DLCC Re-Elects Oregon House Speaker Tina Kotek as Board Chair

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

December 4, 2018

CONTACT:

Mara Sloan
DLCC Communications Director

DLCC Re-Elects Oregon House Speaker Tina Kotek as Board Chair

WASHINGTON — Yesterday the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee’s Board of Directors convened and held its annual elections. Oregon House Speaker Tina Kotek was unanimously re-elected as Board Chair.

Delaware House Majority Leader Val Longhurst will continue to serve as Vice Chair, Hawaii Senate President Ron Kouchi was re-elected Treasurer, Illinois Deputy House Majority Leader Lou Lang will continue to serve as Secretary, and Minnesota Senate Minority Leader Tom Bakk was re-elected Finance Chair. Additionally, California Assembly Assistant Majority Leader Rob Bonta and Pennsylvania Senator Vincent Hughes were elected by their peers to join the DLCC’s Board of Directors.

“It is an honor to be re-elected as Chair of the DLCC’s Board of Directors,” said DLCC Chair and Oregon House Speaker Tina Kotek. “The DLCC has been setting new records – from doubling our fundraising, to electing more than 2,900 state Democrats, and knocking on 17 million doors. I’m excited to continue leading the DLCC as we head into the 2019 and 2020 cycle and work to elect more state Democrats and reclaim majorities.”

“Congratulations to our Chair, Speaker Kotek, and to our entire Board of Directors on a successful winter meeting,” said DLCC Executive Director Jessica Post. “The DLCC is grateful for their service and strategic guidance that empowers all of us to do this important work. Working together, we will continue to build Democratic momentum and regain majorities in statehouses nationwide ahead of critical redistricting.”

“As a member of the DLCC Board, I am looking forward to using my experience fighting voter suppression to help elect more state Democrats who will protect the right to vote in all 50 states,” said Senator Hughes. “When Democrats unite, Democrats win. I’m excited to join Speaker Kotek and my peers as we help the DLCC fulfill its mission.”

Senator Vincent J. Hughes has represented District 7 in the Pennsylvania Senate for more than two decades and is a leading progressive voice on local, state, and national issues. He is a champion for major policy issues such as expanding health care for low-income workers, raising the minimum wage, defending the rights to vote, and fighting for increased funding for public education. Sen. Hughes is a co-chairman of the National Commission for Voter Justice, an organization that has traveled across the country taking testimony and bringing attention to voter suppression tactics harming communities throughout the nation.

“I am honored to join my fellow legislators on the DLCC’s Board, especially at such an exciting time in history for state Democrats,” said Leader Bonta. “I look forward to working alongside Speaker Kotek and Jessica Post as the DLCC continues to grow and support state Democrats across the country.”

Assistant Majority Leader Rob Bonta is the first Filipino to serve in the California legislature and has worked to help restore millions of dollars in funding for East Bay public schools and establish universal preschool for all California children. He has sponsored legislation to strengthen regulations on high capacity magazines and fought to increase the minimum wage to the highest in the country.

In 2018 Democrats won over 2,900 state legislative seats – gaining seven trifectas, eight majorities, six supermajorities, and shattering four Republican supermajorities. Nearly 1,250 of the Democrats elected to their state legislatures in 2018 were women, and more than 900 were candidates of color. The DLCC knows that when Democrats have the majority in chambers, policies are passed that help all Americans. As the only organization exclusively committed to electing Democrats to state legislatures all over the country and winning Democratic control of chambers, the DLCC has been working with state legislative leaders for over two decades to invest strategically in state programs and rebuild the Democratic Party from the ground up. With the help of the DLCC, state Democrats are leading the resistance against the Trump administration’s extremist policies while moving our nation forward one state at a time.

For more information or to schedule an interview with the DLCC, please contact Mara Sloan at [email protected].

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