Day Four: Celebration and Getting Down to Work

85,000 celebrate at the finale of the Democratic National Convention.

My apologies for the delay in completing this blog. It took some time to go through my photos and edit them in between tackling a thousand email backlog, hours of volunteering at our Art & Soul Festival and back-to-back meetings back home in Oakland.

The last day started to move the delegation towards the politics and work here at home. We heard from two more of the presumptive candidates for Governor, two big city mayors Gavin Newsom and Antonio Villagarosa. The only two candidates we did not see were Attorney General and Oakland resident Jerry Brown, who was on a long promised vacation with his wife, and Senator Feinstein who injured her ankle and who leads the polls. She has said that whether she runs depends on how the fall election goes. If the Dems gain seats in the Senate and if Obama wins, her powerful committee positions will allow her to move legislation blocked by Bush and Republican fillabusters over the last 8 years. We also heard Leon Panetta, former Clinton chief of staff (above), and heard that the initiative to ban gay marriage appears to be going down to defeat.

We were addressed by the Obama state party organizers and began the discussion of the upcoming united campaign. We were urged to continue to register new voters and to help organize local precinct efforts. Californians are urged to help in nearby states by phone or by travel to states like Nevada.

Soon after, most of us prepared with hats and sunscreen for a long hot day at Invesco Field, the home of the Broncos. I made a quick run by a reception for our women Senators, then headed off for what we were told would be an even longer security check. For many people it was a two hour wait, our group of Bay Area delegates and guests heard from a security guard that gates beyond where delegates were dropped off were relatively short. We took the ten minute hike got in within half an hour. We had time to find our seats buy stadium food and drinks and visit with other delegates. By now all the celebrity delegates had arrived except for our state legislators stuck in Sacramento. I watched Gray Davis, Michael Dukakis, Willie Brown, and Hollywood stars walk by.

The program started with one of the most meaningful moments of the convention as the children of Martin Luther King led and his former lieutenant Rep. John Lewis spoke to us on this day that was also the 45th anniversary of the "I Have a Dream Speech." Hearing the his words again and thinking of how far we have come and of how we still have a way to go, was heartfelt by the many of us who lived through the civil rights struggles.

The top notch entertainment with Stevie Wonder, Cheryl Crow and others added to a festive spirit that was was more exciting because of the size the audience, 85000. I was told the fire marshalls turned late comers away. The Republicans made fun of being in a stadium, but the last laugh will be on them if we win the swing state of Colorado.

The young Latino Colorado state organizer taught us all how to text message and got 30,000 more volunteers by the time Obama spoke! The packed stadium was filled by state activists. In fact, the delegates own families were not sure if they were going to get into the stadium because the DNC wanted to support the Colorado effort. Floyd was ready to watch at the Convention Center with other spouses and friends as he had for the first 3 nights, but on Thursday morning he and the other family members got their tickets up in the third tier. The synergy between the crowd and delegates blended when the audience started a "wave," reminding us that they were there, too!

The most unexpected part of the evening for me was the large number of generals, admirals and high commanders who came out to support Obama. It reminded me of the anger over how ill prepared and poorly planned the Iraq War has been, meanwhile Afghanistan may now be more of an enemy than ever before. We saw a short documentary tribute to the Iraq veterans produced by Steven Spielberg and narrated by Oakland native Tom Hanks (right).

Every time I see Al Gore these days, I can't help saying to myself...why wasn't he like this 8 years ago? But if you want to think about Vice Presidents, compare Palin's views that doubt global warming and her opposition to adding polar bears to the endangered species list to this:

"So why is this election so close? Well, I know something about close elections, so let me offer you my opinion. I believe this election is close today mainly because the forces of the status quo are desperately afraid of the change Barack Obama represents. There is no better example than the climate crisis. As I have said for many years throughout this land, we’re borrowing money from China to buy oil from the Persian Gulf to burn it in ways that destroy the future of human civilization. Every bit of that has to change. Oil company profits have soared to record levels, gasoline prices have gone through the roof and we are more dependent than ever on dirty and dangerous fossil fuels. Many scientists predict that the entire north polar ice cap may be completely gone during summer months in the first term of the next president. Sea levels are rising, fires are raging, storms are stronger. Military experts warn us our national security is threatened by massive waves of climate refugees destabilizing countries around the world, and scientists tell us the very web of life is endangered by unprecedented extinctions. We are facing a planetary emergency which, if not solved, would exceed anything we’ve ever experienced in the history of humankind. In spite of John McCain’s past record of open mindedness on the climate crisis, he has apparently now allowed his party to browbeat him into abandoning his support of mandatory caps on global warming pollution. "

