DEL.ICIO.USGeorgia Dems battle for convention, delegate spots
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 04/19/08
They carried signs, passed out stickers and buttons and gave away hundreds of dollars in coffee and bottled water, sandwiches and doughnuts. They implored, cajoled and quite nearly begged.
Frankly, this wasn't what David L. Reeves expected when he agreed to attend the 5th District Democratic Party caucus Saturday and cast a vote for his friend.
 Rich Addicks/AJC | ||
| Alvin Sanders uses a whistle to try to drum up support for his daughter, Alvelyn Sanders who wanted to be a delegate. | ||
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"It's a lot more involved than I thought. I thought I was just going to come vote for Camara [Jones]," said Reeves, a project administrator for the Department of Family and Children Services. "It looks like a long day."
That was at 10 a.m. By 2 p.m., he still wasn't free.
More than 900 Democrats turned out to the Teamsters Union Hall in Lakewood for the 5th District caucus, one of 13 similar events in congressional districts across the state.
At stake were a total of 57 delegates' tickets to the party's national convention Aug. 25-28 in Denver. Forty of those elected Saturday will represent U.S. Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, and 17 will back U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York.
As the two continue their fight for the party's nomination, the national convention appears more and more likely to be the place where, for the first time since 1952, the party's standard bearer will be chosen.
But at the Teamsters Hall and in the other districts, the energy of the day was centered squarely on the fight for Obama seats. His overwhelming victory in the Feb. 5 Georgia presidential primary assured him of the lion's share of the state's delegates.
In the 5th District, for example, five delegate seats were up for grabs, and more than 80 Democrats vied for the spots Saturday. Three of the seats were designated for women, and two for men.
Around 8 p.m., the results were finally complete. The winners were Jelani Cobb and Clarence Martin for the men, and Andrea Boone, Camara Jones and Deirdre Barrett-England for the women. Jerry Freeman is the alternate.
In the 4th District, meeting at the Manuel Maloof Auditorium in Decatur, five women campaigned to be the lone Clinton delegate. Nearly 30 women sought the two available Obama slots designated for women, while more than 20 men sought the three men's slots.
The 4th District Clinton election took about 30 minutes and was over even before the first speech was offered by would-be Obama delegates.
Rhonda Peek, who lost the most recent mayoral election in Lithonia, won the delegate spot after pointing out that she has long worked for the party. The event planner said this would be her first national convention.
On the Obama side, many candidate speeches followed a particular template. Each had a story of meeting Obama, hearing Obama or getting a letter from Obama.
Cecilla Hailey had her 17-year-old daughter, Niqui, introduce her as the voice of the next generation. "This must change," the teen said, quoting a theme from the Obama campaign. The mother not only promised to be the voice of DeKalb County Democrats but to post pictures from the convention on her Web site.
Matielyn Jones, a high school teacher, shouted despite a working speaker system as she gushed with enthusiasm for the party. "I want to paint Georgia a new shade of blue," Jones said.
When the votes were counted, Gwendolyn Keyes-Fleming and Barbara Campbell won the Obama delegates' spots, while state Sen. Gloria Butler (D-Stone Mountain) was named an alternate. On the men's side, Kenneth Samuel, Sai Reddy and DeKalb County Commissioner Lee May emerged victorious.
Meanwhile, back in Lakewood, a buzz circulated through the room when it was announced Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin had removed her name from the candidates' list.
She and other elected officials and party leaders have other paths to Denver available to them, as the state party has 32 at-large delegate slots to award at its annual convention in May.
Khaia Smith, 28, an eighth-grade teacher at King Middle School in Atlanta, had complained that Franklin and others shouldn't be competing against average voters for the coveted spots as Obama delegates.
Smith was nervous but resolved as she handed out her bio with a Khaia Smith crossword puzzle on the back (The clue for 2 Across: "Our next president." A hint: It's 11 letters and starts with a "B.").
Riki Bolster of Ormewood Park fired up a 100-cup coffee pot at 7:30 a.m. and had given away 150 cups by noon. The caffeine fix was an effort to support her husband Paul's bid to be an Obama delegate.
"I'm the one who urged him to do it because he always wanted to be part of the Democratic National Convention," Bolster said. "It's become a much bigger thing than we thought."
When the gates to the Teamsters Union Hall in Lakewood closed at 11 a.m. — the designated caucus starting time — more than 150 people were still in line to register. Another 30 or 40 were turned away.
Antonio L. Thomas, an Atlanta lawyer, was the last in what had been a very long line, stretching across the yard outside the union hall.
"This is my first event like this since it was at Georgia Tech in the 1970s," Thomas said. "It feels great to know we have regenerated this kind of activity."
The Obama caucus met inside the Teamsters hall. Its 600 seats quickly filled up, and several hundred people filled the aisles and lined the walls.
The Clinton caucus met in a white, three-sided tent outside the main entrance. Candidates gave brief speeches and worked to be heard over the din of the Obama backers next door.
Ultimately, party activist Angela Trigg and Miguel Gallegos captured the two Clinton spots.
"I'm still shaking," Trigg said, her T-shirt and those of her friends emblazoned with her name. "I'm really excited and thankful for all my friends who came out and came for the two that would work really hard for Hillary."
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