Good morning Democrats!

Results are still coming in from last night, but it is safe to say that Democrats have held strong during a tough election cycle. Midterms are always a challenge for the party in power. But as races are called, it looks as though President Biden has led Democrats to our most competitive midterm election in recent history.

And of course, it was an incredible night for local Democrats, who continue to build up the blue wall in our towns and cities. A few of those wins are listed below.

If you won a significant election last night, email me at Nils.Robbins@NationalDMO.org so we can promote your victory.

Sincerely,

Nils Robbins

DMO Communications and Operations Director

DMO Highlights

• DMO Board Member and Representative to the DNC Anita Bonds soared to victory in her reelection for At-Large Member of the Washington, DC City Council.
• DMO Board Member and National Secretary Gary Hansen handily won reelection as a Council Member in Eagan, MN.
• A special shout out to former Board Member and current DMO staff Dan Besse, who won his race for the Forsyth County Board of Commissioners At-Large position. Dan previously served on the Winston-Salem City Council.
• DMO Board Member and Boulder Mayor Pro-tem Junie Joseph won her race for Colorado State Representative in District 10.

Election Night Notables

• John Fetterman, former Mayor of Braddock, PA, won his US Senate race, flipping the seat from red to blue.
• Robert Garcia, Mayor of Long Beach, CA, won his Congressional race in the 42nd District.
• Kim Driscoll, Mayor of Salem, MA, won her race for Lt. Governor.

Mayoral Election Victories

• Frank Scott Jr, Little Rock, AR
• Muriel Bowser, Washington, DC
• Craig Greenberg, Louisville, KY
• Brett Smiley, Providence, RI
• Catherine Read, Fairfax City, VA
• Sheila Olem, Herndon, VA
• Amy Shuler Goodwin, Charleston, WV

Council Election Victories

• Phil Mendelson, Council Chairman, Washington, DC
• Brianne Nadeau, Council Member, Washington, DC
• Matthew Frumin, Council Member, Washington, DC
• Zachary Parker, Council Member, Washington, DC
• Reggie Gaffney Jr, Council Member, Jacksonville, FL
• Lisa Johnson, Council Member, Versailles, KY
• Willow Hambrick, Council Member, Georgetown, KY
• Megan Ellyia Green, President of the Board of Alderman, St. Louis, MO
• Jane Harrison, City Council, Raleigh, NC
• Sandra Wittner, Board of Aldermen, Dover, NJ
• Jim Harrity, At-Large Council, Philadelphia, PA
• Sharon Vaughn, At-Large Council, Philadelphia, PA
• Quetcy Lozada, City Council, Philadelphia, PA
• Anthony Phillips, City Council, Philadelphia, PA
• Jana Swearengen-Washington, City Council, Memphis, TN
• Sonia Vasquez Luna, Councilor, Manassas, VA

DMO is pleased to announce the hire of Alejandro Chavez as our Political Director.  Alejandro was born and raised in the progressive movement.  He identifies strongly with the values of his grandfather, Cesar Chavez, and has dedicated his life to supporting candidates and causes both locally and nationally.  We are honored to have him on our team and hope you will give him a warm welcome.  Read more about Alejandro’s experience below.

Alejandro’s hire marks the launch of a strategic new direction for Democratic Municipal Officials.  Following a professional strategic planning process, we are restructuring our staffing to allow us to build upon our successes and enhance our priority work.

Under Alejandro’s leadership, DMO will prioritize two key areas of work.  We will greatly expand our data work to ensure we connect, engage and empower our 40,000 Democratic Municipal Officials.  And we will be asking for your help to make that happen.  With strong data we will be poised to better support you and our allies.  While we enhance our data, we will simultaneously be launching pilot programs and developing a strategy for stronger political engagement to better support candidates for municipal office and DMOs who have actively been involved in our organization who are now seeking wider office.  We will strengthen the blue wall and build our bench.

Meanwhile, Jesse Maldonado who stepped in as our Interim Political Director will now serve as our Alumni Director, ensuring that when our members leave municipal office, we will still have a meaningful role for them within DMO.  Learn more about our Alumni Council.

Nils Robbins remains our Communications and Operations Director and leads our policy work.  Dan Besse now serves as our Labor, Policy and IGA Advisor.  Barbara Moore maintains the helm as our Executive Director.  With your help, we will add a Deputy Political Director in 2022 to continue strengthening our State Chapters and our Labor Council.  These are exciting times at DMO!  We hope we can count on your enhanced support as we grow to serve you.

With over a decade in political advocacy and organizing, Alejandro knows how to run a candidate for local office and advocate for international diplomacy across the nation. In Arizona, he was the Campaign Manager for Ruben Gallego’s successful run for State Representative. He then joined MoveOn.org to promote diplomatic solutions in the Middle East, successfully gaining public support from MoveOn members to push their elected officials to support the Iran Nuclear Deal.

Following his time at MoveOn, Alejandro became the Senior Electoral Campaign Manager with Democracy for America. There he worked to elect Rep. Veronica Escobar, the first Latina Congresswoman in Texas, and Nevada Senator Catherine Cortez Masto as the first Latina US Senator. In 2020 he was the Political Director for Prop 207 Smart and Safe campaign in Arizona to legalize recreational marijuana for adult use and passed by 60% the most of any marijuana initiative in the country.

Alejandro’s work takes him where he is needed most – a worldview that runs in the family. Alejandro’s grandfather was the renowned labor and civil rights leader Cesar Chavez. Today, Alejandro takes up that mantle in his work and his volunteerism with various community groups, including The National Redistricting Foundation, where he supports community engagement efforts in their lawsuit to stop the 2020 Census from adding a citizenship question that would stifle an accurate count of the people.