Oregon Democrats elect final 19 delegates to national convention

Oregon Democrats Saturday discussed, debated, deliberated and finally elected the final 19 delegates to represent the state at the Democratic National Convention.

Party officials holed up inside the Western Oregon University for five hours to finalize the 65 delegates that will represent the Beaver state when the party gathers in Denver this August to officially nominate U.S. Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) as the Democratic candidate for president.

Oregon will send a diverse group of democrats on its behalf.

Six of these are Democratic Party officials, 12 came from a caucus vote and one unpledged delegate was voted on by the entire convention.

The afternoon started with a rousing speech by U.S. Senate candidate Jeff Merkley and then the convention decided on former Gov. Barbara Roberts as the state's unpledged delegate. The convention then split into two caucuses, electing first the Democratic Party officials to be delegates.

The six chosen officials were:

• Carla "KC" Hanson, chair of the Multnomah County Democratic Party

• Maria Maurer; chair of the Washington County Democratic Party

• Rep. Sara Gelser; State House Representative for House District 16

• Harry Sappington; chair of the Democratic Party in Benton County

• Brad Avakian; State Labor and Industries Commissioner

• Jared Mason-Gere, chair of the Lane County Democratic party

Mason-Gere, at 27, was the youngest delegate elected.

"I know there are some people out there who may say we need to send someone older, more experienced to Denver," Mason-Gere said, grinning. "Someone, you know, ready on day one. But I am ready to keep working and keep this party going."

The caucuses then focused on electing 12 at-large members. The Obama caucus elected seven at-large delegates, and the Clinton caucus elected five.

The Obama caucus decided on five women and two men in accordance with equality rules for delegates made by the Oregon Democratic Party. The equality rules, set by the Democrats in order to ensure that the Oregon delegation was representative of the population, made some delegate races more competitive than others. At times, it seemed like more men were lined up along the wall pleading for votes than there were people to vote for them.

The competitiveness led to some tense moments, including one vote that came down to a coin toss between Antone Minthorn, former chairman of the Board of Trustees for the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, and Sappington. Sappington, who had been in a horrific car accident four weeks ago, won the toss and victoriously limped across the stage with the aid of a walker. Minthorn went on to win an at-large delegate nomination.

Meanwhile, Clinton delegates huddled down the hall to elect their five at-large delegates. This smaller gathering used a white board to write down nominees for the delegate position, and they spoke of looking beyond Clinton's concession.

"For me, it's not about electing the president," said Mark Schwebke, the president of the Oregon chapter of the American Federation of Teachers and a finalist for Clinton delegate. "It's about electing Jeff Merkley, it's about getting Democrats elected in Oregon. We need to build the party."

The 19 delegates chosen at the state level will join the 34 delegates that were decided at the district level on June 7, and 12 superdelegates, for a total of 65 delegates representing Oregon at Democratic Convention.

At-Large delegates for Obama:

Becky Gladstone, Eugene

Pat Ackley, Bend

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Susan Castillo, Eugene, Obama

Huma Pierce, Portland

Jill Thorn, West Linn

John Cuff, Eugene

Antone Minthorn, Adams

Win McCormack, Portland (alternate)

Betsy Tam Salter, Portland (alternate)

At-Large delegates for Clinton:

Annabelle Jaramillo, Philomath

Loretta Smith, Portland

Jane Quinn, Beaverton

Paddy McGuire, Portland

Jack Lorts, Fossil

Robert "Bob" Williams, Clackamas (alternate)

Mary Ann Holser, Eugene (alternate)