Manka Dhingra was born in India, and moved to the US when she was 13. Â
Sikh American Manka Dhingra is running for the 45th Legislative District State Senate seat. Dhingra, a senior deputy King County Prosecutor since 2000, is running for the Eastside district that was held by Republican State Sen. Andy Hill, till his death in 2016. Dino Rossi, who has twice been a GOP gubernatorial candidate, is filling the seat temporarily.
The 42-year-old Democrat was born in India, and moved to the United States at age 13. Dhingra holds a bachelor’s degree in History and Political Science from the California University at Berkeley; and a JD from the University of Washington School of Law.
She has worked in mental health and chairs the therapeutic alternative unit. She has been fighting hate crime and domestic violence from past several years. Â Dhingra co-founded Chaya (now API Chaya), a non profit organization that works to end systemic violence in the communities. Â She served on the Seattle Police Department Muslim, Arab and Sikh Advisory Council post 9/11, to address the hate crime issues.
A champion of woman and immigrant rights, Dhingra has conducted trainings in cultural competency at the state and national level. She has been involved in seminars held at the Redmond Mosque and India Association of Western Washington.
Dhingra is married to Harjit Singh who serves as a Distinguished Engineer at SpaceX, and formerly worked as a Microsoft executive. The couple has two children, 13-year-old daughter and 15-year-old son, who study at Redmond Middle and High Schools. An active member of the Parent-Teacher-Student Association (PTSA), Dhingra received the PTSA Golden Acron Award for her services at Redmond Elementary School.
If Dhingra wins the fall elections, Democrats would have a chance to flip the state from red to blue. The Washington’s State Senate has 25 Democrats and 24 Republicans. However, because of one renegade Democrat Tim Sheldon, the Republicans have control over the Legislature’s upper chamber.
The primaries are due on August 1; and the general elections are scheduled for November 7.