Mary Podesta; Staple At Political Dinners

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/11/AR2007031101494.html

Mary Podesta; Staple At Political Dinners

By Patricia Sullivan
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, March 12, 2007; Page B06

Mary Podesta, 88, who cooked pasta, pesto and Mediterranean fare for countless Democratic fundraisers over the past 20 years, died of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease March 9 at Sibley Memorial Hospital.

Mrs. Podesta, known as "Mama Podesta" to a who's who of politicians, lobbyists and office holders, furnished and became a staple at Democratic dinners shortly after she moved to Washington in 1987. Her sons, who had been cooking for the fundraisers they staged, decided to improve their fare and asked if she would cook. Her modest but delicious offering was a hit.

"I know a lot of times I'll be at a function someplace and they go, 'Oh, you're the Pesto Queen,' " she told the Associated Press in 2004. "Oh, God. I never looked for that title!"

Mrs. Podesta's home cooking raised millions of dollars for candidates, but she contributed to the Democrats years earlier by raising two prominent sons -- Tony, founder of the lobbying and public relations firm PodestaMattoon, and John, chief of staff for then-President Bill Clinton and now the founder and chief executive of the Center for American Progress.

"She knows more Democratic senators than most lobbyists," said Tony Podesta, the elder son.

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