A Fort Wayne woman recognized for her local effort to garner support for President Obama during his campaign has been elected secretary of the Indiana Democratic Party.

Sofia Rodriguez Mirwaldt won the seat over incumbent Fay Allen of Jeffersonville, in a 13-5 vote, according to party Chairman Dan Parker.

Rodriguez Mirwaldt, 36, served as the 3rd Congressional District’s national delegate to the Democratic National Convention last August, Parker said.

“She came highly recommended from the Obama campaign,” Parker said.

Indiana’s Democrats reached out to Rodriguez Mirwaldt following her work for Obama as a way to continue the energy and momentum his successful campaign generated, Parker said.

The vote took place in Indianapolis on Saturday, Parker said. Those responsible for making the selection were district Democratic chairman and vice chairmen from the state’s nine congressional districts.

Democrats say the resulting board is “the most diverse group in its history,” and Parker said some members – including Rodriguez Mirwaldt – are also younger.

“It’s exciting that we’ve been able to have our state central committee as diverse as possible,” Parker said.

Rodriguez Mirwaldt, who is married and owns a marketing and advertising company called Visions Marketing, said she had to defend her voting record before winning the seat. That voting record included many split tickets and a vote for George W. Bush prior to his first term as president.

Despite having been raised by “die-hard Democrats,” Rodriguez Mirwaldt said it wasn’t until she read Obama’s “The Audacity of Hope” that she thought she had supported the wrong candidate.

“I knew I wasn’t going to make that mistake again. Fundamentally, I had made changes. I wasn’t living the life of a Republican. I was living the life of a Democrat,” Rodriguez Mirwaldt said.

That revelation led Rodriguez Mirwaldt to campaign for Obama, including leading the local grass-roots effort called “Allen County for Obama.”

Now Rodriguez Mirwaldt believes serving Indiana’s Democratic Party will allow her to keep a promise President Obama asked his campaigners to make – to keep the movement going.

“So, for me, this is the first step in fulfilling that promise,” she said.

bmanley@jg.net