Manka Dhingra
{{Short description|Indian and American attorney and politician|bot=PearBOT 5}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2017}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|name = Manka Dhingra
|image = Manka Dhingra 02.jpg
|state_senate = Washington
|district = 45th
|term_start = November 29, 2017
|term_end =
|predecessor = Dino Rossi
|successor =
|birth_date = {{birth based on age as of date|43|2017|11|8}}
|death_date =
|death_place =
|party = Independent (before 2016)
Democratic (2016–present)
|spouse = Harjit Singh
|children = 2
|education = University of California, Berkeley (BA)
University of Washington (JD)
|website = {{url|electmanka.com|Campaign website}}
|signature = Manka Dhingra Signature.png
}}
Manka Dhingra (born 1973 or 1974){{cite web |last=La Corte |first=Rachel |publisher=Associated Press |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 |accessdate=November 9, 2017}}{{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}} is an Indian-born American attorney and politician who is a Washington State senator. A member of the Democratic Party, she was elected to represent the 45th legislative district, on Seattle's Eastside in King County, during a 2017 special election.{{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 }} Dhingra is the first Sikh elected to any state legislature in the United States.{{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}}
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 led the department's expanding mental health and veterans courts. Dhingra faced criticism in 2023 and 2024 for the data she used to support her positions on police pursuits{{Cite web |last=Smith |first=Matthew |date=2023-01-24 |title=Police pursuit bill has Washington Democrats at odds |url=https://www.fox13seattle.com/news/police-pursuit-bill-has-washington-democrats-at-odds |access-date=2024-12-30 |website=FOX 13 Seattle |language=en-US}} and for claiming she still worked at the Prosecutor’s Office.{{Cite web |last=Demkovich |first=Laurel |date=2024-08-07 |title=Serrano, Brown poised to advance in Washington attorney general race • Washington State Standard |url=https://washingtonstatestandard.com/2024/08/06/nick-brown-pete-serrano-washington-attorney-general/ |access-date=2024-12-30 |website=Washington State Standard |language=en-US}}
Early life and education
Dhingra was born in Bhopal, India to a Sikh family; her father worked for 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, joining her relatives.{{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}} She graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, earning a Bachelor of Arts in history and political science in 1995, before moving with her husband Harjit Singh to Redmond, Washington.
Career
Dhingra founded Chaya, a non-profit organization to combat domestic violence against South Asian women, in 1996.{{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 |accessdate=November 9, 2017}} She would later work in the offices of state Supreme Court justice Barbara Madsen and the Attorney General Christine Gregoire, while earning a degree from the University of Washington School of Law in 1999. Dhingra joined the King County Prosecuting Attorney's office in 2000 and served as a Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorney for King County; she was last in that role in 2021.{{Cite web |last=Reporter |first=Chris Daniels, KOMO News Senior |date=2024-07-05 |title=WA attorney general candidate questioned over employment claims, asked to correct website |url=https://komonews.com/news/local/attorney-general-candidate-manka-dhingra-king-county-prosecuting-attorneys-office-kcpao-website-employee-campaign-website-video-voter-guides-criminal-justice-training-commssion-crisis-intervention |access-date=2024-07-06 |website=KOMO |language=en}} 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.
