->Star Garnet at 17:38, 22 December 2021

2021-12-22T17:38:20Z

New page

{{Short description|Indian-American attorney and politician|bot=PearBOT 5}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2017}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Manka Dhingra
| image = File:Manka Dhingra 02.jpg
| state_senate = Washington
| district = [[Washington's 45th legislative district|45th]]
| predecessor = [[Dino Rossi]]
| term_start = November 29, 2017
| term_end =
| successor =
| party = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] (2016–present)
| otherparty = [[Independent politician|Independent]] (before 2016)
| birth_date = {{birth based on age as of date|43|2017|11|08}}<ref name="Corte Press 2017">{{cite web | last=Corte | first=Rachel La | last2=Press | first2=Associated | title=AP declares Manka Dhingra winner in state Senate race; Dems in control | website=KOMO | date=November 8, 2017 | url=http://komonews.com/news/local/washington-state-democrats-celebrate-lead-by-dhingra-in-key-senate-race-on-eastsides-45th | access-date=November 9, 2017}}</ref>
| birth_place = [[Bhopal]], India
| death_date =
| death_place =
| spouse = Harjit Singh
| children = 2
| alma_mater = [[University of California, Berkeley]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])<br>[[University of Washington School of Law|University of Washington]] ([[Juris Doctor|JD]])
}}
'''Manka Dhingra''' (born 1973 or 1974)<ref name="NWAsian">{{cite news|newspaper=[[Northwest Asian Weekly]]|title=Manka Dhingra talks about her Senate seat plans|date=May 4, 2017 |author=Janice Nesamani|url=http://nwasianweekly.com/2017/05/manka-dhingra-talks-about-her-senate-seat-plans/|accessdate=November 9, 2017}}</ref> is an [[Indian-American]] attorney and politician who is a [[Washington State Senate|Washington State senator]]. A member of the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]], she was elected to represent the [[Washington's 45th legislative district|45th legislative district]], on [[Seattle]]'s [[Eastside (King County, Washington)|Eastside]] in [[King County, Washington|King County]], during a [[Washington's 45th state senate district special election, 2017|2017 special election]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://results.vote.wa.gov/results/current/LegislativeDistrict45.html |title=November 7, 2017 General Election |last=Washington Secretary of State |date=November 7, 2017 |accessdate=November 9, 2017 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20171109015855/http://results.vote.wa.gov/results/current/LegislativeDistrict45.html |archivedate=November 9, 2017 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> Dhingra is the first [[Sikh]] elected to any state legislature in the United States.<ref name="IA-2017">{{cite news |last=Haniffa |first=Aziz |date=August 4, 2017 |title=High-stakes showdown in Washington State |url=https://www.indiaabroad.com/indian-americans/high-stakes-showdown-in-washington-state/article_7333a526-7971-11e7-bf36-b70059ba14bf.html |work=[[India Abroad]] |accessdate=December 21, 2017}}</ref>

Dhingra, an Indian immigrant, founded the woman's advocacy organization API Chaya in 1996, and later worked under several elected officials at the state level. She joined the [[King County Prosecuting Attorney]]'s office in 2000 and has led the department's expanding mental health and veterans courts.

==Early life and education==

Dhingra was born in [[Bhopal]], India to a [[Sikh]] family; her father worked for [[Union Carbide India Limited|Union Carbide]] and her mother was a schoolteacher. After her father died of [[colon cancer]], Dhingra moved to California with her mother at the age of 13,<ref name="NWAsian"/> joining her relatives.<ref name="Times-Profile">{{cite news |last=O'Sullivan |first=Joseph |date=October 22, 2017 |title=Trump victory helped propel Eastside Democrat into high-stakes Senate race |page=B1 |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/elexprofile-manka/ |work=The Seattle Times |accessdate=November 9, 2017}}</ref> She graduated from the [[University of California, Berkeley]], earning a [[Bachelor of Arts]] in history and political science in 1995,<ref name="NWAsian"/> before moving with her husband Harjit Singh to [[Redmond, Washington]].<ref name="Times-Profile"/>

== Career ==
Dhingra founded Chaya, a non-profit organization to combat domestic violence against South Asian women, in 1996.<ref name="Stranger">{{cite news |last=Knauf |first=Ana Sofia |date=August 23, 2017 |title=Meet Manka Dhingra, the Eastside Democrat Who Could End Republican Control of the State Senate |url=http://www.thestranger.com/news/2017/08/23/25368212/meet-manka-dhingra-the-eastside-democrat-who-could-end-republican-control-of-the-state-senate |work=[[The Stranger (newspaper)|The Stranger]] |accessdate=November 9, 2017}}</ref> She would later work in the offices of [[Washington Supreme Court|state Supreme Court]] justice [[Barbara Madsen]] and the [[Washington State Attorney General|Attorney General]] [[Christine Gregoire]], while earning a degree from the [[University of Washington School of Law]] in 1999.<ref name="Times-Profile"/><ref name="Stranger"/> Dhingra joined the [[King County Prosecuting Attorney]]'s office in 2000 and served as a Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorney for King County. Her work in the office's mental health court and the [[King County District Court Regional Veterans Court]] earned membership in various mental health and anti-hate crime advocacy organizations.<ref name="NWAsian"/><ref name="Times-Profile"/>

