Local & State Headlines

Local Dems ready for Denver

• The Democratic National Convention begins Monday.

Susan McCord

ALBANY — Albany-area delegates, including two still pledged to New York Sen. Hillary Clinton, are thrilled to be part of “history in the making” as the Democratic National Convention gets under way Monday.

“Stone Mountain looks like a pebble here,” said Shannon Marietta, a Lee County Democrat already in Denver Friday to do some backpacking in the Rockies before the convention starts.

Marietta, 28, was an ardent Clinton supporter who defeated Vivian Creighton-Bishop in the Second Congressional District Caucus for a slot as a pledged Clinton delegate at the convention.

She’ll vote for Clinton then throw her support behind Obama, whom she hoped would name former Georgia Gov. Roy Barnes or Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine as running mate.

“I think they’re considering (Barnes) because Georgia’s in play right now because of (Libertarian candidate) Bob Barr,” Marietta said.

“Everyone’s waiting — the suspense is killing me,” she said.

Obama named Senator Joe Biden, D-Del., as his vice presidential running mate Saturday.

At the convention, “the most exciting part is going to be Obama’s nomination speech,” Marietta said. “Seventy-five thousand people are going to be in that football stadium. Nothing like it has been done before.”

Obama’s acceptance speech Thursday will coincide with another historic date, pledged Obama delegate Pamela Jackson said.

“The night that he accepts the nomination, the convention culminates — on the same day that Martin Luther King gave his ‘I have a dream’ speech,” Jackson, of Albany, said.

“I am extremely excited. This is history in the making,” Jackson said.

Attending her first Democratic National Convention, Jackson said she expected Obama to choose either Clinton or Delaware Sen. Joe Biden to be his running mate, though she liked Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sibellius.

Clinton, who will speak at the convention Tuesday, “comes with a certain amount of baggage, including Bill, but I think they bring a certain amount of experience that will benefit Barack,” she said.

“There’s a large percentage of her voters that say they will vote for McCain,” Jackson said.

Creighton-Bishop, the wife of Congressman Sanford Bishop, D-Albany, hoped “that we’ll have a harmonious convention and take care of the business that we have at hand.”

Her support for Clinton attracted “some questions” for the elected clerk of Columbus municipal court, whose husband is co-chair of Obama’s Georgia campaign.

“The gentleman who threw something at me, in fact — he and maybe one other reached that level of opposition to my support of her. In general, those who are seasoned politicians knew that I had my reasons.”

Creighton-Bishop, who lost to Marietta in the district caucus, gets to attend the convention anyway as one of 11 pledged party leader and elected official delegates from Georgia.

She’s come to accept Obama and will support him when he becomes the Democratic nominee, but made a promise to Hillary Clinton.

“I think he’s smart, he’s articulate, he’s presidential. He’s proven himself to be more of a credible candidate than I had initially given him credit for. I could support him, but I pledged my support to Hillary even before Obama decided to run, way back then, and I gave her my word. She was a credible candidate, and I kept my word. Had it been Obama I would have done the same.”

Also attending from the Second Congressional District are Obama delegates Lynmore James and Albert O’Bryant, Obama alternate Mary Helen Dykes and Clinton Delegate Eben Barnett III.

Rep. Winfred Dukes, D-Albany, won’t leave for his third convention until after the Tuesday funeral of Dougherty Commissioner Art Searles.

“We’re looking at it with cautious excitement. I know we’ve got a very good candidate,” Dukes said.

Dukes expected Obama to select Biden as his running mate.

Biden “brings a lot of experience to the table. He’s someone who has been around; who understands the workings of the federal government, of the legislative branch,” he said.

While the 2000 Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles “was probably one of the most exciting political events that I have ever attended” and more so than the 2004 convention in Boston, “I think this one will probably eclipse the both of them,” Dukes said.

Dukes has been active in Obama’s campaign in Southwest Georgia, headquartered at the Keys Group Building on Slappey Boulevard in Albany.

“Voter registration, we are working to get people registered. Soon after that it’s going to be voter persuasion, and soon after that it’s going to be voter turnout,” Dukes said. “Georgia’s a red state and we’re trying to turn it blue.”