No, I don't have an inside track to any superdelegates. These are just three Obama delegates (plus an alternate) chosen in my Congressional district (NM-03) to represent us in Denver in August. We had our convention yesterday. It was probably the biggest gathering of supporters in our area to date, and a chance for us to get acquainted, and see who else was on our team.
The Hillary supporters were assigned to a different room to elect their delegates, and so I'm only covering the Obama crowd. If I do say so myself, we had the creativity, and the Hillary folks had the machine. Which should surprise no one. There were several pleasant surprises about who signed in for Obama, including the likes of Taos County District Attorney Donald Gallegos, Magistrate Court Judge Ernest Ortega, County Commission candidate Andy Chavez, and both candidates for NM-03 who appeared in person - Benny Shendo, Jr. and Ben Ray Lujan, Jr.
The Richardson Endorsement
Since Santa Fe is within our district, the crowd included people who work directly with Governor Bill Richardson. And most all of us have had him on our radar screens for a long time. He did used to represent this district in Congress, after all. Not surprisingly, the endorsement was a big topic of conversation. Amongst us Obama supporters, at least, there was consensus on a few points. Aside from being glad he'd done it, of course.
- Big Bill generally holds back, and jumps on band wagons late. So this was bold, and early for him.
- We wish it would have been sooner, where it could have helped in, say, Texas. Oh, well, nothing to be done about that now.
- He's better suited for Secretary of State than Vice President.
- We think he's mostly enjoying the fray - Carville & being called "Judas" and all. It's his idea of fun.
The Delegates
We chose three delegates, plus an alternate. The Hillary people got to choose three, but for reason of coming in second in the district, did not get to choose an alternate. It's not clear what happens if one of their delegates can't go. They chose Tommy "Chuby" - rhymes with newbie - Tafoya (whose election was later challenged because as a County Chair, he's supposed to remain neutral in primary phase of elections). The other two were Carla Arellanes (Arguillos?) and Johnny Montoya (though the report in the Taos News is at best, confusing, on this and other points.) It's pretty obvious that Santa Fe, the state capitol and largest town (city?) in the district, had their act together. They brought a big convoy up for the convention, and managed to take 5 of the 7 positions selected.
Enough preface. Here's our new delegates, some faces to add to the Obama campaign. First the elected delegates, then the alternate, then some others who also ran, and a couple of Congressional candidates for the upcoming June 3 primary to boot. This is the face of the Democratic Party in northern new Mexico.
Estevan Gonzales has never been active in a political campaign before. But he had stickers all over the place, and as you saw above, a pretty fancy banner, too. He worked very hard to get this position. He has campaigned for Obama as a volunteer in Phoenix, and claims to be one of the first Hispanics to get active in the campaign. He says it's because Obama is forward-looking to the future.
Gaye Gravely Pollitt has never been involved in a political campaign before either, but has emerged as the epicenter of Santa Fe for Obama. She got to introduce him at the campaign rally before Super Tuesday, and brought a big contingent of supporters yesterday. For those of you who remember my "Stepping out at Yearly Kos" diary last summer, you will not be surprised that I was impressed with her red cowboy boots.
Patsy Trujillo is a seasoned political veteran, currently employed as NM Secretary of Aging, a position she was appointed to by Bill Richardson. She has been volunteering for the Obama campaign in Pennsylvania of late, doing outreach amongst Hispanic voters, and flew back Friday so she wouldn't miss this district convention. The little Obama pin she is wearing is held on by a safety pin, and was given to her by a child in Philadelphia who made it.
Sean Stimmel, aged 19, a college student from Los Alamos, is also involved in a political campaign for the first time. He's transferring to NM Tech, so will be moving south to Socorro in the fall. He came in only a few votes behind Mr. Gonzales. So three out of four of our delegate choices are dedicated, hard-working novices.
None of the Taos County nominees got enough votes to go to Denver for Obama. Here's three of 'em, to get a look at more of the faces of Obama supporters:
This little one's grandmother was running to become a delegate. And it might be my favorite pic of the day, too:
And here's some others. This lady is an attorney from the four corners area, a Navajo:
This lady (below) is the daughter of Fred Harris, formerly head of the DNC (a superdelegate declared for Obama) and LaDonna Harris, the Native American activist - and is NO relation to the overly made-up orange orchard heiress and former Congresswoman/Secretary of State from Florida. She's a self-proclaimed Comanche for Obama:
Open Seat in NM-03
Aside form having quite a few Native Americans (our district is second in the nation in that demographic), our delegate pool looks to me a lot like America generally. Except, typical of the interior west, you would have been hard put to find a single necktie anywhere. It was a feel good day, and we are all glad to be in this effort together. Last but not least, two of the candidates to replace soon-to-be Senator Tom Udall in NM-03 were present. And both signed in as Obama supporters, too.
I'll be glad to see either of them elected. I collected petition signatures for Shendo (from Jemez Pueblo), who was appointed by Richardson as the state's first Secretary of Indian Affairs. But Lujan's daddy is well placed in the state legislature (Speaker, I think), and he's got the support of the machine and the endorsement of both the Sierra Club and League of Conservation voters. They like what he's been doing as head of the NM Public Regulatory Commission. So Lujan will be tough to beat, and might even be considered the presumptive nominee?? (Another, "green" developer Don Wiviott, was originally going to challenge Pete Domenici for the Senate, and is self-financed. He's definitely got his fans, too.) BTW, both Lujan & Shendo have agreed to come to Netroots Nation in Austin next summer (whichever wins the primary). (We're still waiting to hear whether NN will accept our panel proposal.) Best case scenario will feature a party/reception with red chili and green chili snacks tentatively called "Christmas in July". If that all works out, some of y'all reading this diary will get the chance to meet some of the good people pictured in this diary.
Anyhow, it was a good day. No big conflict, nor massive excitement. Just some like-minded, hard-working people getting acquainted and sharing a commitment to CHANGE!!! in America. There's a lot of good people around and about doing good work. I think we'll be seeing some good results in November.