Sacramento Democrats pick their presidential delegates

In a Democratic presidential race marked by peculiar twists, Ryan Loney had a topsy-turvy week of his own.

Loney, a Sen. Barack Obama die-hard, was heartbroken Wednesday when he learned the Obama campaign cut him from the list of candidates running to become California delegates at the Democratic National Convention.

After the campaign had a last-minute change of heart, reinstating Loney and hundreds of others, the University of California, Davis student had enough support Sunday at his caucus in Napa to win a trip to Denver as a convention alternate.

"I wasn't even going to be allowed take part in this the other day, and now I'm the runner-up vote-getter," Loney said. "It's pretty amazing how much changed in that short period of time."

Democrats participated Sunday in record numbers in small meetings around the state to pick 241 delegates to represent the voters who supported Obama or Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton in the presidential primary.

Just over 300 people turned out at the Tsakopoulos Library Galleria in downtown Sacramento to pick two delegates for Clinton.

On the steps outside the library building, Steve Maviglio, deputy chief of staff to Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez, handed out fliers depicting him as Uncle Sam, while the reverse side portrayed his running mate, Karen Skelton, as Rosie the Riveter.

Leah Cullis handed out cupcakes and cookies with her name on them while trying to persuade passers-by to send her to Denver. In the end, Maviglio and Skelton won the two Clinton seats in the 5th Congressional District, aided in part by a mail and phone drive in the last few days.

In brief speeches, delegate candidates declared their support for all things Hillary, expressing confidence she would be the nominee even as she trails Obama.

Eleni Tsakopoulos-Kounalakis, a Sacramento developer and Democratic donor who ran the Clinton event, said turnout was much higher than in past years, given that the nomination is still in limbo.

"Usually by the time we vote for pledged delegates, we know who the nominee is going to be, and this time we don't know," she said. "This time, neither of the top contenders has clinched the nomination, and it also seems that neither one will clinch it before August."

Across town at the Cordova Senior Center, Obama supporters hesitated for several minutes Sunday afternoon, some confused about where to go, until organizer Brian Dilkes put things in order.

"Are we fired up?" he shouted, eliciting cheers. "We're going to select the best delegates! For the best candidate! For the best party! For the best country in the world!"

With that, the first of 295 supporters at the Cordova center began circling names on photocopied ballots – no chads or bubble sheets – for three delegate seats and one alternate for the Democratic National Convention in August.

A four-person slate led by Kim Mack, chairwoman of the Sacramento for Obama office, swept the available spots, thanks to a huge turnout from volunteers who worked on the campaign. Many turned out Sunday to wave signs and help Mack's slate win.

"I know for me, I feel that if she goes, I go," said Phillip Austin, a Sacramento electrician holding a sign in the parking lot.

Mack also had help from Sacramento mayoral candidate Kevin Johnson, who stopped by the Obama caucus to shake the hands of hard-core Democrats and give Mack a boost.

At Mira Loma High School, Paula Villescaz scored a victory on her home turf and is on her way to Denver as a Clinton delegate. She's a 19-year-old student at University of California, Berkeley, who graduated from Mira Loma last year and counted on support from her former classmates and teachers to win.

"It's kind of surprising," she said. "I really didn't think I was going to win because of who I was running against. These people were really big-shot people, and I'm just a young Democrat who can organize well."

Villescaz also benefited from a deal with Dennis Mangers, a cable lobbyist in the Capitol, to share support and run as a slate.

A record 2,850 people applied to become pledged delegates for Clinton and Obama this year. The two candidates were able to reduce the lists as they saw fit. Clinton cut about three dozen applicants, while Obama initially cut more than 800 out of 1,400, including many grass-roots supporters like Loney.

Before the cuts were made, local volunteers said each side was worried its opponent's backers would infiltrate the other's caucuses.

Obama's campaign never explained why it made its initial cuts, and it received a flood of complaints. The campaign reversed its decision Thursday, allowing all of the applicants to run Sunday.

Out of the 241 delegates selected statewide Sunday, 134 were for Clinton and 107 were for Obama, based on Clinton winning more districts statewide in February. State party leaders will choose another 129 pledged delegates in May, while the state also has 71 superdelegates who are free to select whomever they want.

About the writer:

• Call Kevin Yamamura, Bee Capitol Bureau, (916) 326-5548.