Obama's acceptance speech was seen by more Americans than the Super Bowl. This increased interest in national politics and our new hope for the future is the most amazing aspect of this year. Young people have not been this involved in politics since my youth. We need to take this positive energy in reshaping our community. I hope we can all take this as an opportunity to think about democracy and how each of us can be involved. Whether you take some time to campaign for your presidential choice, work on one of the local campaigns or initiatives or volunteer for your neighborhood alert group...Together we can build a better future for our city and our country.

Day Three: The Vote, Making History

I'm obviously behind in blogging but I am keeping good notes. Constant meetings, limited wifi access, little sleep and frankly a bit of celebrating means I'm more than a day behind.

This morning I am so full of pride for our nation, it is hard to know where to begin. Yesterday in so many ways was a glimpse of the nation we are becoming--many steps closer to fullfilling the promise of the dream. >>Barack Obama delights the convention with a surprise appearance with running mate Joe Biden.

Sure, the outcome of last night's vote was been known for months, but it did not diminish the drama of the moment. Much of the drama of the day was not really caught by the media. Like all mornings in the California Caucus we heard from our party leaders. As one of the largest caucuses with with 441 votes, 503 members including alternates, many of the party stars come by. This morning it was John Kerry and Barbara Boxer. Diane Feinstein has missed the convention because of an ankle injury. I realized what a different experience it was when Senator Claire McCaskell of Missouri looked around the ballroom, "Wow, many caucuses are lucky to have room to meet in much less music to introduce speakers." (For example, Missouri has 88 votes, our neighbor Nevada has 34, Alaska has 18). Today the message was clearly to urge the delegation to unite behind Obama.

There had been discussion and fears that Hillary Clinton's name might not be put into nomination. It was known that she would release her delegates to legally vote their conscience. Some people thought that Obama should be nominated by acclamation without a roll call vote that would emphasize how close the race was instead of the unity of the party. Others argued that would rob the 18 million who voted for Hillary of their day. The media was looking for a fight and when it didn't happen, they did little reporting of how skillfully and graciously the Clinton and Obama teams handled this in a way that built unity each day.

Wednesday afternoon Hillary had a long standing meeting with all of her delegates. It was her opportunity to thank her supporters who had mobilized 18 million votes and won 23 primaries. She was introduced by the Mayor of Philadelphia Michael Nutter and a Barbara Rosenberg a gay delegate who had postponed her cancer surgery to make to the convention.

After thanking the 2000 people crowded into the ballroom at the convention center, she got right to the point. She legally released all of her 1920 delegates to vote their conscience. She told us that she had voted for Obama in her own morning caucus. She urged us to vote for Obama, too, but she understood we must each vote our conscience. You could hear shouts of "no" and see tears on the faces of delegates around the room. She stayed calm, reminded us what was at stake and within minutes was talking to people at the front of the crowd along the security lines.

I like most delegates had voted in the morning in the California caucus as I received my daily credentials for the convention; I honored the people who sent me to the convention knowing there would be a second vote for Obama by acclamation. The majority of Californians were Clinton delegates, a sizable number took the option of waiting to hear from Hillary themselves and would vote on the floor at the convention. <<Jean on the convention floor.

Convention days tend to start slow, especially here where the shuttle system and security checks make it a slow process getting into your seat. On Wednesday, they started on time and went almost immediately into the nomination formalities while many were still coming into the hall. Hillary Clinton's name was put into nomination by Dolores Huerta, vice president and co-founder of the United Farm Workers Union. "I stand with Hillary as she stands with Barack Obama to take this country back," she said. The people making the second were an African American campaign volunteer from Syracuse and an 18 year delegate (3rd youngest) from Utah.
Michael Wilson of Florida, a Republican and Air Force medic veteran of Iraq, formally nominated Obama as the Democratic Party’s candidate. US Senator Ken Salazar (CO), US Representatives Artur Davis (AL) and Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL) seconded the nominations for Obama.

In less than half an hour the roll call started. It was clear in the beginning that a compromise had been struck and that Hillary Clinton had played a role. Arkansas the state that she won by the largest margin, over 70% of the votes, followed her lead and voted unanimously for Obama. We were staying in the same hotel as New York and one of their delegates riding the shuttle with me over to the Convention Center told me that they had met that morning and also agreed to follow her lead and vote unanimously for Obama.

