When one is first elected as a county or state delegate, it is easy to fall into the belief that as delegates, we don’t really amount to much. That we have all the influence of a single drop of water in a whole pail of water. Many would consider the role of a county delegate just about the lowest rung on the hierarchy of political office imaginable.
While parents often dream that their kids might some day aspire to being the president, or a senator or governor, I’ve yet to hear anyone say about a newborn, maybe he’ll be a county delegate some day.
It’s not a glamorous role, and not very powerful, but it does have it’s influence and it extends beyond simply casting one’s vote for a presidential nominee. This weekend, I got to find out in a very personal way how important this role really is.
I was elected as a county delegate from my precinct at the Colorado caucus last month. This weekend we had our county convention where I was elected to the state delegation as well. It was my first political convention, and one where I unexpectedly played a role that far exceeded the level of influence that I would ever have imagined.
It was not simply my votes for Barack Obama for president, Mark Udall for US Senate, Mike Collins for CO6, nor any of the myriad of state and county legislative offices. In fact it was not a vote for any office at all.
Included within the responsibilities of a delegate, is the definition of party platform planks. Something that I will admit, I did not even realize was part of the job. It’s just not what most people think of when they go to a caucus. Most people are thinking about the Presidential choices, senate and congressional offices are an afterthought and the local legislative positions don’t usually even enter one’s thought process at the first step at least. The platform? Well that’s just about at the bottom of most peoples list, if it’s even on the list.
However, I saw just how important platform voting and modification really can be. You see, there was a platform plank regarding disabilities legislation in Colorado. A woman had proposed a modification to the plank to support the notion of eliminating the waiting list in Colorado for receiving services for children with autism, mental retardation, and other developmental disabilities. That waiting list can be up to 10 years in some cases.
It seemed like a good idea to most and the woman received what I would describe as polite applause after reading her proposed change. Then a middle aged blind gentleman rose to speak in opposition to the proposed change. He was a good distance from the microphone in a very large auditorium. A young man helped escort him through the crowded room that was literally stuffed with humanity wall to wall. Finally he reached the microphone.
He made a brief statement, saying that if the waiting list were abolished only for those conditions described, then it would constitute a form of discrimination against people who had disabilities not included in the list. He received somewhat more forceful applause than the amendee did.
As the father of a child on the autism spectrum, I know very well the travails of parents and children with this disorder. I know for example that early intervention can be very helpful, but it can only be effective if it is indeed early. My daughter, who could make no eye contact and had no speech whatsoever at the age of three, has made tremendous progress since then, and I am convinced that early intervention played a huge role in her development.
So, I rose to speak in support of the amendment. I explained very briefly that as the father of an Autistic child, I knew that timing was very much of the essence. That these children need to begin receiving treatment by the age of three, and that if they have to wait 10 years, well guess what happens. I received somewhat more thunderous applause and the vote which, I believe may well have been in jeopardy had I not acted, approved the amendment.
These changes will be introduced in our State convention now, and if they are again approved at that level, next year when our legislators take their seats, they will be fighting to remove this onerous and counterproductive waiting period for people who need the immediate attention that is required by these conditions.
I never expected to speak, or to make much of a difference as a mere county delegate. I would not have believed that one delegate could have had that kind of an impact. And I’ll never know, whether the amendment would have passed even if I had not chosen to act. But the potential consequences of not acting could have been significant for a great many developmentally disabled kids in Colorado.
So, if you are a delegate, whether it be County, State, National, or Super, don’t underestimate the importance of the role. We all have a role to play, and it can sometimes take on far greater significance than one might ever have thought it could.