Democratic Governors Association

Democratic Governors Association
Chair Dan Malloy (CT)
Vice Chair Jay Inslee (WA)
Founded 1983 (1983)
Headquarters 1225 Eye St NW Suite 1100,
Washington, D.C., 20005
Governorships
18 / 50
Website
www.democraticgovernors.org
United States President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden meet with the Democratic Governors Association in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on 22 February 2013.

The Democratic Governors Association (DGA) is a Washington, D.C. based 527 organization founded in 1983, consisting of U.S. state and territorial governors affiliated with the Democratic Party. The mission of the organization is to provide party support to the election and re-election of Democratic gubernatorial candidates. The DGA's Republican counterpart is the Republican Governors Association. The DGA is not directly affiliated with the non-partisan National Governors Association. Elisabeth Pearson is currently the Executive Director of the DGA.

Founding and early years

The DGA in its current form was founded by Virginia Governor Chuck Robb in 1983 with the help of Democratic National Committee Chairman Chuck Manatt. The purpose of the committee was to raise funds to elect Democrats to governorships and to improve the partnership between Democratic governors and the Democratic leadership of the House and Senate.

1990s

The DGA played a pivotal role in the election of Bill Clinton to the Presidency in 1992. Under the leadership of DGA Chair and Hawaii Governor John Waihee, the DGA helped organize Clinton's "winning the West" campaign tour through Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Washington, Oregon, Nevada and California. Republicans had handily won in all but Washington and Oregon the previous three elections. According to The Washington Post,[1] it was "all but unthinkable to Republicans that the GOP could lose such stalwart pieces of the party's electoral base as Wyoming and Nevada." Clinton lost Wyoming but carried Nevada, Colorado, Montana, Washington, Oregon, and California.

Recent history

In the past 30 years Democratic Governors have served in various other government positions after their tenure. The following list provides recent positions from the Clinton and Obama administrations.

Democratic Governors elected as President:

Democratic Governors appointed to the U.S. Cabinet:

Democratic Governors appointed to Ambassadorships:

Democratic Governors elected DNC Chair:

Democratic Governors elected to the U.S. Senate:

DGA leadership

The leadership of the DGA consists of elected Democratic governors.

Office Officer State Since
Chairman Dannel Malloy Connecticut 2015
Vice Chairman Jay Inslee Washington 2015

List of current Democratic Governors

There are currently 18 Democratic governors:

Current Governor State Past Took office Seat Up
Jerry Brown California List 2011 2018
John Hickenlooper Colorado List 2011 2018
Dan Malloy Connecticut List 2011 2018
Jack Markell Delaware List 2009 2016 (term limited)
David Ige Hawaii List 2014 2018
John Bel Edwards Louisiana List 2016 2019
Mark Dayton Minnesota List 2011 2018
Jay Nixon Missouri List 2009 2016 (term limited)
Steve Bullock Montana List 2013 2016
Maggie Hassan New Hampshire List 2013 2016 (retiring)
Andrew Cuomo New York List 2011 2018
Kate Brown Oregon List 2015 2018
Tom Wolf Pennsylvania List 2014 2018
Gina Raimondo Rhode Island List 2014 2018
Peter Shumlin Vermont List 2011 2016 (retiring)
Terry McAuliffe Virginia List 2014 2017
Jay Inslee Washington List 2013 2020
Earl Ray Tomblin West Virginia List 2010 2016 (reting)

In addition to governors of U.S. states, the DGA also offers membership to Democratic governors of U.S. territories.

Current Governor Territory Past Took office Seat Up
Alejandro García Padilla Puerto Rico List 2013 2016 (retiring)
Lolo Matalasi Moliga American Samoa List 2013 2020

List of DGA Chairs

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

Current and former DGA Chairs.

