Here is my mostly-anecdotal take on today’s convention. I was a delegate and, thanks to alert fellow 7th RD committee members, we were in the front row. I didn’t get in any fights.
The newly-elected slate of statewide Democratic Party officers is as follows:
State Party Chair: Evelyn Waters Brady
First Vice-Chair: Coby Owens
Second Vice-Chair: Debbie Harrington
Treasurer: Brennon Fountain
Secretary: Leslie Ledogar
OK, now for my take on the proceedings.
The convention was generally well-run. Yes, it took an inordinately long time to count the ballots for Party Chair. But, everyone learned from that, and the rest of the proceedings went quite smoothly. There was no difficulty getting credentialed and into the auditorium. Shout-out to officers and volunteers.
Malcolm Kenyatta, who is from Philly and is a DNC Vice-Chair, gave a great red-meat address. So, of course, did Sarah McBride. We also heard from Governor Matt Meyer, Lt. Governor Kyle Evans Gay, State Treasurer Colleen Davis and, a bit later in the proceedings, Chris Coons.
While the jury is out on whether Evelyn Waters Brady, who got my vote, will be a great State Party Chair, she is already the Best Candidate Ever for the position of State Chair. Her speech today was full of energy and enthusiasm. Oh, and inclusiveness. The delegate sitting to my left, who was not from our district, kept saying, “It’s over.” And it was. The. word that comes to mind in describing Cassandra Marshall’s speech is ‘bureaucratic’. And low energy. A third candidate, John Starks, from Kent County was also nominated. I wouldn’t call what he gave a speech but, at the end of his three minutes, he dropped out and endorsed Evelyn.
I was very disappointed that Nick Beard wasn’t elected to the Treasurer position. Her opponent, Brennon Fountain, hadn’t bothered to meet with the various RD committees, and only announced his candidacy just something like three days before the convention. And, yes, I thought it was poor form for Colleen Davis to endorse Brennon from the stage of the convention (he works in her office).
Some other anecdotes–I think, but I’m not sure, that Matt Meyer had never confirmed his attendance with the Party Chair. From my perch in the front row, I’m pretty sure I heard Betsy Maron say ‘And going off the scheduled agenda…’ before she called him onstage. Is it asking too much for the Governor to respond?
I thought that Betsy handled the convention with grace and competence. She seemed pretty relaxed. I think she’s happy to move on to her next stage in life. Let me make this clear: Any disagreements I’ve had with her were in no way personal. I’ve known her since we were both members of the 7th RD dating back to the early ’80’s. (Yikes! 40 years!). I’ve always liked her, and I wish the best for her.
There was no debate permitted on the reports from the Platform Committee, Resolutions Committee, and Rules Committee. There must have been something in the Rules Committee report that caused several members of the Kent County delegation to object. While the Rules Committee report apparently received the 3/4ths majority that the party rules require, I’d like to hear from someone from the delegation to share what their concerns are.
Finally, events like these are all about people. I bumped into one of my co-workers from my time in the Senate. She still works there. I was at her wedding, and she had a son right before I left the General Assembly. She told me he’s now headed off to college. Man, time flies. I look far worse for wear than she does. It was great to see her. Made my day.
If you were there, what did you see and what did you think?