Unconventional delegate blogs DNC events

Sonya, age 3 with Kennedy-Johnson bumper sticker

All is quiet on the ranch, horses, dogs and cats fed, and it is now time to take off the dusty cow girl hat wash the grain from my hands and trade the gloves for the keyboard. This is my latest adventure, the life of a delegate blogger and a western Colorado woman.

I have been chosen by my peers and friends to represent them at my first national convention as a Clinton delegate and the Denver Post asked me to tell you about it. While I've dabbled in politics before, blogging is something at which I am relatively new.

So....My first campaign was for Kennedy/Johnson at the age of three. I grew up in the atmosphere that is local and national politics, my mom is now the chair of the Mecklenburg County Board of Elections, the largest county in North Carolina.

My odyssey to become a delegate began over a year ago when I learned that Denver would host this year’s convention. After talking to my mom, who has been to conventions before, my interest was piqued and I decided to attend a White House Project training called, a ‘How to Become a Delegate.’ This training was enough to make me obsessed with representing my state of Colorado on the convention floor. Shout out to...www.thewhitehouseproject.org

I became a ‘campaign tart’ volunteering for as many candidates as I was able. I met new friends and reintroduced myself to others that had long lapsed. Each new connection was a potential vote for me. I began thinking of myself as a candidate and the work paid off! I was chosen as one of seven at large delegates off a ballot with 1400 people on it.

I am excited to be the voice and individual that represents those who elected me. Through my experiences, readers will find that I am not a party regular. I eagerly await visiting friends in the free speech zone (can you believe they have to stand in a cage?), reporting on convention covert floor actions, and giving voice to things that do not make the national media. The opportunity to hear many voices and learn from others’ perspectives is what makes the democratic party great and I look forward to sharing that diverse perspective with you.

GITTY UP Sonya

Sonya Jaquez Lewis is a licensed pharmacist, lecturer at CU’s School of Pharmacy, drummer and a lifelong Latina Democrat. Sonya creates change through Colorado Anti-Violence Project and Boulder Community United, Boulder Pride, Stonewall Democrats, Boulder County Resource Conservation Commission and drumming. She has deep roots to the Colorado region, coming from one of the original San Luis Valley ‘Hispano’ families. In addition to her Colorado roots Sonya is a GRIT, Girl Raised in the South, with political parents in North Carolina. She and her partner, Allison, live in unincorporated Boulder County with horses, dogs, cats and thousands of wild bunnies at the Rainbow Ranch.

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