Delegates visiting with each other in the hall realized how quickly the vote was going when Illinois passed ( the home state of nominee is traditionally allowed to cast the winning votes). California had passed, too, we were still trying to get the last votes of our delegation together. In the end we would still be missing one. While Hillary carried the state by nearly 60 percent, our final vote would be 166 votes for Hillary, 285 votes for Obama and one missing. <<Chairman Art Torres, Senator Barbara Boxer, and our Congresswoman Barbara Lee near the California podium for the roll call vote.


When New Mexico ceded their place in the roll call back to Illinois, we all thought here it goes. But after the usual long praises for their state, Illinois ceded the floor to New York and up on the large screens you could see Hillary Clinton entering onto the floor from a side door and the convention broke into a roar. You can watch the moment on YouTube. She made the motion that the convention suspend the procedural rules, guaranteeing both that all votes be counted as her supporters wanted but that we suspend the roll call and vote by acclamation for Barack Obama to emphasize our unity. History had been made; there was not a dry eye in the house.

When the excitement finally died down. The convention continued with platform issues that underscore the differences on family issues. My favorite speakers were a joint presentation by the Democratic Congresswomen on health care, equal pay, education, and childcare. I thought so many more, but not enough. It made me think of France where half of the Assembly are women. Veterans of Iraq underscored how poorly we protected our soldiers or care for the injured veterans today.


The next highlight was the speech by Bill Clinton. No one in America does as good of a job of taking complex issues and making them clear. Video. He reminded us of how far to the bad we've come in the last 8 years:

"They took us from record surpluses to an exploding debt; from over 22 million new jobs to just 5 million; from increasing working families' incomes to nearly $7,500 a year to a decline of more than $2,000 a year; from almost 8 million Americans lifted out of poverty to more than 5.5 million driven into poverty; and millions more losing their health insurance.

Now, in spite of all this evidence, their candidate is actually promising more of the same.
Think about it: more tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans that will swell the deficit, increase inequality, and weaken the economy; more Band-Aids for health care that will enrich insurance companies, impoverish families, and increase the number of uninsured; more going it alone in the world, instead of building the shared responsibilities and shared opportunities necessary to advance our security and restore our influence."

Joe Biden's quick nomination and vote by acclamation finished the night with the surprise visit from his running mate (above). Many people ask me what I think about Biden as the choice for vice president. I would have preferred Hillary because it would have also made history and for the upcoming election I think it would have united and widened our base.

Joe Biden is, as far as I am concerned, the best of the rest of the presidential candidates. From my years of lobbying in Washington first for the schools and now the city, he was always one of the speakers I would drag my jetlagged body up for a 7:30 am breakfast briefing. He is smart, he knows his stuff. He is one of the best minds on defense, international issues, crime and the budget on the hill. He sponsored major legislation to protect women from violence and the 100,000 police initiative for cities killed by the Republican Congress. It had funded over fifty officers in Oakland. His story and blue collar roots rounded out a feeling at the convention that so many of the people leading the Democratic Party at this time are in themselves a fullfilment of the American dream. (Above) The California delegation, chair of the Board of Equalization Judy Chu, front left, and State Controller John Chiang, front center. (Below) Joe Biden with his mother, wife, and family.

Day Two: Celebrating Women's Rights, Hillary's Night

I took my laptop with me and tried to blog during events, but public wifi access was unavailable at most locations today, so it looks like I am still limited to evening summaries.


Today is the anniversary of Women's Suffrage, throughout the day the party's women leaders reminded the Democratic women that women voters will probably determine who becomes president in the tightening race for the White House.

This week is also the anniversary of Martin Luther King's march on Washington and his "I Have A Dream" speech. Running into legendary members of the Congressional Black Caucus in the halls -- John Conyers, Maxine Waters, Kweisi Mifune and of course, our own Barbara Lee--I kept thinking of Dr. King and whether he would agree that we may just be getting in sight of the mountain top.


Over the years I have heard both Barbara Lee and Assembly Member Sandre Swanson talk about thier experiences as young Dellums staffers, going to the Florida convention in 1972 to help the first African American candidate for the Democratic nomination, Congresswoman Shirley Chisolm. She received 400,000 votes and 152 first ballot votes. Her campaign helped launch a serious look at how delegates were selected especially in the South. What a difference today with a commitment to 50 percent women delegates and that state delegations reflect the population of their party members.

