The Free Press, Mankato, MN

Local News

August 29, 2008

Local delegates return with sense of history

Walz, Sellner inspired by Obama's milestone

By Mark Fischenich

MANKATO — Four years ago, when Democrats were convening in Boston with hopes of making George W. Bush a one-term president, Tim Walz was watching John Kerry on TV as the Massachusetts senator accepted the party’s nomination.

A Mankato West geography teacher who had never been particularly active in partisan politics, Walz was watching the speech on TV at his in-laws house. His wife Gwen — apparently something of a nut when it comes to political conventions — never misses either party’s big party, watching the television coverage from gavel to gavel.

This time around, Walz was a delegate at the Democratic National Convention and Gwen was at his side for Barack Obama’s acceptance speech before more than 80,000 people at Denver’s Invesco Field.

“It’s not often that you get to realize that you’re probably standing at an historic moment,” said Walz, driving home from the Twin Cities airport Friday morning. “... It was just amazing.”

Walz not only was a delegate, he was a “superdelegate.” That’s what Democrats call the automatic delegate spots awarded to members of Congress and other party leaders.

Walz’s activation in partisan politics actually began just days after the 2004 DNC, when he went to a Mankato speech by Bush and saw a student accompanying him excluded from the event because he had a Kerry sticker on his wallet. Offended by the idea that a Democratic studentwouldn’t be allowed to see his president speak, Walz became an active volunteer in Kerry’s campaign.

By the end of the year, he was considering a run for Congress. And in 2006, he upset a 12-year-incumbent congressman.

Up for re-election this fall, Walz attended only the final two days of the convention and planned to be back at work by noon Friday. But the two-day trip allowed him to see the speeches by Bill Clinton and vice presidential nominee Joe Biden, to participate in the nomination, and to see the huge rally on Friday.

Unlike Walz, Lori Sellner of Sleepy Eye was a delegate in Boston four years ago and she was back for more in Denver this week. Sellner said Walz got to see the best one.

“Far better, far better,” Sellner said. “This was far more exciting, and you know it’s historic — to be nominating the first African-American for president.”

After resting a couple of day, Sellner plans to be working on behalf of Obama and other Democratic candidates by Monday. And she expects the exhilaration she felt during the week in Denver to motivate her through Nov. 4 and beyond.

“It’s something that brings about an inspiration, sort of a call to always stay involved, to be a part of solving the problems we have,” she said.

Walz, too, said he’s ready for the campaign season to begin in earnest. A former football coach, he compared everything before the convention to the pre-season.

“We’re ready to kick things off and see what we can get done,” he said.

Both are optimistic about Obama’s chances.

Sellner, who four years ago left Boston planning to make a second political trip to see Kerry’s inauguration, ended up traveling to Washington, D.C. two years later instead — to see Walz sworn in. Now, she’s thinking she might have to scrape together the money for one more airline ticket in January, when she is hopeful Obama will be inaugurated.

“I’ve saved a week of vacation,” she said.

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