In the Snow, Gunnison County Dems Hold a Convention and a BBQ
(Cross-Posted to DemNotes at www.DemNotes.com)
This morning, we drove through some pretty heavy snow over Monarch Pass to attend the Gunnison County Convention and Assembly. Several delegates to the meeting also braved some pretty heavy weather, but a truly full house greeted the delegates when they arrived.
Before the convention began, though, Gunnison Dems did what they always do — they celebrated the cattle-growing traditions of Gunnison County by hosting a barbeque for delegates. We had a great choice between beef and turkey, and folks enjoyed the company of each other as they connected with both veteran activists and newcomers to the process. This was the third time I’ve been to a Gunnison County Assembly, and I’ve truly enjoyed each visit.
As in so many places I’ve visited so far, I found that the Clinton supporters and the Obama supporters were respectful of each other, and had a genuine debate about the merits of each others’ candidates.
What was also nice about Gunnison was the immense interest in the community in the process — there were at least as many people there who were not delegates as there were delegates.
I did something unusual — I spoke twice. I had the pleasure of welcoming the delegates, on behalf of the State Party, as the opening speaker of the convention. I then was the designated speaker for the Obama campaign — there seemed to be a lot of concern that I couldn’t stick to the three-minute time limit (in case you’re wondering, I did).
In the end, the folks in Gunnison supported Senator Obama in the preference poll - the vote was something like 45 to 16; giving Obama 17 delegates to Clinton’s 6 delegates. There were several key dignitaries there — Ron Carleton from Congressman Salazar’s office was there, as was Senator Gail Schwartz and Gunnison’s own Representative Kathleen Curry. Former key electeds in Gunnison have also stayed active, including former Lt. Governor Mike Callihan and former State Senator Linda Powers, and they were both there.
Tomorrow night, I head up to Eagle and Summit counties for their meetings in Eagle and Frisco. If you’re in one of those counties, maybe I’ll see you there!