Local DNC delegates upbeat about top of their ticket
PHILADELPHIA >> Democratic National Convention delegates from Delaware and Montgomery counties were soaking in the euphoria inside the Wells Fargo Center on Wednesday, saying that Tim Kaine is a great running mate for presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton.
State Rep. Mary Jo Daley, D-148, of Montgomery County, was thrilled to be on the convention floor.
“It’s momentous,” she said. “It’s inspiring. It’s fun and it’s exciting and it’s historic … There is no other place I was born to be in this moment.
“I wanted to be a delegate for Hillary,” she said. “I know how badly we need a woman in elected office because our experience and our perspective is different from men.”
She offered a comparison for the distribution of power.
“If your’re not on the table, you’re on the menu,” she said.
Delaware County Democratic Party Chairman David Landau talked about what it meant to have the convention in Philadelphia.
“Having the convention in Philadelphia has been an amazing experience,” he said, adding that it was providing an opportunity for a lot of exposure for local candidates. “For us, the message that’s coming out of here is one that resonates with the voters of Delaware County. Now, we believe the momentum is going to carry down to the local candidates.”
At her first convention, Clinton delegate Wendy Wolf of Haverford wore the 1948 delegate pin of her grandfather, Irwin D. Wolf.
“I’ve worked for years since the early 1990s to get women elected to office,” she said.
As she held her grandfather’s pin, Wolf said she thought, “What a cool thing to be a delegate.”
Of Kaine, the Democratic U.S. Senator from Virginia, Daley said the more she learned about him, the more she liked.
“I was like blown away by him and I think he’s going to be terrific,” she said, adding that she particularly liked his stance for social justice.
Landau added that he thought Kaine was a good choice.
“I think he really balances the ticket in many ways,” he said, likening Kaine to “the younger version of Joe Biden.”
Wolf had only effusive words for Clinton’s running mate, adding that he helps the vote in Virginia, has tremendous governing experience and knows how to get things done in the Senate.
“I think he’s a great running mate,” she said. “I think he adds a lot to the ticket. I think he adds some sanity for white men who may want to vote for the ticket but they are reluctant to.”
Hillary Clinton’s Pennsylvania delegates didn’t think the leaked DNC emails would play into the fall election.
Daley compared it to her personal experience of becoming a delegate, collecting petitions and appearing on the ballot.
“I feel like I worked for it,” she said. “I know in Pennsylvania, everything was handled in a very evenhanded way.”
Daley was concerned about Donald Trump’s links to Russia.
“That’s a little she said.
Landau said story is over.
“To me, it’s a non-issue in the party,” he said. “The party is uniform.” frightening,” the email