State Democrats choose PLEO convention delegates

Party chairwoman believes votes will be restored

April 6, 2008

By Bill Cotterell, news-press.com capital bureau

ORLANDO - Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink, seven state legislators and Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer were among 27 party leaders chosen Saturday to be delegates to the Democratic National Convention.

State party Chairwoman Karen Thurman, just back from a Washington meeting with Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean, expressed confidence that Florida will get its 211 national convention votes restored - although nobody knows how it will be done.

Thurman said Dean told her the DNC has belatedly agreed to reserve hotel rooms for Floridians, a sure sign that party sanctions against the state for moving its presidential primary a week ahead of the Feb. 5 Super Tuesday date will be lifted.

But it's still up to Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton to decide how Florida and Michigan might be forgiven for their January primaries. Thurman said it's encouraging that Florida members of Congress, state party leaders and DNC officials were finally talking about how - rather than whether - to seat the delegation from a closely contested swing state with one-tenth of the electoral votes needed to win the White House.

"It's no longer about who was with who and who could do this or do that," Thurman said. "It's more about how do we take care of our Florida voters, those 1.75 million people who voted in the primary."

Sink, the only Democrat on the statewide elected Cabinet, was appointed as an unpledged delegate by Thurman, along with state House Minority Leader Dan Gelber of Miami Beach and Senate Minority Leader Steve Geller of Cooper City. The Democratic State Executive Committee unanimously ratified those appointments and elected 24 more "party leader and elected officer" delegates - known as PLEOs - with 14 pledged to Clinton and 10 for Obama.

There were 121 delegates chosen in congressional district caucuses on March 1, based on the results of the presidential primary that Clinton led. Another 40 at-large pledged delegates will be elected at a state party meeting in Tampa on May 17 and there are 23 superdelegates already designated - Florida members of Congress, the DNC, national party treasurer Andy Tobias of Miami and former Maine Gov. Ken Curtis, who lives in Sarasota.

The Florida Legislature last year moved the presidential primary from early March to Jan. 29, defying both national parties. The Republican National Committee cut the state delegation in half, from 114 to 57 votes, but the state GOP expects to get its votes restored now that Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., has wrapped up the nomination.

But the DNC stripped Florida and Michigan, which voted Jan. 18, of all their delegates for jumping ahead of Feb. 5. Dean and state officials are now working with both state parties and the Obama and Clinton campaigns to restore the delegations but the campaigns are wary of seating delegates that might tip the balance in a tight race.

"In the end, it's all going to be worked out," said Leon County Democratic Executive Committee Chairman Rick Minor of Tallahassee. "What that resolution will be is anybody's guess."

Judy Mount, an Obama delegate from Marianna, said she hopes the long-running standoff between state and national parties won't hurt Democratic changes of carrying the state in November.

"I say my prayers every night," she said. "I think both candidates (Obama and Clinton) can beat McCain. Florida has had enough of Republicans."

Amy Tidd, the Brevard County chairman, said the turmoil has at least drawn attention to the Democrats while the Republican campaign has been almost dormant since McCain won Florida.

"The Democratic Party is where all the excitement is now," she said. "Democrats, because of the last seven years, that have been a nightmare, will climb a mountain and cross a desert to vote."

Following is the full list of the 27 PLEO delegates elected:

Unpledged "Add-on" Delegates
Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink (Hillsborough)
Senate Democratic Leader Steve Geller (Broward)
House Democratic Leader Dan Gelber (Miami-Dade)

Pledged Clinton Delegates
County Commissioner Burt Aaronson (Palm Beach)
County Party Chairman Bret Berlin (Miami-Dade)
County Party Chairman Rhett Bullard (Hamilton)
Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer (Orange)
State Party Vice-Chair & State Rep. Luis Garcia (Miami-Dade)
County Party Leader Lori Ann Glasser (Broward)
County School Board Member Kathleen "Kat" Gordon (Orange)
County Commissioner Sally Heyman (Miami-Dade)
Parkland Vice-Mayor Jared Moskowitz (Broward)
County GLBTA Democratic Caucus President Sally Phillips (Hillsborough)
State Sen. Nan Rich (Broward)
County Commissioner Katy Sorenson (Miami-Dade)
County Commissioner Diana Wasserman-Rubin (Broward)
Precinct Captain Frank Williams (Leon)

Pledged Obama Delegates
County GLBT Democratic Caucus President Chip Arndt (Miami-Dade)
County Party Chairman Travis Bridges (Duval)
Tampa City Councilman John Dingfelder (Hillsborough)
County Caribbean Democratic Caucus President Evelyn Garcia (Palm Beach)
State Sen. Anthony "Tony" Hill (Duval)
County Vice-Chair Wes McCarville (Brevard)
County Young Democrats President Florence "Flomo" Moss (Miami-Dade)
County Party Chairwoman Judy Mount (Jackson)
State Rep. Geraldine Thompson (Orange)
Senate Democratic Leader Pro Tempore Frederica Wilson (Miami-Dade)