Meet Colorado's delegates

By Lynn Bartels, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published May 25, 2008 at 11:15 p.m.
Updated May 25, 2008 at 11:53 p.m.

Text size

Rep. Terrance Carroll

Brenda Krause

Lynn Young

Jessica Clark

Vivian Stovall

Jayne Bilberry

Brian O'Donnell

Joe Torres

Mary Beth Pyle

Blanca O'Leary

Nate Vanderschaaf

Shari Malloy

Paul L. Anderson

Mike Maday

Ben Taber

Stan Matsunaka

Kathy Ensz

Veronica Barela

Mona Merchant

Rep. Rosemary Marshall

Paul Lopez

Allison Cotton

More Delegates and Volunteers

More stories »

Five thousand Democrats will pack Denver's Pepsi Center Aug. 25 to witness history in the making. Among them will be 70 Coloradans who will serve as delegates to the 2008 Democratic National Convention, as well as nine alternates.

The Rocky Mountain News is publishing snapshots of Colorado's delegation. Last week it was delegates from Congressional Districts 1, 2, 6 and 7. Today it's delegates from Congressional Districts 3, 4 and 5, and the seven delegates elected from a category for party workers or elected officials. Next we'll look at the superdelegates and those who were elected at-large.

Republicans will send 46 delegates and 43 alternates to their national convention in St. Paul, Minn., in September. The last of those delegates will be elected Friday and Saturday at the state convention in Broomfield. GOP delegate profiles will be published later.

3rd Congressional District

* JAYNE BILBERRY

Age: 50

Occupation: Food services

City: Montrose

Family: Married for 15 years to Brad; their son, Jack, is 10.

Pets: None

Years in Colorado: 20; moved here from Upper Michigan.

Of all Colorado's elected leaders, living or dead, whom do you most admire? Rep. Kathleen Curry, D-Gunnison, for balancing family and the legislature as do many women with careers and families.

Supporting: Barack Obama

Is this your first time as a national delegate? Yes. I've been told that I'm Montrose County's first female delegate to a National Democratic Convention.

Why do you think you were picked this year? I campaigned hard. I didn't take it lightly. The delegation from Montrose County helped me secure my win. I called them my campaign team.

Why did you want to be a delegate? I felt strongly about having a representative from western Colorado.

Dream ticket: Obama and a Western representative, such as New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer or our own U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar.

First political experience: I got introduced to politics by my local county commissioner, Bill Patterson, and his wife, Judy. I just hit the floor running once I found out it was my passion in life.

First presidential vote: Oh boy, that probably would have been Jimmy Carter, but I can't say with 100 percent accuracy.

* BRIAN O'DONNELL

Age: 37

Occupation: Executive director of a conservation foundation

City: Durango

Family: Wife Melyssa and 5-month-old daughter Kara

Pets: Paco, a mutt born outside Mancos

Years in Colorado: 10

Of all Colorado's elected leaders, living or dead, whom do you most admire? U.S. Rep. Mark Udall. I think he's doing a great job.

Supporting: Obama

Is this your first time as a national delegate? Yes

Why do you think you were picked this year? I've done a lot of volunteer work for Democrats. I think we had a number of small counties work together to help make sure we had representation at the convention.

Why did you want to be a delegate? I think Barack Obama is one of the most inspirational candidates we've had in my lifetime. I'm excited to see an African-American have a chance to become president.

Dream ticket: I like Bill Richardson a lot. I think it would be great to have a Westerner. I think having someone who's been governor is always a good choice.

First political experience: Probably volunteering for a congressional campaign in college, likely in 1988. I think I've always been interested in politics.

First presidential vote: George H. W. Bush in 1988. That's the last vote I cast for a Republican. I was a Republican when I was younger. Then I grew up and got smarter.

* BLANCA O'LEARY

Age: 50

Occupation: Lawyer

City: Aspen

Family: Her husband of 23 years, Cavanaugh O'Leary Jr., and son, Cavanaugh O'Leary III, 11

Pets: Harlee, a yellow lab

Years in Colorado: Since 2001; moved from Houston.

Of all Colorado's elected leaders, living or dead, whom do you most admire? U.S. Rep. Mark Udall because he courageously voted against going into the Iraq war in the first place and because he has an impeccable record on the environment. Protection of the environment is in his DNA.

Supporting: Obama

Is this your first time as a national delegate? Yes

Why do you think you were picked this year? I did my postcards early in May. I sent them out to all of the Obama delegates in my district. I hand-wrote notes on them. People liked that. And I had great buddies who helped me.

Why did you want to be a delegate? I met Obama three years ago after his speech in Boston. I very much wanted to work for somebody who thinks there is no Red America, no Blue America, there is a United States of America.

Dream ticket: Barack Obama and Bill Richardson

First political experience: We lived in Texas and my dad had this giant sign that said, "Sissy Farenthold for governor." She was running against a good ol' boy. That ticked off all the neighbors. It was wonderful. I was 12.

