DeKalb Democratic Party chairwoman Sandra Austin dies

The longtime Democratic Party chair died Friday at her home, party members said.

Sandra Austin had recently been elected to another term at the helm of the party, a strong political player in a county that's among Georgia's most faithfully blue.

The cause of death wasn’t immediately released after a request to the DeKalb County Medical Examiner’s Office. Austin was reportedly 69.

"My heart grieves at the news of her passing suddenly in her sleep this morning!" friend and state Sen. Donzella James, D-Atlanta, said on Facebook.

“Sandra has chaired the Dekalb Democratic Party for years. We started out as teens and young adults working to support candidates that share the same hopes and dreams for a better tomorrow for our children and generations to come!"

State Rep. Howard Mosby, D-Atlanta, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution the party is reeling.

“People are absolutely shocked. It’s a great loss to our community,” he said. “Sandra was probably one of the nicest people you could know. She held it together at a time when people backed away from the Democratic Party in the late ‘90s. She’s been a stalwart.”

It wasn’t immediately clear who would take the helm of the party.

Mosby said it would be hard to go on without Austin.

“But we’ll persevere.”

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