OLYMPIA, Wash., January 29, 2023—Shasti Conrad was elected Chair of the Washington State Democrats by affirmation on Saturday at its Reorganization Meeting and Officer Elections event. Conrad is the first woman of color and youngest person to be elected Chair of the Washington State Democrats as well as the first South Asian and first Indian American woman to serve as a State Democratic Party Chair in the country.
“I’m so honored to have the opportunity to serve as Chair of our state party and build on the outstanding success Washington Democrats have earned at the ballot box for the last six years,” said Shasti Conrad, Chair of the Washington State Democrats. “I’m excited to work with Democratic leaders from every community to build an unprecedented field operation that will carry the message of how Washington Democrats are delivering for working families to each and every voter.”
“After six years serving as the Chair of the Washington Democrats, I’m thrilled to pass on the torch to my friend Shasti Conrad. Shasti has been a force in Washington Democratic politics for over a decade as a staffer on three presidential campaigns and a successful chair of the largest county party organization in the state. Shasti has been a crucial part of our organizing efforts over the past six years helping to build a top-notch state party which has seen unprecedented electoral success in both state and federal elections. There is no one more qualified to take on the difficult task of building on this success, and I have every confidence in Shasti’s success,” said Tina Podlodowski, Outgoing Party Chair.
Conrad assumes leadership of an organization whose voter contact operation has played a key role in Democrats’ statewide electoral dominance since the 2016 election. In the last six years, Washington Democrats have won control of every statewide elected office, flipped two Congressional seats, flipped the state Senate, and grown their legislative majorities in each of the last three election cycles–all while electing the most diverse cohort of state legislators in Washington’s history.
Conrad has worked on political campaigns since 2008, when she got her start as a field organizer working for then-Senator Obama’s primary campaign. Since then, she’s worked on three more presidential races and concluded the 2020 cycle as Senator Bernie Sanders’ National Director of Surrogates. Locally, she served as Chair of the Martin Luther King, Jr. County Democrats from 2018 to 2022, where she raised nearly $300,000 for a county party organization mired in debt when she first took office. Under her leadership, the King County Democrats’ field operation helped flip six city councils and a County Council seat held by Republicans for twenty years.
As a political consultant working with candidate campaigns and PACs across the country, Conrad has earned several awards for her work producing virtual fundraisers during the height of the pandemic. She earned the prestigious Pollie Awards from the American Association of Political Consultants in 2022 for Sen. Patty Murray’s Golden Tennis Shoe Awards, and in 2021 for her work with Opportunity PAC and Lift Every Voice and has also been recognized by the AAPC as one of the organization’s “40 under 40.”
David Green elected Vice Chair
David Green was first elected Vice Chair of the Washington State Democrats in 2019. He has also served as Chair of 3rd Legislative District (City of Spokane) since 2015 and ran for Spokane County Treasurer in 2018. As an experienced local party leader and candidate for office, David understands what it takes for Democrats to win in Central and Eastern Washington.
Rob Dolin Secretary
Rob Dolin was first elected Secretary of the Washington State Democrats in 2013 and has over two decades of Democratic party experience as a PCO and volunteer. He has filled over 200 PCO positions as an LD Vice-Chair for PCO recruitment and organized volunteers from Seattle to knock doors in swing districts, and helped local parties with websites and social media presences.
David Kim Treasurer
David Kim will be serving his first term as Washington State Democrats’ Treasurer for the 2023-2024 cycle. He has been active in Democratic politics since interning for his mentor the Late Senator Paul Shinn in 2008. David has been a grassroots organizer and campaign manager for the Washington House Democratic Campaign Committee He also worked with the Washington coordinated campaign to elect President Barack Obama in 2008 and served in the Obama Administration.
SOURCE: Washington State Democrat Party
Author: Lynnwood Times Staff
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