 16 counties in New York. There are equivalent agenc ...

, representing the Garrisonville district. After deciding not to seek re-election to the House of Delegates in 2017, he decided to run for the Stafford County Board of Supervisors again, and was elected by a margin of 12 votes.

Education and family

Dudenhefer received a

B.S. A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University ...

degree in

Economics Economics () is the social science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and intera ...

from the

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 nea ...

in 1974. That same year, he enlisted in the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

. He served in the Corps until 2004, rising to the rank of

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

. He also received an

M.B.A. A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as account ...

degree from

Tulane University Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private university, private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into ...

and a

Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in Computer Information Systems from the

University of Phoenix University of Phoenix (UoPX) is a private for-profit university headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona. Founded in 1976, the university confers certificates and degrees at the certificate, associate, bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degree lev ...

. Dudenhefer married LaVera Kay Brooks; they had three children. One daughter, Emily, died in an automobile accident in 2004.

Electoral history

Political career

Dudenhefer served on the Stafford County Board of Supervisors 2005–2011; he was its chair for two years. When the 2nd House district was moved to his area by

redistricting Redistribution (re-districting in the United States and in the Philippines) is the process by which electoral districts are added, removed, or otherwise changed. Redistribution is a form of boundary delimitation that changes electoral dist ...

, Dudenhefer was unopposed as the Republican nominee for the seat. He defeated

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

Esteban Garces in the general election, 5767-4507. In November 2013, Dudenhefer was unseated by Democratic candidate for Delegate,

Michael Futrell Michael Thomas Futrell (born January 27, 1982) is an American politician from Virginia. A member of the Democratic Party, Futrell served a term in the Virginia House of Delegates, representing the second district. Political career Futrell ...

. In November 2015, Dudenhefer reclaimed the seat he lost in 2013, narrowly winning against Democrat Joshua King. In January 2017, Dudenhefer announced that he would not seek re-election to the Virginia House of Delegates. The next month, he announced he would run for his old seat on the Stafford County Board of Supervisors against Democratic incumbent Laura Sellers. Dudenhefer narrowly defeated Sellers, winning the election by 12 votes.

Notes

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dudenhefer, L. Mark 1952 births Living people Republican Party members of the Virginia House of Delegates County supervisors in Virginia Louisiana State University alumni Tulane University alumni University of Phoenix alumni People from Stafford, Virginia 21st-century American politicians