The theme of a new generation of leaders continued as Governor Pat Brown's grandchildren opened the California breakfast meeting. They are Kathleen Brown's daughters or Jerry's nieces and have finished a documentary, "California State of Mind: The Legacy of Pat Brown."

The main speakers today both at the California breakfast meeting and the convention are a series of Governors from critical swing states: One new development since 2004 is that many of these states now have Democratic governors-- New York Governor Paterson, Ohio's Governor Strickland, Kansas's Kathleen Sebelius, and others. They all talked about their budget deficits and the Bush role in taking from the Clinton surplus and bringing us into the worst economy in recent history.

Today I attended the Women's Caucus. Official caucus meetings are open to all rank and file party members. A sea of women were addressed by a who's who of women's issues. One after one they reminded us that although the candidate for the party will not be a woman, that Hillary Clinton changed the dynamics for women politicians forever. More importantly that almost every issue we care about is at risk -- continuing cuts to Headstart, health care for children and education. The recent Supreme Court decisions.http://www.now.org/press/07-07/07-31.html


Lilly Ledbetter's story was for me the most clear example of what is at stake for women. The issue of equal pay is on the mind of most woman delegates. Today a woman still makes about 77 percent of what men make for comparable work. The other economic news for women is largely tied to this:

• Incomes for female heads of household are down 3 percent between 2000 and 2006.
  
• Half of women are in jobs without retirement plans.
  
• Risk of poverty increases with age for women. Retired women are more likely to be poor than elderly men.
  
• Women are one-third more likely than men to hold subprime mortgages.


• A third of women are in poverty, and women are losing jobs at a faster rate than men

Lilly Ledbetter was one of the few women supervisors in an Alabama Goodyear plant. After 19 years she learned that she was paid significantly less than every single one of her male counterparts doing the same work. She filed a claim under the 1963 Equal Pay Act. She saw her reward of over $3 million overturned by the Supreme Court in a 5-4 decision. The majority said that even though she did not know she was getting less money, she failed to file a claim within 180 days of the first check! No wonder Justice Bader said the ruling made no sense. Last year Congress tried to correct this by passing the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, HR 2831, 97% of Democrats supported the bill, 99% of Republicans voted no. Then President Bush vetoed the bill.If we cannot get a veto proof super majority in Congress or a Democratic President, a woman's right to equal pay goes back50 years to our struggles of the sixties.

Hillary's Night: This morning I ran into Doug Sovern, CBS Radio Reporter and great neighborhood volunteer in District 4. He told me that I looked as tired as he felt; then asked me the question that all the media are probing. "How did I feel as a Clinton delegate and how was I going to vote?" I don't know if it got run on air at home, but I told him I was going to vote for Hillary as I was elected to do on the first round and then I planned to vote for Obama and work as hard as I could to get him elected.

The media is looking for a story of a fight (not Doug), a few of the women reporters that I've heard snippets of have it right. Most Clinton delegates, both women and men, are proud to hold the line to vote for Hillary and for the progress that women have made in politics. But we know that Obama's nomination tonight will be historic and we want to win in November.

There's no doubt that this is a bittersweet moment for many women here. Each night as we walk to the buses and go back to my hotel, I've talked to delegates who were slowly overcoming their disappointment. There were rumors that the roll call vote would be skipped and that we would go straight into a vote by acclamation, that's not what I've heard. Clinton will meet with her delegates Wednesday afternoon. Meeting of Clinton delegates discussing the petition to guarantee that her name is placed into nomination.

I don't know if television really captured the love in the Pepsi Center last night. The sea of Hillary and Unity Signs exploded with cheering that did not want to stop. I could hear individual shouts of "we love you" from echoing throughout the hall. Even the youngest Obama delegates seemed to be waiving the Hillary signs with enthusiasm. Turning around I could see the tears of pride of Bill Clinton in the gallery above us.

I won't say much about the speech, it is available in streaming video from the DNC website. Talking to several other elected women, from both sides of the primary campaigns, we agreed it set a standard of leadership, grace, and vision which we'll all be studying for some time to come. Her 18 million votes have changed the future of politics for American women.

Tomorrow we vote.

