Saintless

I don’t have time right now for a long post, since I’m still recovering from a helluva weekend. But, here are the basics.

I didn’t get a Delegate position. Yeah, I’m sad. But, I’m over it. Mostly. I would like to say that I think some were under the impression that I’m some sort of campaign insider, and some might have even spread such gossip, which might have been a contributing factor to my loss. However, I’d like to state for the record that every hour I’ve spent on the Obama campaign has been as a volunteer. I am the volunteer Chair of the grassroots group, Utah for Obama. My aim has been to get Obama elected from day one. After Super Tuesday was the first time that any personal goals even came to mind in association with all of this. Last year, when it was suggested that I become a delegate, I pretty much laughed mockingly at the person making the suggestion. Not one single thing I’ve done has been for personal gain. So, anyone that thought otherwise might consider making an apology. I’m done with that topic, though.

I think the real reason I didn’t win was because I was too busy doing more grassroots organizing for Obama, and didn’t spend enough time campaigning for myself. Saturday at 2 PM was the kickoff for Vote for Change, and there was a ton of prep work, on top of recruiting people to come find out more. When the state delegates were in line to vote, I didn’t go around asking for their vote. Instead, I went around with copies of Vote for Change flyers and asked everyone if they were coming. And honestly, that was more important than a personal honor of going to the DNC.

Here’s the thing, though. I believe that every one of the people elected as Delegates should feel personal responsibility to the campaign. And I believe that they should help with the grassroots efforts, such as Vote for Change. So, I plan to contact each of them, individually, to ask for their support. If they cannot help with Vote for Change, I hope they’ll offer alternative support of some sort - and not just a past example. And I’m going to post here to show the status of this effort.

Kurt Bestor beat me to it, though. Nikki and I got an email from him this weekend asking how he can help, before I had the chance to contact him.

Here’s the entire list of Utah Delegates for Obama elected this weekend:

• Kathy Snyder
• Scott McCoy
• Kelvin Davis (already has grassroots involvement)
• Josie Valdez
• Pat Jones
• Theodore Cowan (Secretary, Utah for Obama)
• Kurt Bestor (willing to help)
• Brian Spitten
• Millicent Lewis
• Phil Riesen
• Christine Johnson
• Peter Corroon
• Julie Day
• Jan Lovett

I’ll keep this list going, and every time there’s an update, I’ll repost an updated list. (If you’re on the list, and feel like you’re already contributing, please send me an email or call me, and I’ll get your “status” updated. Although I’m one of the most involved people in the grassroots effort here in Utah, I’m not always aware of everything.)

Also, a big thank-you goes out to Mayor Ralph Becker for speaking to the Vote for Change group on Saturday!!

While I’m thanking people, I’d also like to thank two super star volunteers. One is Duchess - she’s moving away soon, and will be greatly missed! She’s been key to keeping our materials organized, and not running out of important things like pens. She cleaned up after the staffers when we had an office nearly every day. And she’s just always been there. So, thank you, Duchess!

The other is Rob. Rob’s been a quiet helper for a long time. He always shows up with a smile, and has been great about the tasks we give him - like guarding the projector for an hour on Saturday! Thanks, Rob!

I don’t want to diminish the help we’ve gotten from other volunteers, because we have a lot of great people in on this with us. But, I felt that these two deserved special recognition after this weekend!

Barack Obama has sent me a letter of endorsement for my National Delegate run. I can’t even tell you how much this means to me! I knew letters were being sent out to a select few candidates, but I didn’t know I was one of them until this morning.

Here’s a copy of the letter from Barack (PDF warning!), and the full text is below:

Dear Ms. Fowler,

Let me take this opportunity to thank you for your strong support of my candidacy for president, and express my support of your bid to be an Obama delegate to the Democratic National Convention representing the Beehive State. The energy and dedication of supporters like you was critical to our strong showing in Utah. I am honored to have your support, and pleased to enthusiastically support you today in front of your community.

Since Utah’s primary we have continued to win big states and small states, from the plains to the coasts and everywhere in between. The whispers that began over a year ago have swelled to a chorus of millions that cannot be ignored. You are standing up to reclaim your government, and your efforts in Utah reaffirm my belief, and the belief of people around the country, that this election can be different. We can give Washington a new sense of purpose and break through the partisan gridlock to achieve health care and education for all, end the war in Iraq, and address the other problems facing ordinary Americans.

Once again, I sincerely appreciate your steadfast support of the movement. I wish you success in your state convention and look forward to seeing you at our convention in Denver in August.

Sincerely,
Barack Obama

This isn’t the first letter I’ve received from our next President. The first was almost a year ago, when I hosted the Walk for Change. It included a Thank-You letter that had also been signed by Senator Obama. This one was a much more personal letter, though.

