Kathy Sullivan (American politician)

Kathy Sullivan was the chairwoman of the Democratic Party in the state of New Hampshire. She has been an avid critic of the DNC's attempts to change the primary calendar to decrease the influence of the New Hampshire Primary. She has been referred to as a hero because of her efforts to bring justice to the illegal efforts of the Republican Party to jam the election day phone lines of the NH Democrats in 2002. Two Republican leaders have been sentenced to prison.

Sullivan was first elected State Chairwoman in 1999, and left in 2007. Having served four terms, she was the longest serving chair of the New Hampshire Democratic Party. The 2006 elections proved to be Sullivan's greatest triumph. Not since 1874 did Democrats in NH celebrate the victories of retaining the governorship, capturing both congressional seats and gaining the majorities of both the NH House and NH State Senate. After leaving, she founded [http://www.draftshaheen.org/ Draft Shaheen '08] , a group trying to draft Jeanne Shaheen to run against John E. Sununu in 2008. She is the managing partner of the New Hampshire law firm Wadleigh, Starr and Peters.

Sullivan is the daughter of the late Henry and Mary Sullivan. Henry was an attorney in Manchester, New Hampshire, former state senator, representative and school board member. Henry was a candidate for the Democratic nomination for governor in 1968. Henry was also a member of the Democratic National Committee (1952-1956) and chairman of the Manchester City Democrats. Mary, a registered nurse, served as an NH state representative from 1976-1988.

Kathy Sullivan is married to John Rist, the principal of Manchester's Central High School, New Hampshire's largest and most ethnically diverse high school.