(November 7, 2014) — State Democrats are looking for leadership, enter Mary Mancini. The former executive director of Tennessee Citizen Action says she will seek to chair the Tennessee Democratic Party. A prominent progressive activist, longtime fixture on Capitol Hill

She summarizes a résumé of what she says is “community based” experience. She was a small business owner, having opened the Church Street record store and all-ages music club Lucy’s Record Shop after moving to Nashville from New York in 1991. She later worked for two tech startups, and eventually turned her attention to voting rights activism

Mancini announced Tuesday that she arrived at her decision after many hours of listening to fellow Democrats.

Most recently, Mancini was a candidate for the state Senate. Prior to that she headed the advocacy group Tennessee Citizen Action, where she helped organize large scale voter registrations drives, among other things.

The Democratic Party is expected to hold elections for the chairmanship in January.