Dhingra identified herself as a nonpartisan prior to the 2016 presidential election. A few months after attending her first Democratic meeting,{{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}} she declared her candidacy for the special election created by the death of Republican Andy Hill.{{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}} Dhingra defeated Jinyoung Englund, the Republican nominee, on November 7, 2017, with 55% of the votes. Dhingra's election overturned the Republican 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.{{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}}{{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}} She was sworn in on November 29 and became the first Sikh woman to enter a state legislature.{{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 5 News |accessdate=December 3, 2017}} Dhingra was named as the deputy majority leader in the Senate and assigned as the chair of the Behavioral Health Subcommittee.{{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}} She retained the 45th district seat by being re-elected in 2018{{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}} and 2022.{{cite news |last=Josie |first=Bailey |date=November 8, 2022 |title=Democratic incumbents win 45th Legislative District by wide margin |url=https://www.bothell-reporter.com/news/democractic-incumbents-lead-legislative-district-45-by-wide-margin/ |work=Bothell-Kenmore Reporter |accessdate=February 10, 2024}}
In 2023, Dhingra was fined by Washington’s Legislative Ethics Board.{{Cite web |title=Ethics board fines WA Sen. Dhingra after abortion news conference {{!}} Cascade PBS |url=https://www.cascadepbs.org/briefs/2023/08/ethics-board-fines-wa-sen-dhingra-after-abortion-news-conference |access-date=2024-12-30 |website=www.cascadepbs.org |language=en}}
That same year, Dhingra received media coverage of her stances on restoring Washington’s reasonable suspicion standard for police pursuit, including refusing to hold a hearing for a relevant bill in a committee she chairs {{Cite web |last=Kim |first=Hana |date=2023-01-23 |title=One Washington lawmaker has the key to block discussions on police pursuits, and she is wielding that power |url=https://www.fox13seattle.com/news/one-washington-lawmaker-has-the-key-to-block-discussions-on-police-pursuits-she-is-wielding-that-power |access-date=2024-12-30 |website=FOX 13 Seattle |language=en-US}} and promoting problematic data about pursuits.{{Cite web |last=Markovich |first=Matt |date=2023-02-03 |title=Legislators source questionable data for changing police pursuit laws |url=https://mynorthwest.com/3802391/police-pursuit-death-update-controversial-data/ |access-date=2024-12-30 |website=MyNorthwest.com |language=en}} In 2024, Dhingra was criticized for limiting public testimony during a hearing she oversaw about Initiative 2113.{{Cite web |last=Square |first=Carleen Johnson {{!}} The Center |date=2024-02-28 |title=Republicans, others lament 'sham of a hearing' on police pursuit initiative |url=https://www.thecentersquare.com/washington/article_e624f47a-d673-11ee-9c00-9b53b776af2c.html |access-date=2024-12-30 |website=The Center Square |language=en}}
She ran in the 2024 Washington Attorney General election to become Attorney General of Washington, as the position was being vacated by Bob Ferguson, who successfully ran for Washington State Governor.{{cite news |last1=Lindsay |first1=Jeanie |last2=Oxley |first2=Dyer |date=July 12, 2023 |title=Former U.S. Attorney Nick Brown challenges state Sen. Manka Dhingra in race for WA attorney general |url=https://www.kuow.org/stories/former-u-s-attorney-nick-brown-challenges-state-sen-manka-dhingra-in-race-for-wa-attorney-general |publisher=KUOW-FM |accessdate=January 26, 2024}} During the campaign, Dhingra was criticized for claiming she was still formally associated with the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.{{Cite web |date=2024-07-10 |title=WA AG candidate faces blowback for ‘leave of absence’ claim |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/wa-ag-candidate-faces-blowback-for-leave-of-absence-claim/ |access-date=2024-12-30 |website=The Seattle Times |language=en-US}} Following that criticism, her campaign website was eventually updated, without including an admission of fault on Dhingra’s behalf.{{Cite web |date=2024-07-15 |title=AG candidate changes website bio after request from King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office |url=https://www.king5.com/article/news/politics/elections/ag-candidate-changes-bio-after-request-from-kcpao/281-849c20a7-133c-415c-b22c-3c278fb88032 |access-date=2024-12-30 |website=king5.com |language=en-US}} Dhingra came third in the top-two primary, and the election was ultimately won by Nicholas W. Brown.{{Cite web |title=Nick Brown (Washington) |url=https://ballotpedia.org/Nick_Brown_(Washington) |access-date=2024-11-15 |website=Ballotpedia |language=en}}
In 2025, Dhingra introduced a bill to repeal state code criminalizing concealed births.{{Cite web |date=2025-01-22 |title=Abortion rights rally urges WA lawmakers to push back on Trump agenda |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/abortion-rights-rally-urges-wa-lawmakers-to-push-back-on-trump-agenda/ |access-date=2025-02-02 |website=The Seattle Times |language=en-US}}
Personal life
Dhingra met her husband, Harjit Singh, while at the University of California, Berkeley. Singh works for SpaceX in Redmond.{{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}} The couple have two children.
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category|Manka Dhingra}}
- {{Official website|http://www.electmanka.com}}
{{Washington State Senators}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dhingra, Manka}}
Category:American politicians of Indian descent
Category:Asian American state legislators in Washington
Category:University of California, Berkeley alumni
Category:University of Washington School of Law alumni
Category:Democratic Party Washington (state) state senators
Category:21st-century members of the Washington State Legislature
Category:Women state legislators in Washington (state)
Category:Politicians from Bhopal