First presidential vote: Jimmy Carter

* MARY BETH PYLE

Age: 64

Occupation: Home stager - prepares houses for sale

City: Grand Junction

Family: Married almost 45 years to Dale Pyle; three grown sons, Greg, Jeff and Todd; and 10 grandchildren.

Pets: None

Years in Colorado: All my life

Of all Colorado's elected leaders, living or dead, whom do you most admire? Former Gov. Roy Romer. He was a great governor. He was just very personable.

Supporting: Hillary Clinton

Is this your first time as a national delegate? Yes. I tried before but never made it.

Why do you think you were picked this year? I hope I had the support of our Mesa County delegates, as I am the county Democratic chair. And I had support from Moffatt County, where I lived for years and also was county chair.

Why did you want to be a delegate? I have just watched it every four years on TV. I think it's the most exciting thing. If you're in politics, it's the ultimate. It's the World Series, the Super Bowl, the Stanley Cup.

Dream ticket: Clinton and Bill Richardson. I really like the New Mexico governor. He has credentials that are absolutely amazing.

First political experience: I went to my first caucus in 1972 in Longmont. I drove by the address because it was a house. I thought, "How can they get 100 people in a house?" Well, there were five people there. I was elected precinct committeewoman and I didn't even know what it was.

First presidential vote: I think Lyndon Johnson.

* JOE TORRES

Age: 71

Occupation: Retired maintenance worker for School District 60; now a telemarketer

City: Pueblo

Family: Married to Evelyn; four adult children, Dennis, Pamela, Tayna and Christopher

Pets: Two labs, a black one named Maya and yellow one named Tonto

Years in Colorado: Born and raised in Pueblo

Of all Colorado's elected leaders, living or dead, whom do you most admire? Roy Romer. He's one of my favorite guys.

Supporting: Clinton

Is this your first time as a national delegate? Yes. I tried but failed on three different occasions, in part because I missed filing deadlines for my letter of intent.

Why do you think you were picked this year? I'm an old Democratic Party activist, worked on a ton of campaigns, going way, way back.

Dream ticket: Clinton-Obama.

First political experience: When I was a kid, way before I was old enough to vote, my mother would have us going to the polling places to pass out literature.

First presidential vote: Jack Kennedy

* NICK ISENBERG

Alternate

Age: 65

City: Glenwood Springs

Supports: Obama

4th Congressional District

* PAUL L. ANDERSON

Age: 63

Occupation: Producer of corporate multimedia

City: Fort Collins

Family: Wife Melisse; three grown daughters, Sarah, Audrey and Emily; four grandchildren

Pets: None now. Lucy, our golden retriever, is in heaven.

Years in Colorado: Came in 1977 from Ohio.

Of all Colorado's elected leaders, living or dead, whom do you most admire? Former U.S. Sen. Tim Wirth

Supporting: Obama

How did you campaign to get picked as a delegate? Started as a precinct captain and got involved as a volunteer at the Obama phone bank.

Dream ticket: I have confidence in Obama's wisdom to choose the right person . . . but I wish it could include Bobby Kennedy.

First political experience: I'm a '60s kid. I was involved in the anti-war movement and especially in the Selma-Montgomery civil rights march. That was life-changing.

First presidential vote: Hubert Humphrey in 1968

* KATHY ENSZ

Age: 65

Occupation: Retired French teacher at University of Northern Colorado

City: Greeley

Family: Me

Pets: Madame JoJo de Beaujolais, a German shepherd, and Putter, a cat

Years in Colorado: Since 1970

Of all Colorado's elected leaders, living or dead, whom do you most admire? Former U.S. Rep. Pat Schroeder of Denver

Supporting: Clinton

How did you campaign to get picked as a delegate? Handed out write-ups of a 2006 incident in which she left a "deposit" from her dog JoJo outside the door of Republican foe, Rep. Marilyn Musgrave. Ensz was tried and cleared of criminal wrongdoing. She wanted to remind Democrats: "I had the courage to challenge Marilyn Musgrave and the district attorney."

Dream ticket: Clinton and Obama

First political experience: Working with the Weld County Democratic Party during the 2000 Gore-Bush presidential contest.

First presidential vote: Nelson Rockefeller in the 1964 Republican primary in an attempt to block Barry Goldwater's nomination.

* SHARI MALLOY

Age: 48

Occupation: Schoolteacher

City: Longmont

Family: Children, Brian Rafferty, 18, and Colleen Rafferty, 17

Pets: Shea, a border collie/golden mix, and Peanut, a tabby

Years in Colorado: 24

Of all Colorado's elected leaders, living or dead, whom do you most admire? I'm very, very pleased with Gov Bill Ritter.

Supporting:Obama

How did you campaign to get picked as a delegate? I sent out postcards with a Dr. Seuss slogan: "If someone like you doesn't care a whole lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not." I also included a photo of myself poking my head out of an outhouse roof with the caption, "Let's get out of the outhouse and into the White House." People at the convention said they loved it.