The First Day

It's late or should I say early and I have completed the background materials in earlier postings and am working on getting the first day photos and comments up. I just learned how to turn the comment links on. If you want to comment, just hit the links at the end of each post. Hopefully, tomorrow I will be up to speed and hope to be able to do some posts during the convention itself.

(Above) Michelle Obama and daughters speak live with Barak in Kansas during last night's finale.

After breakfast they sent us off to our choices of Caucus meetings and parallel events. There are dozens of special briefings, speakers, parties, tours and even concerts sponsored by non-profits and corporations to choose from every day. I'm sending Floyd to check out meetings on many issues for me. Events are spread out throughout the city, I wish I had a bike.

Today I chose to go to the Asian Pacific Islander(API) Caucus down at the Convention Center about a 5 block walk from our hotel. Security is tight police, sheriffs, and others are everywhere. The convention center was mobbed by vendors selling any kind of Obama souvenir you could imagine, leafleters, and protesters.

By the time I found the center, got through security, and found the caucus it was well under API leaders have already emerged. Congressman Mike Honda is the "senior" leader and their was a short panel of elected officials but many speakers were young activists. The first Chinese City Council member from New York City, a young Vietnamese Texan who started the Asian Americans for Obama website, and Convention Secretary Alice Germond, who noted the record estimated 264 AAPI delegates at this year's convention, a 20% increase over 2004. I enjoyed meeting these young leaders and will try to squeeze in some time to help in their political training sessions on getting out the vote tomorow. (Above) Elected API officials greet the caucus.

Then the real Convention began: I rushed back to the hotel to catch the Delegate shuttle. While not that far, traffic and security checks made it about an hour before I got in my seat at the Pepsi Center. The gavel had come down at 3 pm and I missed the official opening but got there in time for discussion of the platform. Not much controversy it passed easily. At 4 pm the center was about half full, delays in security, media interviews, and distractions made it hard to get in. By 7 pm right before President Carter and Ted Kennedy spoke the arena was packed. When Michelle Obama made her passionate and amazing speech, there was standing room only.

Walking into the center is the largest concentration of media that I have ever seen. We have to wade our way through reporters, camera crews, everywhere but in the Center it is extreme.

The California Delegation has a special pride in the role of Speaker Nancy Pelosi and cheer wildly each time she comes out as chair of the convention. (left)

Listening to 6 hours of speeches, takes some endurance and concentration in the middle of what is really a huge party and reunion. The California delegation is to the right of the main stage, right in front of the platform that all the big commentators are sitting on. We watch Carvelle, Anderson, Borger, Brazille and others make their comments. Once you have your seat, you have to walk, stretch, dance and visit with other delegates between speeches or go crazy. But since there are not enough seats, a buddy system soon develops and we take turns saving our seats.

One of the best benefits of being at the convention is a chance to talk with people from around the state. Friends tell me that they caught me on CNN last night, sitting next to LA Mayor Villagarosa. We had a good talk about the state budget, our ports, gangs, police reorganizations, and immigration.

I cannot imagine trying to give a speech here, even one of the short two minute reports at the convention. The noise, constant buzz, and thousands of distractions are a challenge to all but the nation's best speakers. I appreciated including "regular" Americans and their stories of the mortgage crisis and the national shame of our lack of universal health care.

The first person to capture the entire convention's focus tonight was Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr. His oratorical style is reminiscent of his famous reverend dad. His comment that this is the first convention "where we can see the top of the mountain" brought tears to many of us who have toiled in the civil rights movements for a long time.

I also smiled when Barak's sister Maya Soetoro-Ng, who is half Indonesian, told us how their mother expanded their horizon's. "She showed us microscopes and telescopes to widen our world and let us know there were other possibilities." That's just how I feel about he Chabot Science Center at home and why I work hard to get schools and families up there. >>Barak's sister Maya and her family in Hawaii.






The Kennedy family defined my generation's Democratic Party. Caroline Kennedy marked the new generation of leadership when she spike about Obama, "I've never had someone to inspire me the way people tell me my Dad did. Now I do," Then the surprise appearance of the stalwart, but frail looking Ted Kennedy still recovering from brain surgery unified the entire hall.



Finally, the passionate and almost perfect speech by Michelle Obama clearly seemed to relieve the tension here and will speed up the healing process. Her graceful acknowledgement of Hillary Clinton's work, sparked heartfelt cheering in our delegation dominated by her delegates. Unfiltered by the media, her passion and intelligence gave us a preview of someone who will be one of history's great First Ladies.

