Meet the Pitt grad who helped make the DNC happen

For more than a year, the first thing on Kevin Washo’s mind when he wakes up has been the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia.

It was on his mind when he went to bed, often late. And on his mind the next day, too.

After all, he was the one who was responsible for pulling the trigger in 2014 to bring the convention to the City of Brotherly Love and the one who now — since the city won its bid for the convention in 2015 — must make sure it goes off without a hitch.

It seems fitting that Washo, a 2004 Pitt grad and University Trustee, has pushed so hard for Philadelphia to get the DNC this year. Pennsylvania politics have run in his blood since he was Pitt’s Student Government Board president and holding voter registration drives on campus. Pennsylvania is Washo’s home and almost nothing — except for maybe his family and four-year-old daughter Gracie — is more important than his idea of home.

“I think home is not just where you’re from but where your family is and where you can be your most authentic self,” he said.

Describing what exactly Washo does is tricky because, really, as the executive director of the convention’s host committee, he does everything. Those 57 hand-painted donkey statues you see around the city? That was Washo.

Finding hotel rooms for the 4,763 Democratic delegates, feeding them breakfast every morning and organizing a weeklong festival for non-politicians all around the city? Washo was in charge of that too.

“I think there’s a camaraderie — It’s a very blue collar state,” he said. “It’s got a refined grittiness that I’ve always admired.”

That grittiness runs in the family. The grandson of a coal miner, Washo would work at his father’s paving company early in his career when he didn’t have political work.

To understand Washo’s definition of home, you first have to understand his deep connection to Pennsylvania. Save for Erie, he has lived in all of Pennsylvania’s corners. A Pitt graduate hailing from Scranton and currently living in Philadelphia, Washo has spent nearly every year of his life living or working in Pennsylvania.

Even during his two brief stints in Washington D.C., one as the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s White House liaison and one as a political consultant, Washo never felt at home there.

During one of the stints, he shared an apartment with Jeff Mozdziack, now his best friend and godfather to his daughter. The two had a ritual: They’d come home from work, late usually, and instead of hitting a bar, they’d grab snacks and an ’80s flick. “The Karate Kid” was always a favorite.

But eventually, even with his homebody rituals, Washo grew tired of the D.C. scene.

“[Working in Washington D.C.] doesn’t appeal to me. I’ve been there, I’ve done that,” he said. “I’m born and raised in Scranton, I went to Pitt, I live in Philly. I know a good a restaurant in Johnstown. You need to stick to your roots and I think people shouldn’t forget their roots.”

His beard graying from 12 years of working in politics, Washo, now 35, has been a go-to guy for Pennsylvania Democrats for most of his career. After working on John Kerry’s presidential campaign in 2004, he helped push Sen. Bob Casey and President Barack Obama to victories in 2006 and 2008, and led the Pennsylvania Democratic Party in 2010 and 2011.

Washo’s “most authentic self” is a man who is at once as driven as a senator seeking the Oval Office, intensely dedicated to his family and thoughtful enough to call a friend or coworker if they seemed down during the day.

During Sen. Bob Casey’s 2006 campaign, Washo was frequently by his side, flying west with him to woo out-of-state donors or driving with him to rallies. He’d be on the phone constantly with other campaign operatives or reporters. He’d be making sure phone banks were staffed with callers. And at the end of the day, especially if Casey’s spirits were down, Washo would pick up the phone again and check in on the senator.

“He’s aware of what’s happening in people’s lives,” Casey said. “He’s good at lifting people’s spirits.”

The 35 year-old said he gets a deep satisfaction out of the competitiveness of politics but hasn’t run for office yet, though, because the timing has never felt right to him.

Starting in 2012, and happy for a reason to come home, Washo joined the DNC’s Host Committee and began assembling a team to find a home for the 2016 convention. Between August 2013 and April 2014, Washo and his team pinpointed Philadelphia, printed out the 300-page proposal and headed to the party headquarters.

All of that led up to the Feb. 13, 2015 announcement that they had won. Philadelphia would host the 2016 DNC, its second major political convention in 20 years.

Now, just about a week out from the event, Washo and his team are finalizing the touches for the convention. This week, those touches include bringing an Air Force One replica fuselage to the city and getting media credentials for a handful of high school students the committee is letting cover the event.

Washo holds onto his roots with a tight grip, one of the few things he’s not shy to talk about. He prefers to remain private and out of the limelight, qualities that are almost anomalies in the modern political arena. He’ll let it slip that he’s deeply religious, a born-and-raised Catholic who makes it to mass when he can.

He won’t tell you much about it. Especially on the record. But you can tell it affects how he lives and works.

“Usually people say they’re so and so’s guy. Kevin is really everyone’s guy,” Mozdziack said. “He’s a down-to-earth blue-collar guy with ability without pretension. In the day-to-day work there’s few people who get things done in an ethical way without ruffling feathers.”

This story has been updated.