Indian-American appointed Executive Director Democratic Party of Orange County, California

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At its January 25, 2021 meeting, the Democratic Party of Orange County (DPOC) Central Committee ratified two more senior positions for current staff – Political Director Ajay Mohan, 23, was appointed to serve as Executive Director, and Regional Organizer Lyndsey Lefebvre will now serve as Organizing and Activism Director.

Orange County is the nation’s sixth largest county, with 3.2 million residents and more than 650,000 registered Democratic voters

The staff changes were made on the heels of a successful 2020 election cycle that saw 20 local seats flipped from red to blue, driving the Democratic Party of Orange County’s staff tfo take on on new, larger roles, a Feb. 5, 2021 press release from the organization said.

“Ajay and Lyndsey led outstanding work for local Democrats through the 2020 cycle. I look forward to continuing to work with this dynamic team. Democrats will be well-served as we continue our transformation,” Chairwoman Ada Briceño is quoted saying in the press release.

At age 23, Mohan is the youngest Executive Director to helm the Democratic Party of Orange County. Noting the advantages that his youthful perspective provides within the Democratic Party, Mohan said, “This will be reflected in our work and priorities; we will continue and expand the services we offer to involve young people.”

Mohan is an Orange County native with almost a decade of experience electing Democrats across California, where he has worked on successful campaigns for public office from water board to Congress. Ajay is a product of local public schools, and currently serves as a Commissioner for the City of Irvine.

He served as the Political Director of DPOC from March 2020 to January 2021. Prior to that he was Campaign Manager in Ransom for Supervisor 2020 race. A Fellow of the “Blue Leadership Collaborative” in 2019, Mohan served before that as Campaign Manager for the Arlis Reynolds for City Council race in Costa Mesa.

He is a graduate of Irvine Valley College where he continues to study for a degree in economics. He is also studying to acquire a Paralegal Certificate.

Orange County, once known as “Reagan Country,” is a nationally-watched battleground for federal and state elections. It has shown some shifting of party alignments, and is considered a highly diverse ‘Democratic metropolis’ the DPOC said in its press release

In 2018, Democrats swept all seven Congressional seats in Orange County. In 2019, Democrats overtook countywide voter registration to become the region’s leading political party.

In 2020, Democrats flipped 20 local seats and two state senate seats from red to blue, including in deep-red areas of the county. According to DPOC, over the past four years, Democrats made a five-point gain in voter registration, and now outpace the Orange County GOP by more than two points.