Rome, Georgia Commissioner Wendy Davis received the Susan Burgess Memorial Award for Exemplary Leadership at Democratic Municipal Officials’ (DMO) National Breakfast meeting this Tuesday. Named in honor of the late Charlotte Mayor Pro Tem and DMO President Susan Burgess, the award honors one member of DMO for their outstanding service to the organization.
Charlotte Councilmember LaWana Mayfield presented the award to Davis. “[Wendy] is a woman who has committed herself to making sure that our members have the resources they need to win their elections, and that our voices are heard at the DNC and in our state parties. She has spent her time on the DMO Board speaking up for our officials in DNC committee meetings and working to build our Political Council to make sure that no DMO loses their election for lack of resources.”
Held during the National League of Cities (NLC) Congressional City Conference in Washington, DC, the DMO National Breakfast is a biannual meeting of Democratic Municipal Officials, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) constituency association for Democratic mayors, council members, and other local elected officials. Davis was recognized not only for her service developing the DMO Political Council, which connects municipal Democrats to political consultants and resources, but for advocating for local Democratic issues in her role as a member of the Democratic National Committee. Previous winners of the Susan Burgess Award include Los Angeles Council Member Joe Buscaino, Newark Council President Mildred Crump, Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker, and Memphis Mayor AC Wharton.
On stage Tuesday morning with Commissioner Davis were a number of big names in the Democratic Party. DNC Chair Tom Perez fired up the crowd with an energetic speech on the importance of having a national Democratic Party presence that focuses on local elections in addition to state and federal. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio spoke to the importance of Democratic values, including universal pre-k education and economic justice. The breakfast closed with remarks from California Congresswoman Maxine Waters, who received a raucous response from attendees as she stressed the importance of truth in politics.
Democratic Municipal Officials (DMO) is the DNC Association for municipal elected officials who personally identify as members of the Democratic Party. The organization holds three seats on the DNC, and advocate for the thousands of local elected Democrats across the United States.
