Democratic convention draws 1,000 participants

More than 1,000 people gathered at Jacob Brown Auditorium on Saturday morning to participate in the Cameron County Democratic Convention - the next step in Texas' presidential primary.

It was the most well-attended county convention in recent memory, and the crowd, which included the 967 locally elected precinct delegates, kept the energy level high during the six hour meeting.

By the end of the convention, 80 delegates were selected to attend the state Democratic convention in Austin on June 6. Roughly two-thirds of the delegates are Hillary Clinton supporters and one-third are Barack Obama supporters.

From the state convention, several delegates will be chosen to attend the Democratic National Convention in Denver on Aug. 25, where the party's nominee will be officially chosen.

In addition to the practical purpose of Saturday's convention, the event also served as a rallying cry to local Democrats about the need to organize before November's general election. The party's county chairman, Gilberto Hinojosa, explained the Democrats' current travails.

"Ironically, our problem is that we have two great candidates," Hinojosa said, adding that "either will beat the pants off of the Republicans in November."

But within the auditorium, there was a clear divide. Although clusters of Obama signs were visible, the Illinois senator's supporters were outnumbered. Even when an Obama stump speech was projected on a large screen, Clinton supporters rose to their feet, co-opting Obama's campaign slogan, "Yes, we can."

While voters showed their support with chants and applause, a small group called the "credentials committee" reviewed the numerous problems resulting from the March 4 caucuses.

According to Jared Hockema, vice-chairman of the Cameron County Democratic Party, there were numerous names and forms missing, requiring a review of certain precincts' chosen delegates.

"In certain cases we couldn't figure out who the delegates were," Hockema said. "There were errors. Certain people weren't added to the list."

After meeting for several hours, the committee added a number of delegates and alternate delegates to the convention's list.

In the hours before the event concluded, groups gathered in the auditorium hallway to talk politics.

During a long career in broadcast journalism, David Cromwell became used to covering politics, rather than participating in the political process. The 2008 election is the first in which Cromwell has been active. Senator Obama's campaign got him excited, he said.

"It's a hectic convention, as one would expect it to be," he said. "Even though we're outnumbered, the Obama people stand tall."

For Cromwell, and many other participants, the convention marked the continuation of an exciting electoral year in Texas. When Sen. Obama visited UTB-TSC last month, he was able to shake his candidate's hand.

Julia Brebner, 18, voted in her first election in March. Thanks to coaxing from members of her precinct, she decided to sign up as a delegate.

"They though it would be a good experience for me - a good lesson on how politics works," Brebner said. "After this, I wouldn't mind getting even more involved."