A candidate running for the Fairfax County School Board is receiving criticism for a video he shared on social media of himself pretending to be a parent of a transgender child.
Republican Jeff Hoffmann recorded himself lying about his identity on a call with the Inova Pride Clinic, which offers medical care for transgender people. Hoffmann seemingly made the recording in an attempt to draw connections between the school district and the clinic.
"I have a … I used to say beautiful boy. I'm the stepfather," he says to the receptionist during the phone call, which Hoffmann posted to Twitter.
During the phone call, Hoffmann positions himself as a concerned stepfather doing research about the clinic, but then pivots to making implications an LGBTQ ally group for school staff and students called FCPS Pride is sending students to the clinic for gender conversion therapy.
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"Now you have a group called FCPS Pride that is directly connected to the Fairfax public schools," Hoffmann says in the phone call to the clinic.
"No, we are not directly connected to them," the receptionist replies.
Hoffmann told News4 by phone on Monday that he lied to the receptionist about having a transgender child in an attempt to get information about the clinic.
Christina McCormick is a mother to two transgender students, one just graduated from the county school system and the other is currently enrolled. She said both of her children go to the Pride Clinic.
"Did any other group, FCPS Pride or teachers at FCPS, encourage your kids to go there?" News4 asked during a video interview with McCormick.
"Absolutely not was there any suggestion or recommendations by anybody at school or FCPS Pride. It was something that I heard about just because we're dialed into that community right now and resources for the kids," McCormick said.
"I don't have any other way to describe it but silly. It's just goofy. It's factually inaccurate," Robert Rigby, with FCPS Pride, said of Hoffmann's recorded phone call to the clinic.
Hoffmann said he was unavailable for an interview, but told News4 he's not anti-LGBTQ.
