Suzan DelBene launching bid for Congress in Washington's 8th District

Last week at the Washington State Democrats' Crab Feed, I had the opportunity to briefly say hello to the first declared Democratic challenger to Dave Reichert in 2010: Suzan DelBene, who was introduced to the crowd by Chairman Dwight Pelz.

Like Darcy Burner, the Democratic standard bearer in 2006 and 2008, DelBene has a background at Microsoft, where she was Corporate Vice President for Mobile Communications from 2004 through 2007. (She also worked at Microsoft from 1989 through 1998 before leaving to join Nimble Technology).

More recently, DelBene has served as a strategic advisor for Global Partnerships, a nonprofit organization that invests in micro-finance institutions in Latin America. And just last month she was appointed to the Board of Directors of ElectroRent.

DelBene has posted a short letter on her website introducing herself and briefly describing her plans to run for Congress.

Dear Neighbor,

Here in Washington's 8th District, we live in one of the most beautiful and prosperous areas in the country. I know that we must work hard to protect our quality of life.

I am a successful businesswoman -- I have been the CEO of a start up and a Microsoft Vice President. I have worked around the globe in business and in lifting people out of poverty. I am a Trustee of Reed College, helping to increase access to higher education. I have worked in medical research and have seen firsthand the power of new treatments. I firmly believe that each challenge we face can be used to create opportunities and get our economy moving again.

I am not a career politician -- my focus has always been on creating opportunity. I have incredible faith in what we can do as a community. I want to listen to you and move us forward by representing the great 8th district in the United States Congress. Tell me more about what's important to you. Contact me at info (at) delbeneforcongress (dot) com.

Sincerely,
Suzan DelBene
Candidate for Congress, Washington State, 8th Congressional District

DelBene is getting a pretty early start, but that's actually a good thing. It takes a long time to put together a winning campaign for federal office. Starting early is especially important for candidates who haven't already built up a network of political contacts running for local office.

We've heard nothing but good things about Suzan to date. We look forward to learning more about her and seeing her campaign take shape in the months ahead.