Sunday, August 17, 2008

An Unlikely Delegate

I began this journey with a love of Barack Obama, and a shove from my sister Nancy, when I told her I didn't have enough time to be a caucus leader. On that freezing caucus night in February, since I was already there, and it was almost midnight, and I had long since lost the capacity for rational thought--I stayed and ran for District Delegate. I was one of 14, chosen to go to the Kansas 3rd Congressional District Convention in April.

I soon learned (since I knew nothing about it) that I needed to run a kind of "mini campaign", to be one of 5 people (3 women & 2 men) out of eighty, at the District Convention, who would be elected as Obama delegates to the Democratic National Convention. Again, with the help of my sisters and friends, I chose a campaign slogan, "A Soldier's Mama for Obama" (my son is serving in the Army, having just completed his 10th month of a 15 month deployment to Iraq), designed and mailed a postcard, wrapped hundreds of mini Hershey bars with my name and slogan, and finally wrote a three minute speech.

I then began to receive the campaign literature from other delegates who were running and was, to put it mildly, intimidated! I called Nancy almost daily to tell her about my competition--Kansas State Representatives, local business owners and folks who had worked for the Democratic Party since they were born. I figured I had a snowball's chance in Hell of being elected, but decided it would be an interesting experience to get together with eighty other Obama supporters, hand out my candy, give my speech, and help choose who would represent us in Denver.

When they announced I was one of the 3 women elected, I would have been less surprised if I had won the Miss America pageant! When I called Nancy afterwards, and told her I had been elected, her first response was, "Oh, you were not!"-- so much for sisterly confidence! Anyway...here I am four months later, an unlikely delegate, as so many of us are this year, being really involved in politics for the first time in our lives, and taking part in an election many predicted would never happen.

I am proud and honored as a Kansas educator (I am a school librarian in Shawnee Mission) and the mother of a soldier, to be representing the state of Kansas in this historic process!

2 comments:

angel said...

I can't wait to read about your adventures in Denver!

Kelly Sime said...

Congratulations, again, Jan! You are truly worthy. I'm so proud to have you representing me.