TOM PEREZ ELECTED DNC CHAIR

Former Secretary of Labor Tom Perez elected Chair of the Democratic National Committee at the DNC Winter Meeting

Atlanta, GA, February 25, 2017 –

The Democratic National Committee elected former Labor Secretary Tom Perez as the next Chair of the DNC this Saturday in Atlanta. Perez committed to increasing DNC support for local elected Democrats prior to the DNC Winter Meeting in a letter to the Democratic Municipal Officials. Local elected Democrats were represented at the DNC meeting by their three ex officio voting members, along with two additional voting members from DMO’s national Board of Directors.

Receiving the majority of votes after two rounds of voting, Tom Perez won the election for Chair of the Democratic National Committee. In his speech to the gathered DNC membership that morning, Perez stressed the importance of electing Democrats “…from the school board to the Senate”. He ended the first round one vote short of a majority, and was followed closely in the vote tally by Congressman Keith Ellison of Minnesota. In his first act as Chair, Perez passed a motion to name Ellison Deputy Chair of the DNC.

Perez spoke with the Democratic Municipal Officials Board of Directors last December as part of a series of interviews DMO conducted with every candidate for DNC Chair. On the call he advocated for an “every zip code” strategy reminiscent of Howard Dean’s 50-state strategy. Prior to the DNC, Perez responded to a joint letter from Democratic Municipal Officials and the National Democratic County Officials with his commitments to local Democrats. In addition to his existing platform, Perez committed to hire a DNC Director of State and Local Elected Affairs, create a Local Elected Caucus within the DNC, provide monetary support to the DMO and NDCO, better prepare Democratic candidates for local office, and convene the DNC associations to coordinate on issues such as voter suppression.

Local elected Democrats from across the United States were represented by their DNC voting members from DMO; Los Angeles Council Member Joe Buscaino (President), Northfield Council Member Suzie Nakasian (Vice President), and Cathedral City Mayor Pro tem Greg Pettis (Representative to the DNC). The three official voting members were joined by DMO Board Members Anita Bonds (DC Council Member) and Wendy Davis (Rome Commissioner) in casting ballots for the new DNC officers.

Democratic Municipal Officials is the Democratic National Committee association for municipal elected officials who personally identify as members of the Democratic Party. They hold three seats on the DNC, and advocate for the thousands of local elected Democrats across the United States.

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