Ode to Dr. Victor Collymore – and a lesson on what works…

In June, at our state convention, those who were national delegates from the congressional district caucuses (51 of us) selected 2 add-on delegates.  To select these 2, the State Party Chair nominated 4 people, had them speak and then we elected 2 of the 4 to be our delegates.  For all intents and purposes, the 2 we selected should have been the Obama people.  At the time, however, while all 4 people gave excellent speeches, we selected one Obama person (Sharon Smith) and one Hillary person (Dr. Victor Collymore).  His speech had focused on unity and bridging between the delegations.  Because there was still a question about whether we’d have a floor fight – many were concerned about whether we’d just given up an Obama vote or not.  NOW – fast forward to Thursday night at the convention.  Democracy Now came over to interview one of our Clinton delegates.  This person was providing the interviews that the media wanted.  After he was done his invective, Victor, who was sitting right behind him, intercepted the reporter before she moved on saying “I’d like to provide an alternative perspective!”  He then went on to share that he had been an unpledged add-on and Hillary supporter, but had come to where he now fully supports Obama.  He quoted Abraham Lincoln and sounded fantastic. 

My lesson in this is that believing Victor about what he said at the State Convention was the right thing to do and I thank him profusely for trying to set the record straight with the press.

Thoughts on Clinton’s name submitted for the DNC

In this ABCNews article – they share that Clinton’s name will be submitted for the nomination and there will be a roll call.  The goal is to make sure that folks’ voices are heard and respected. 

I think that this is another example of Obama showing that he is the leader who can and will help us navigate the most complex and challenging waters we have faced in this nation’s existence.  He recognizes that it’s key to build coalitions and strengthen relationships.  Diplomacy – but internally in this case. 

What will be critical is making sure that the delegate management infrastructure properly manages the Obama delegates to ensure that everyone understands what’s happening when.

In addition to being a delegate, I am a part of the WA state tally committee (I’ll be counting votes).  SO – I’ll be keenly aware of how people are voting and making sure that our delegates stay aligned as appropriate.