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CHRIS JOHNSON
Friday, August 22, 2008
Among
the
4,440
delegates
headed
to
Denver
next
week
for
the
2008
Democratic
National
Convention
are
gay
delegates
from
Maryland,
D.C.
and
Virginia
who
remain
strongly
devoted
to
the
candidates
they
supported
in
the
primary.
Twelve
of
the
239
delegates
that
Maryland,
D.C.
and
Virginia
are
sending
to
the
convention
are
openly
gay,
including
three
from
Maryland,
four
from
D.C.,
and
five
from
Virginia.
Delegates
will
voice
support
for
their
candidates
Wednesday
and
are
expected
to
anoint
Sen.
Barack
Obama
as
the
Democratic
Party’s
presidential
nominee.
Obama
edged
out
Sen.
Hillary
Clinton
to
secure
the
nomination,
but
some
local
gay
delegates
who
supported
Clinton
during
the
primary
remain
loyal
to
her.
Allida
Black,
an
Arlington,
Va.,
resident,
said
she
is
“absolutely
bedrock
committed”
to
Clinton.
Black
said
she
has
worked
on
presidential
campaigns
since
1968
and
called
Clinton
the
best
presidential
candidate
of
her
lifetime.
Black
said
she
wanted
to
attend
the
convention
as
a
delegate
because
“to
miss
the
election
of
my
lifetime
with
the
candidate
of
my
lifetime
would
be
very
painful
for
me.”
She
has
attended
Democratic
conventions
before
as
a
member
of
the
press,
but
not
as
a
delegate.
Black,
a
56-year-old
lesbian,
lives
with
her
partner
of
17
years,
Judy
Beak,
58.
A
history
professor
at
George
Washington
University,
Black
runs
the
Eleanor
Roosevelt
Papers
Project,
an
organization
that
collects
the
former
first
lady’s
writings
and
speeches
to
encourage
work
in
human
rights
issues.
Black
said
she
worked
her
“heart
and
soul
out
for
Hillary”
by
cashing
in
her
retirement
savings
and
campaigning
for
the
candidate
in
14
states
for
19
months.
Before
the
presidential
campaign,
Black
said
she
worked
with
Clinton
for
17
years
on
human
rights
and
social
justice
issues.
“I
know
what
this
woman
can
do
—
I’ve
seen
her
do
it,”
Black
said.
Black
said
she
intends
to
support
Obama
in
the
general
election,
but
is
“just
not
going
door-to-door
in
14
states”
because
she
does
not
have
the
resources
to
make
that
commitment.
At
the
convention,
Black
said
she
hopes
“Hillary
gets
the
respect
and
the
attention
that
the
campaign
deserves,
and
that
people
see
that
she
is
sincere
in
her
support
for
Sen.
Obama.”
Black
said
she
also
wants
Obama
to
“show
the
country
that
in
fact
he
can
lead
and
can
bring
people
together.”
Obama
needs
to
show
that
“he
is
not
intimidated
by
other
strong
leaders
in
the
party,”
she
said.
“I
think
that
this
is
a
great
opportunity
for
Sen.
Obama
to
say,
‘Not
only
do
I
want
change,
but
this
is
how
I
will
lead
and
I
will
lead
by
bringing
in
all
of
my
rivals
into
the
tent
and
building
a
coalition
that
will
take
us
forward,’”
Black
said.
‘A
great
candidate’
Paul
Smedberg,
an
Alexandria,
Va.,
resident,
said
he
was
interested
in
being
a
delegate
because
he
“felt
strongly
about
Sen.
Clinton
and
thought
that
she
would
be
a
great
candidate.”
Smedberg,
47,
a
gay
member
of
the
Alexandria
City
Council
and
policy
director
at
the
American
Society
of
Nephrology,
has
not
previously
attended
a
Democratic
convention.
He
lives
in
Alexandria
with
his
partner
of
14
years,
Michael
Molesky,
38.
Smedberg
served
on
Clinton’s
gay
steering
committee,
which
informed
the
campaign’s
policy
on
gay
issues.
He
also
took
part
in
grassroots
activities,
including
sending
e-mails
and
participating
in
conference
calls.
The
council
member
said
he
supported
Clinton
during
the
primary
because
he
collaborated
with
her
office
on
health
care
issues
over
the
years
and
was
impressed
with
her
work.
“I
think
she
really
understood
a
lot
of
the
issues,”
he
said.
“I
thought
she
brought
a
great
resume.”
Smedberg
said
he
“absolutely”
intends
to
give
Obama
the
same
level
of
support
he
gave
to
Clinton.
Control
over
domestic
issues,
such
as
determining
who
will
sit
on
the
U.S.
Supreme
Court,
should
be
in
the
hands
of
a
Democrat,
he
said.
“Obama
won
the
delegates
needed
to
be
the
nominee
and
I’m
certainly
going
to
support
him
when
he
gets
the
nomination,”
he
said.
“I
think
we’ve
all
got
to
come
together
and
really
support
the
candidate
in
November.”
Smedberg
said
at
the
convention
Democrats
need
to
“have
a
clear
message
for
what
we
want
to
bring
forward”
and
“clearly
define
…
why
Sen.
Obama
is
the
better
candidate
for
this
time.”
A
number
of
Obama
supporters
also
are
among
the
local
gay
delegates.
Jerry
Clark,
a
gay
D.C.
resident,
said
he
supported
Obama
during
the
campaign
because
D.C.
for
Democracy,
an
activist
group
for
which
he
serves
as
political
director,
endorsed
the
candidate
last
year
with
a
more
than
two-thirds
vote.
Clark
said
he
also
believed
Obama
was
“going
to
be
the
candidate
most
likely
to
win
and
to
bring
about
significant
change
in
this
country.”
Clark,
67,
said
he
wanted
to
be
a
delegate
at
the
convention
because
he
“wanted
to
know
what
the
experience
would
be
like”
and
didn’t
know
if
his
age
would
permit
him
to
attend
future
conventions.
He
attended
the
2000
convention
in
Los
Angeles
and
the
2004
convention
in
Boston,
but
neither
time
as
a
delegate.
Clark
also
said
he
wanted
to
participate
in
the
convention
to
ensure
there
was
representation
at
the
event
from
the
gay
community
in
D.C.
Clark,
who
has
lived
in
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