I am a candidate for Congressional District 2 Pledged Delegate for Barack Obama. Most of my readers already know this, and a few of you may be delegates in my district. Here is the email that I am sending out to the delegates.

Dear Misty I am writing to introduce myself as a candidate in Utah’s Congressional District 2 for National Delegate, pledged to Barack Obama. I’ll keep this email brief, and if you’d like to know more about me, and my involvement with Utah Politics and Senator Obama’s Presidential Campaign, I’ve gone into detail on my blog, here. Who I am Chair, Utah for Obama Regional Director, Salt Lake County Democrats Technology Committee Member, Salt Lake County Democrats Software Developer, Software Technology Group Blogger, Saintless.com Mom to Drake (10) and Preston(8) If you have a moment, please click the photo to the right to watch a short (66 seconds) video I put together. I really hope that my dedication to Senator Obama’s campaign and to the local Democratic Party will help me to get your vote this Friday, May 9 at the Salt Lake County Democratic Convention. If I am elected as Delegate, I plan to write and send photos of the Democratic National Convention through my blog, Saintless.com, so you will have a chance to be part of the excitement, too! Thank You, Misty Fowler 801.755.3974

Man, this campaigning thing can kill a person! My feet already ached from last night’s Spaghetti Dinner, and I’m just too vain to dress down.

This is my first blog at my new home, here on Wordpress. It doesn’t look so great, yet. But, all my old posts are here, along with comments. I do need to consolidate my tags, as Jeff pointed out when I showed him.

The Salt Lake County Democrat’s Spaghetti Dinner went very well! I couldn’t believe how many people were there. Some had to eat standing up, so I guess next year it’ll be moving to a larger facility. All my photos of the dinner were crappy, so I won’t bother posting them.

Today was the Convention, which was absolutely packed. And with the number of people running for National Delegate, I’m surprised there was room for anyone else. Just in my district, Congressional District 2, there are 24 women running for 2 female Obama delegate positions. It looks like Josie Valdez has a very strong campaign going, and because she’s well known, probably has a lot of support. Julie Day had her entire family there passing out flyers, so she might be in the running.

It’s difficult to campaign against people who are not only my friends, but who have also put a lot of effort into the Obama campaign. Janet Hurley and Gail Turpin are also competing for those 2 spots, and I definitely feel a loyalty to them because of their friendship and hard work.

Since Kelly Ann Booth is no longer in the race, Brian King is the nominee for my District (28). I think he’ll do a really good job as our Legislator, and I plan to help him in the General Election as much as possible. I had lunch with him a few weeks ago, and was impressed with not only his goals, but his attitude about working with the R’s once he’s elected. Although, his web site needs some work. It’s next to impossible to find via Google. I’ll have to offer some suggestions to Chris about getting better search results.

I’m fairly certain that Luz Robles won the nomination, replacing incumbent Fred Fife. I didn’t stay long enough to confirm it for myself, but she had tons of support, and I’m really excited for her. She’ll do good things, if she wins the General election.

Most of my time today was spent passing out these flyers:

I got to talk to a lot of people, and I really enjoyed it. I really suck at remembering people’s names, so I had a few awkward moments. But, I think I still connected with a lot of people.

I only made it to 4 of the caucuses. First was the Stonewall Democrats. I totally lost it at the end, mumbling something about that being all, and I tried to crawl in a hole as I shuffled out of the room. I get so nervous speaking to crowds, and so I hope they’ll forgive my inexperience at it. I’m better than I used to be, and the next three went more smoothly. After leaving the Stonewall Democrats, I headed next door to the Health Care Caucus. I guess things had been getting pretty heated, and someone later told me I’d saved the day when I spoke up. I went with my message about how Barack listens to people at the grassroots level, and encouraged them to submit their ideas through Obama’s MyPolicy page. I followed that theme through the Environmental Caucus and the Progressive Caucus, because I think that the people at these caucuses are likely to have some really great ideas, and if they present a unique and beneficial idea that gets used, that benefits everyone. And so few people know about MyPolicy. I threw in a little plug about myself at the end of addressing them, since that was supposed to be why I was there in the first place. At the Environmental caucus, I got an extra plug after I was finished by Bill Keshlear, which made me both feel really good and really embarrassed. As much as the point was supposed to be promoting myself, I still get embarrassed about it.

Also interesting was meeting Mark Towner. I couldn’t hit him up for a vote, unless I don’t make CD 2, and go for the At-Large spot. But, I did have a brief conversation, and I’m pretty sure that he’s sincere in his desire to work with the Democrats.

Nikki Norton took some video of me, so I can make a “campaign video”. I just got that from her, so I need to see about editing it and putting something fun and cool together.

After that, I have the task of finalizing my letter to the delegates, as well as calling as many as possible. I wish I’d have written down the people who said they were supporting me, so I could follow up to confirm. Ah, well. You live, you learn. Right?

Tags: National Delegate