Term Chair State
1983–1986 Unknown –
1987 Michael Dukakis Massachusetts
1988–1989 Bill Clinton Arkansas
1990 Dick Celeste Ohio
1991 Roy Romer Colorado
1992 John Waihee Hawaii
1993 David Walters Oklahoma
1994 Evan Bayh Indiana
1995 Mel Carnahan Missouri
1996 Gaston Caperton West Virginia
1997 Howard Dean Vermont
1998 Pedro Rosselló Puerto Rico
1999 Frank O'Bannon Indiana
2000 Paul Patton Kentucky
2001 Gray Davis California
2002 Parris Glendening Maryland
2003 Gary Locke Washington
2004 Tom Vilsack Iowa
2005–2006 Bill Richardson New Mexico
2007 Kathleen Sebelius Kansas
2008 Brian Schweitzer Montana
2009 Christine Gregoire Washington
2010 Jack Markell Delaware
2011–2012 Martin O'Malley Maryland
2013–2014 Peter Shumlin Vermont
2015 Steve Bullock Montana
2016 Dan Malloy Connecticut

Executive Directors

Term Director
1989 Chuck Dolan
1990–1992 Mark Gearan
1993–1998 Katie Whelan
1999–2004 BJ Thornberry
2005–2006 Penny Lee
2007–2010 Nathan Daschle
2011–2014 Colm O'Comartun
2015–present Elisabeth Pearson

Fundraising

The DGA reported raising over $20 million in 2011, almost doubling what it raised during the comparable 2007 election cycle. "Because of our strong efforts in 2011, we will have the resources to aid Democratic candidates in targeted states and continue to fight for our core priorities: Jobs. Opportunity. Now.," DGA Chair Martin O'Malley said. Executive Director Colm O'Comartun added, "There is no doubt that we will face a challenging electoral environment in 2012, but our victories in 2011 showed that we know how to wisely and strategically deploy our resources. We are delighted with the continued support of everyone who believes in our mission of creating jobs and expanding opportunity now."[2]

Notable staff alumni

Several former DGA staff members have gone on to hold prominent positions in the government and in the private and non-profit sectors.

Former Communications Director Jake Siewert served as Press Secretary for President Bill Clinton for four months from 2000 to 2001. From 2001 to 2009, he worked for Alcoa Inc. In 2009, he became an advisor to then-Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.[3]

Former Policy Director Sheryl Rose Parker was Director of Intergovernmental Affairs for U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. She is currently Deputy Director of Government Affairs for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.[4][5]

Former Policy Communications Director Doug Richardson served as Director of Public Affairs at the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy in the Obama administration. He is currently Public Relations Director for R&R Partners.[6]

Former Executive Director Katie Whelan served as a senior advisor to California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. She was an Institute of Politics Fellow at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government. She is currently Senior Public Policy Advisor for Patton Boggs LLP.[7]

Former Executive Director Nathan Daschle is the founder and CEO of Ruckus, Inc., an online political engagement platform. He is the son of former U.S. Senator Tom Daschle. In October 2010, Daschle was recognized as one of Time magazine's "40 under 40" rising stars in politics.[8]

Former Executive Director Mark Gearan was director of communications during the Clinton administration and served as director of the Peace Corps. He is the current president of Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Geneva, New York.[9]

Founding Executive Director Chuck Dolan is a Senior Vice President at kglobal and was appointed by President Clinton as Vice-Chair of the Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy. He is a lecturer at the George Washington University School of Media and Public Affairs.[10]

References

  1. ↑ Devroy, Ann, "Clinton Takes His Case to GOP's Western Stronghold", The Washington Post, October 22, 1993, accessed August 8, 2011.
  2. ↑ O'Malley, Martin. "DGA Continues to Break Fundraising Records".
  3. ↑ http://www.whorunsgov.com/Profiles/Jake_Siewert?loadTab=0[]
  4. ↑ "Pelosi Names Senior Staff To Speaker's Office". The Washington Current. February 10, 2007. Archived from the original on March 28, 2012. Retrieved August 9, 2011.
  5. ↑ "Cheryl Parker Rose - POLITICO Topics - POLITICO.com". Archived from the original on October 23, 2010. Retrieved August 9, 2011.
  6. ↑ "R&R Partners | Public Relations". Archived from the original on July 26, 2011. Retrieved August 9, 2011.
  7. ↑ "Patton Boggs | Professionals | Katie Whelan". Archived from the original on April 10, 2010. Retrieved August 9, 2011.
  8. ↑ "Nathan Daschle". The Public Squared. Retrieved 2014-08-10.
  9. ↑ "HWS: Office of the President". Hws.edu. Retrieved 2014-08-10.
  10. ↑ http://smpa.gwu.edu/faculty/people/27 Archived May 12, 2011, at the Wayback Machine.

External links

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