About Peter
Peter Rousselot is the immediate Past Chair of the Arlington County Democratic Committee. He has just completed serving as the Arlington Chair of the successful 2010 Jim Moran for Congress campaign in Arlington, and also served on DPVA’s Strategic Planning Committee.
Working for Virginia Democrats
Fresh out of law school, Peter was a national field organizer for Bobby Kennedy’s presidential campaign. The tragic end to that campaign, however, saw a young, disillusioned Peter avoid politics for professional law practice. But once the political bug bites, it’s hard to stay away.
After moving to Arlington from Reston in 1997, Peter quickly became re-engaged, this time with local politics. He was first recruited to work on Sharon Davis’s campaign for Arlington County School Board, and thereafter became active with the Arlington County Democrats. Since then he has served in progressively more involved positions, including:
- Precinct Captain in Lyon Village Precinct, 2000-2005
- GOTV Coordinator for the Joint Campaign, 2000
- Campaign Manager for Elaine Furlow for School Board, 2001
- Joint Campaign Co-Chair, 2001
- Joint Campaign High Dollar Event Chair, 2004
- Precinct Operations Chair, 2005
In 2006, Peter was elected to the first of 2, two-year terms as Chair of the Arlington County Democratic Committee on which he served until Jan. 2010. During Peter’s tenure as Arlington Chair, Virginia Democrats saw some of their most exhilarating and exciting wins leading to major gains, locally and nationally. Jim Webb’s senate campaign, headquartered in Arlington, was responsible for giving the Senate to the Democrats in 2006. Arlington provided Jim Webb with a 33,000 vote margin enabling him to win statewide by 9,300 votes. In 2007, Democrats took back the Virginia Senate, and in 2008, Mark Warner successfully won the second of Virginia’s Senate seats for the Democrats. 2008’s win by President Obama also saw Virginia “go blue” for the first time in 40 years.
Professional Career
Peter attended Yale and, afterward, Harvard Law School. He worked at the DC law firm Hogan & Hartson (now Hogan & Lovells) for 28 years in railroad mergers and reorganizations. Since leaving in 1994, he has served as an executive with Union Pacific. He subsequently served as a consultant on privatizations of railroad companies abroad, including in Mexico and Russia.
Personal Life
Peter grew up in Englewood, NJ, but has lived in Virginia for all of his adult life - first in Reston and now in Arlington. He has been married to his wife, Mary, for 35 years. Their daughter, Anne, attended Washington-Lee High School in Arlington, and is now enrolled in a masters program at the Columbia University School of Social Work. Peter’s daughter, Laura, lives in DC, is married, has two sons, and runs a home remodeling business. Peter’s step-daughter, Louise, and her partner work for the USPS and live in NJ.