Let the Party Begin

After working late last night to set up this blog it was only thanks to my long time partner and husband, who dragged me up and made coffee for me at 7 am, that I got registered and was handed my credentials for today in time for breakfast at 8 am. With stern warnings we were told not to put buttons, decals or anything else our credentials. If we lose them we won't be allowed into the center.

California Party Chair Art Torres opened the morning session at 9 am sharp.

The Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, gave the morning keynote speaker for the California breakfast was greeted by a proud delegation waving red, white and blue "Madam Speaker" signs. Her message was short and to the point, no matter who we supported in the primaries Obama is right and McCain is wrong for what we care about. She reminded us that McCain supported the Bush veto of the health funding for 20 million low income kids..."the cost of 40 days of the Iraq War." Nancy will chair the convention. (Right) Environmentalist Nancy Skinner, the Democratic candidate and sure winner for Loni Hancock's assembly seat at the breakfast this morning.

Congressman Mike Honda of San Jose, one of the four vice chairs of the Democratic Convention, impressed his great Spanish and reminded us in two languages of the great diversity of our delegation. (Left) Mike, United Farmworkers Union Dolores Huerta and Jean.


The morning discussed the State Party's attempt to parallel the national strategy of Howard Dean's 50 state campaign. Our would be a 58 county strategy that would challenge the traditional political split between urban/coast areas versus rural/valley & mountain areas. State Senator Dean Florez said we should see the presidential election as the first steps in winning the governor's office in 2009.

Speaking of the next Governor's race, most of the potential candidates are expected to be at the California Caucus this week. Today we heard from Lt. John Garamendi and Superintendent of School Jack O'Connell. Steve Westly was introduced. The other constitutional officers each said a few words -- Controller John Chiang snd Secretary of State Debra Bowen.

Arriving in Denver

We left this afternoon for Denver from the Oakland airport. We were notified that our flight was changed a few weeks ago, a frequently recurring problem as the airlines continue to downsize. I had booked a morning flight right after I was elected to be a delegate and was worried that we would now miss early registration.

Glancing around the waiting area we saw several other delegates from around northern California. We also met many Democratic stalwarts who were going to volunteer at the convention. We talked about Obama's choice of Biden for Vice President. We shared stories of how we got elected. We shared a shuttle with writer Ayelet Waldman, the top Obama woman vote getter, from our district (above).

In a constant chatter we also noted that many of our local legislators were not coming because of the budget stalemate. We criticized the Governor's proposal and talked about our favorite alternatives -- restoring the half percent tax on the wealthiest who make over $500K or the Vehicle License fee. Substituting oil drilling or yacht taxes for the sales tax.

Mayor Dellums, who was a superdelegate will not be coming; his mother's funeral is on Wednesday.


When we hit the ground in Denver we were greeted by dozens of volunteers holding up signs, "Welcome DNC." From the skycaps to the shuttle drivers everyone seems excited to have the world focused on their city.The 503 member California delegation is housed at the Sheraton Hotel (left). It will be our home for the next five days. Stepping into the lobby was like being at home in Oakland. We'll be meeting here every morning.

We missed registration and most of the welcoming reception in honor of New Orleans, but met friends from around the country and Denver and went out to dinner to discuss the upcoming election and what we would each be doing to help elect Obama.

• The Convention Schedule
  
  
• Gavel to Gavel Coverage by Streaming Video
  
  

Statewide Delegates Meet, Approve At-Large and Superdelegates

California is the largest delegation with 503 delegates of 4440! Both the state and national delegations are the most diverse in history. Women will be the majority of delegates at 50.1 percent for the first time in history. (Thanks to the research of our high school intern Wendy Wu, I can tell you the first woman delegate to the DNC was Elizabeth Cohen of Utah, who as an alternate was chosen to fill the position of a delegate who became ill in 1900.) There will be more delegates of color than in any time in history, 44.3 percent of the delegates represent minority communities, 5.8% represent the Gay Lesbian Bisexual Transgender communities. 10 percent will be people with disabilities. 31.4 percent are either seniors or youth with the youngest a 17 year old high school student and the oldest a 91 year old woman. (Above) Former State Senator and elected Party Chairman Art Torres chairs the statewide meeting of DNC delegates.

