Shoreline Councilmember Chris Roberts honored at national municipal official celebration

Shoreline councilmember Chris Roberts

Washington, DC, March 16, 2022 – Shoreline, WA Council Member Christopher Roberts received the Susan Burgess President’s Award for Exemplary Leadership Tuesday, March 15, 2022 during the Democratic Municipal Officials’ (DMO) “Oh So Blue” Celebration. 

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.

DMO National President and Philadelphia At-Large Council Member Derek Green presented the award to Roberts. 

“It is the nature of local elected Democrats to work tirelessly, and not always receive due recognition for that hard work. We wanted to shine the spotlight on a leader whose efforts behind the scenes have led to incredible success for our organization on the national stage.”

A member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, Roberts accepted the award with a surprised, “Yakoke” (Thank you). He was joined at the event by several of the previous recipients of the Susan Burgess President’s Award, including former Chicago Alderman Joe Moore, Northfield Council Member Suzie Nakasian, and former Rome, GA Commissioner Wendy Davis.

Chris Roberts receives award from Democratic
Municipal Officials organization. Photo by Chris Steams

Held during the National League of Cities (NLC) annual Congressional City Conference, the DMO “Oh So Blue” National Breakfast gathers mayors, council members, and other local elected Democrats comprising the membership of DMO for their biannual meeting. 

The crowd heard from guest speakers including a video greeting from Stacey Abrams, the DNC’s Reyna Walters-Morgan, Congresswoman Brenda Lawrence, Roberts’ own Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, and keynote speaker Doug Emhoff. 

Also on stage were some of Roberts' fellow DMO Board Members, including Savannah, GA Mayor Van Johnson and Detroit, MI Council Member Scott Benson.

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 advocates for the thousands of local elected Democrats across the United States.