Dhingra identified herself as a nonpartisan prior to the [[2016 United States presidential election|2016 presidential election]]. A few months after attending her first Democratic meeting,<ref>{{cite news |last=Barabak |first=Mark Z. |date=November 6, 2017 |title=With Washington statehouse at stake, Democrats seek to build a West Coast wall of Trump resistance |url=https://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-trump-state-legislatures-20171106-story.html |work=[[The Los Angeles Times]] |accessdate=November 6, 2017}}</ref> she declared her candidacy for the [[Washington's 45th state senate district special election, 2017|special election]] created by the death of [[Washington Republican Party|Republican]] [[Andy Hill (politician)|Andy Hill]].<ref name="Corte Press 2017" /><ref name="mankadhingra">{{Cite web |url=http://www.electmanka.com/about-manka-dhingra.html |title=About Manka Dhingra |website=Committee to Elect Manka Dhingra |access-date=November 9, 2017}}</ref> Dhingra defeated Jinyoung Englund, the Republican nominee, on November 7, 2017 with 55% of the votes. Dhingra's election overturned the Republican [[Majority Coalition Caucus|coalition majority]] in the [[Washington State Senate]], giving the [[Washington Democratic Party]] complete control over the state's government for the first time since 2012.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/washington-state-senate-special-election_us_5a00a45be4b0baea2633bfae |title=Democrats In Washington State Win Full Control Of The Government |author=Jennifer Bendery |author-link=Jennifer Bendery |date=November 8, 2017 |website=The Huffington Post |access-date=November 9, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=O'Sullivan |first=Joseph |date=November 8, 2017 |title=Democrat Manka Dhingra defeats Republican Jinyoung Lee Englund in state Senate race |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/democrat-manka-dhingra-maintains-lead-over-republican-jinyoung-englund-in-state-senate-race/ |work=The Seattle Times |accessdate=November 9, 2017}}</ref> She was sworn in on November 29 and became the first Sikh woman to enter a state legislature.<ref name="IA-2017"/><ref>{{cite news |last=Sundell |first=Allison |date=November 29, 2017 |title=Dhingra sworn in, Democrats gain control of both chambers |url=http://www.king5.com/news/politics/dhingra-sworn-in-democrats-gain-control-of-both-chambers/495630913 |publisher=[[KING-TV|KING 5 News]] |accessdate=December 3, 2017}}</ref> Dhingra was named as the deputy majority leader in the Senate and assigned as the chair of the Behavioral Health Subcommittee.<ref>{{cite news |last=Santos |first=Melissa |date=April 5, 2019 |title=With Jay Inslee running for president, here's who might lead WA next |url=https://crosscut.com/2019/04/jay-inslee-running-president-heres-who-might-lead-wa-next |work=[[Crosscut.com]] |accessdate=April 21, 2019}}</ref> She retained the 45th district seat by being re-elected in 2018.<ref>{{cite news |last=Baumgarten |first=Mark |last2=Stang |first2=John |date=November 6, 2018 |title=State Democrats tighten hold on Olympia |url=https://crosscut.com/2018/11/state-democrats-tighten-hold-olympia |work=Crosscut.com |accessdate=April 21, 2019}}</ref>

==Personal life==

Dhingra met her husband, Harjit Singh, while at the University of California, Berkeley.<ref name="Times-Profile"/> Singh works for [[SpaceX]] in Redmond.<ref>{{cite news |date=February 13, 2017 |title=Senior deputy King County prosecutor to challenge for 45th District senate seat |url=http://www.kirklandreporter.com/news/senior-deputy-king-county-prosecutor-to-challenge-for-45th-district-senate-seat/ |work=[[Kirkland Reporter]] |accessdate=November 9, 2017}}</ref> The couple have two teenage children.<ref name="NWAsian"/>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Manka Dhingra}}
*{{Official website|http://www.electmanka.com}}

{{Washington State Senators}}

{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dhingra, Manka}}
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:21st-century American politicians]]
[[Category:American politicians of Indian descent]]
[[Category:Asian-American people in Washington (state) politics]]
[[Category:University of California, Berkeley alumni]]
[[Category:University of Washington School of Law alumni]]
[[Category:Washington (state) Democrats]]
[[Category:Washington (state) state senators]]
[[Category:Women state legislators in Washington (state)]]
[[Category:Politicians from Bhopal]]
[[Category:People from Redmond, Washington]]
[[Category:American Sikhs]]
[[Category:1973 births]]
[[Category:21st-century American women politicians]]

Manka Dhingra - Revision history

->Star Garnet at 17:38, 22 December 2021