The goals to make our delegates reflect the state's party composition were:

• Latino/Hispanic 26%
• African American 16%
• Asian/Pacific Islander 9%
• Native American 1%
• LGBT 10%
• Persons with Disabilities 10%
• Youth Under 30 10%
  
  

Some Alameda County Clinton delegates gathering at the state meeting.

Once the Congressional District representatives like myself were elected, state party leaders with the representatives of the Clinton and Obama campaigns went through the lists of party leaders and elected officials who would go as superdelegates as well as regular rank and file democrats who would serve at-large to come up with a slate to meet these goals. Many of those who lost at district elections and many more applied online for consideration as at-large delegates.

In May the slate was presented to the 241 delegates like myself elected on the district level. With sign off by both Hillary and Obama, the vote was non-controversial. Our May meeting was the only time California delegates came together before we went to Denver. We met first in our caucuses -- Clinton & Obama. I have no idea if the handful of Edward's delegates met.

The passion of the Clinton delegates was high. After the elation of winning our state decisively, it was clear that the national numbers were not looking good. Yet the recent elections were showing her getting stronger and seeming to find her own voice. We started to go around the room to introduce ourselves; there were only a few elected officials like myself, mostly council, school, and county board members. Alice Huffman, a veteran teacher and civil rights leader (left) and the historic UFW Vice President Dolores Huerta rallied us. There were many grassroots leaders -- union members, teachers, women, civil rights veterans, environmentalists, health care reformers. Their stories of local issues around the state were eloquent and moving; it gave me a human face of the party that I didn't know before.

That day I met some of the young Obama delegates. We agreed that whatever happened, we would work together in the East Bay to take back the White House. (Right) Jennifer Pae, an Oakland resident who works with organizing youth, was the second highest Obama vote getter.

• History of the Democratic Conventions--Jefferson to Obama
  
• History of the Democratic Party

Running for Delegate

Hillary Clinton speaks at block party in downtown Oakland last October.

After the primary one local Chinatown activist asked me if I was going to the convention as an elected official; I told her that usually super delegates were Congressional or State reps and big city mayors. I knew there was a district process but didn't know much about it, she told me I should run so more Asians would be represented...didn't I always tell her that Asians needed to be involved?

So I went home and started reading the California Democratic Party website. The state of California went for Clinton 52% to 43%, in my Congressional District it was the reverse. This meant that of the 6 delegates from our area, 4 would be Obama delegates and 2 would be Clinton delegates. Party rules require an equal number of women and men, so there was really only one female seat for Clinton supporters. In the end Oakland had several other representatives from our district chosen as superdelegates, but that's another story. After some thought I added my name to the list on line; in the end there would be over thirty of us vying for 2 seats.

The process was fascinating. To win you had to beg all of your friends to show up within a one hour time frame. While many delegates win their seat with 40-50 votes, we knew it would be different in Oakland. Our goal was to get twice that number. We weren't told the location until one week before; it was Mills College on a Sunday in April between 2-3 pm.

I had never organized for an election with such constraints. Some veterans know they want to go to the convention and spend months organizing their friends and relatives. I had less than a week to mobilize over a hundred people to make a one hour window. I sent out an email to all my contacts, then got on the phones. This process gave me insights to how the caucuses in other states must work. We had to find transportation for those without cars. Many of my older friends had more rigid schedules and other commitments. We sent out reminder emails to those who committed to come, for some I should have also called. One person literally got stuck in the back-up at the campus gate caused by the rush of hundreds of voters; she turned around when her watch hit 3 pm without getting into the gates of the campus. My own son slept late from being on-call at the hospital and barely made it. Like most elections, about 70% of the people who told us they would come made it and voted.

Some people came to vote for a friend but didn't have a second person to vote for, so we literally put everyone through a gauntlet outside the Mill's gym. My husband and several friends helped us leaflet and talk to the voters. You had a few seconds to hand someone a leaflet and ask them to vote for you. Quick alliances among the candidates were made. After a frantic hour of campaigning, the dozen or so candidates who showed up gave speeches to an audience of about three people who stayed to hear the candidates and our family and friends. In the end it was exciting and fun. Friends who we haven't seen in months came. Over 300 people came to vote; I was the top vote getter with 117 votes. Steve Tidrick, an Oakland lawyer active in the Clinton campaign, is the male delegate and came in second.

