PORT TOWNSEND — For just the third time since 1960, Jefferson County will be represented at the Democratic National Convention.
Last week, Port Townsend resident Lori Macklin was elected to be an at-large delegate to the Democratic National Convention, which begins on Aug. 25 in Denver.
Macklin became one of just 11 at-large Obama delegates selected to represent the state on the national stage.
She was chosen by statewide delegates from a pool of 84 finalists for the spot.
Macklin, the Obama Grassroots Organizer for Jefferson County, addressed the state convention in Spokane over the weekend.
Jefferson County has had “only two delegates to the national convention since 1960,” Macklin said in a speech to the convention.
“As a relief worker, I’ve been to 20 countries in the developing world and my husband Chris and I were grassroots community development workers in El Salvador for four and a half years, where we saw first-hand the effects of war and unfair trade policies on the world’s rural poor.
“Due to the effects of our foreign policies, families in the developing world are being forced to make decisions that we can’t even imagine.
“This election isn’t just about us, it’s about them. Let’s show the Republican Party what family values really look like.
“My name is Lori Macklin and I would be honored to represent rural Olympic Peninsula and the world’s poor in Denver with you in August.”
Macklin was unavailable for comment last week as she left for El Salvador with a medical team last Monday.
Teri Nomura, chair of the Jefferson County Democrats, said she was thrilled that Macklin was selected for the role at the national convention.
“The large cities like Seattle, Tacoma and Spokane tend to dominate [at the state convention] because they come from large organizations where people know them,” Nomura said.
“We don’t usually get representation in the rural areas, there are some counties that didn’t get any representation.”
According to Nomura, Macklin is the first Jefferson County delegate to go to the national convention since 1996, when Carol Grondahl went as a delegate for Bill Clinton.
Before that it you have to go back to 1960 to find a Jefferson County representative when Bonzo DeLeo was a national delegate for John F. Kennedy.
“It’s very exciting to have someone go because it plugs them in to the national scene,” Nomura said.
“We are so excited about Lori being able to go.
“She’s a shy, quiet woman and not someone who is bragging up her great points usually.
“But she’s worked in all these communities all over the world and she’s done some incredible humanitarian aide projects that go way beyond the scope of the ordinary person.
“They made a good choice.”