• For a list of the 503 California Delegates

First Steps to Denver

My husband and I are real political junkies. My first political organizing began when I was a teenager and I was outraged that then Governor Reagan would close down the mental health facilities in the state. I worked with special education students and helped organize a weekend program for some severely mentally handicapped kids in our city; I went door to door with my first petition to fight the closures. I met my husband Floyd at UC Berkeley when he was a student body senator. He taught me about coalition building when he ran on a slate that supported the formation of Ethnic Studies and opposed the Vietnam War; he would eventually be the first Asian American student body president.

We watch C-Span almost every night. So, we were delighted at the first Democratic Party debate on how many strong candidates there were. Over the months we were torn between Clinton and Obama. There were many debates over Sunday dinners with our kids. In the end both my husband and I had personal contacts with Hillary and that made a difference.

In the 90's I was chosen by the Clinton Administration to represent School Board members on the national Title 1 Rules Making Committee, governing the federal funding of education. Later I chaired the Council of Urban Boards of Education, representing the 100 largest districts in the nation or about one quarter of American students. Through these experiences I met and heard Hillary many times and was impressed at the depth of her understanding of school and children's issues. I remembered the strong federal support we got from Washington for Headstart, after school funding, school police, science education, and job training. I thought wouldn't it be great to have a real education president? Floyd had a similar experience when he was the medical director of the county hospital and he toured her through Highland Hospital. He thought she had a better plan for universal health care.

Either way I knew it would change history, the first woman or first black president would break barriers of discrimination. Our kids voted for Obama because of the war and his great appeal to young people. My daughter talked about the hope he gave to youth she worked with. I was struck that for her, being minority was a bigger barrier than being a woman. I realized that there was a definite generation gap and how quickly some barriers have come down during my lifetime. Obama's victory will lift the glass ceiling for all Americans of color.

I was contacted doggedly by the Clinton campaign for nearly a year, I finally decided to commit to Hillary after I got a call from my friend Sandre Swanson, our assemblyman. I volunteered to work on the campaign and was surprised at the shoe string budget. The northern California coordinator was a local girl who had gone to Skyline High with my kids, Maisha Everhart (left). She led a small dynamic team of mostly young women. I set up tables at the farmer's markets, spoke to groups, and organized phone banking.

The most amazing primary experience was the strong response among Chinese immigrant women. Asian Americans do not historically vote heavily in the primaries. I organized the Chinese language phone banks and my husband and I did much calling ourselves. I learned the Chinese name for Hillary -- Hay Lai Nay. These "new American" women were so excited about the possibility of a woman president, when we called a meeting for phone banking over 50 Chinatown residents showed up, mostly blue collar and senior women. The Asian American community in California voted 75% for Hillary. We called all the Chinese American and other voters in northern California  (minus SF) from out phone banks in Oakland!


Jean and Council Members Delafuente and Chang speak at the Chinatown phone bank training.

Local Power, Family Milestone

This is my first effort to create a blog. It is part of my commitment to those who helped get me here to the Democratic National Convention in Denver. I promised to share this historical experience with my friends and neighbors. I am still learning the software so forgive me if the posts are slow.

Like most Americans the party convention processes are not something I paid much attention to. I prefer working on grassroots community organizing. But more than ever local actions can drive the national dialogue and policies, the green response to global warming is a good example. But we can only go so far without national and state support. It sickens me when I think about the waste of life and resources in the Iraq War. As a local elected official struggling to offer hope & a decent education to our children, affordable housing, safe neighborhoods and facing aging infrastructure... I think every day about what I could do with my city's share of the war costs about $867 million to date according to the National Priorities Project.

This is the most important presidential election of my life time. I want to be part of organizing a movement for change. I hope to represent the voices of my very diverse urban city. Already by participating I have gotten a new perspective of the variety and depth of the rank and file activists and their issues from around the state. I am so excited to be with 4400 kindred spirits, many of them first time delegates like myself.

On the most personal level this is a family milestone. I can't help smile when I wonder if my great grandfather, who came to Oakland as a refugee from the San Francisco earthquake fire when Chinese Americans had few legal rights, could have dreamed that his descendent would help govern the city just a few blocks from Chinatown and would help select a president.


(Above) My family and I at the City Hall Rally I co-sponsored last year with our Congresswoman Barbara Lee, who we are proud to say cast the lone vote against the authorization of force in Iraq. (l-r) Will Huen,new doctor at San Francisco General Hospital, UCSF Faculty; Jean; Lailan Huen, director of a non-profit youth program and grad student; my husband Floyd Huen, medical director for Over Sixties Health Clinic.