Dream ticket: Obama and former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards

First political experience: My first experience was after Colorado passed that hideous Amendment 2 (which prohibited the creation of a special protective class for gays and lesbians).

First presidential vote: Jimmy Carter in 1976

* STAN MATSUNAKA

Age: 54

Occupation: Attorney

City: Loveland

Family: Wife, Kathy; three adult children, Melissa, Brian and Kristi

Pets: Labradors Ginger and Rocky and Nicky, a cocker spaniel

Years in Colorado: 54 years; born in Akron

Of all Colorado's elected leaders, living or dead, whom do you most admire? Gov. Ralph Carr, the only one who had the courage to oppose Japanese-American internments during World War II

Supporting: Clinton

How did you campaign to get picked as a delegate? From my past political experience as the former Senate president in Colorado and past campaigns for Congress - they at least knew who I was.

Dream ticket: Clinton-Obama

First political experience: Running for the state Senate in 1994

First presidential vote: George McGovern in 1972

* NATE VANDERSCHAAF

Age: 34

Occupation: Computer network engineer

City: Longmont

Family: Wife, Laura; daughter Natalie, 3; son Max, 5 months

Pets: None

Years in Colorado: Eight

Of all Colorado's elected leaders, living or dead, whom do you most admire? I'm a big fan of Gov. Bill Ritter.

Supporting: Obama

How did you campaign to get picked as a delegate? I became known at the county convention as the guy who has an electric car similar to the cars featured in the 2006 documentary movie, Who Killed the Electric Car? So few of these are left; most were crushed as the movie was made. I bought mine, a Toyota RAV4 EV, for $40,000 from people featured in the movie. I paid a collector's price - originally it was $29,000. People voted for me because they want to see these amazing cars, which are the solution to our environment, energy and oil problems.

Dream ticket: Not Hillary

First political experience: I catapulted out of nowhere at the Feb. 5 caucuses strictly on the shock and awe of my automobile and the hope it represents.

First presidential vote: Bill Clinton in 1992

* PAM SHADDOCK

Alternate

City: Greeley

5th Congressional District

* BRENDA KRAUSE

Age: 55

Occupation: Realtor

City: Colorado Springs

Family: Husband, Greg; daughter, Ashley, 24

Pets: Boxers Rockie and Rufie, and chow, Pokie.

Years in Colorado: 21

Of all Colorado's elected leaders, both living and dead, whom do you most admire? Don't know

Supporting: Clinton

Is this your first time as a national delegate? Yes

How did you campaign? By default I ended up in February as the volunteer chairperson for Clinton. I just spent lots of time and hours to support her . . . I got to know people because I was calling all the time.

Dream ticket: Hillary Clinton and whomever she chooses. If it's Hillary-Obama, I can live with that.

First political experience: This campaign. I've never been involved in politics before.

First presidential vote: Jimmy Carter

* MIKE MADAY

Age: 54

Occupation: Mediator/social worker

City: Colorado Springs

Family: Wife, Nancy; sons, Matt, 22, and Chris, 19

Pets: Middle-size mutt, Duke

Years in Colorado: 26

Of all Colorado's elected leaders, living or dead, whom do you most admire? Former Gov. Roy Romer and U.S. Rep. Mark Udall

Supporting: Obama

Is this your first time as a national delegate? Yes

How did you campaign? I've been active with the local Obama group since last spring. We just tried to get our supporters to the convention.

Dream ticket: Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, Chris Dodd, Bill Richardson. You could kind of go on and on.

First political experience: Volunteered for George McGovern in 1972 in Minnesota and was a delegate to the county convention on his behalf.

First presidential vote: George McGovern

* BEN TABER

Age: 18

Occupation: Graduated from Coronado High School last week, will be a freshman at Colorado College in the fall

City: Colorado Springs

Family: Parents, Mike and Kara Taber; two sisters

Years in Colorado: 12

Of all Colorado's elected leaders, living or dead, whom do you admire the most? Gen. William Palmer, who helped found Colorado Springs, and Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper

Supporting: Obama

Is this your first time as a national delegate? Yes

How did you campaign? I created cards that had a little bit of biographical information and a picture, and I passed them around and introduced myself to people.

Dream ticket: Obama and Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius

First political experience: Volunteer for John Kerry in 2004

First presidential vote: Obama or Clinton. Most likely Obama.

* LYNN YOUNG

Age: 53

Occupation: Life coach

City: Colorado Springs

Family: Husband, Benjamin; children, Patrick, 23, and Meg, 22

Pets: Cats, Sam and Winston

Years in Colorado: 17

Of all Colorado's elected leaders, living or dead, whom do you most admire? Gov. Bill Ritter. He's leading with this tremendous expertise, which is linked together with compassion, and he's doing that in a real passionate way.

Supporting: Obama

Is this your first time as a national delegate? Yes

Why do you think you were picked this year? The thing I did was to work on the campaign itself . . . (I was) very publicly Obama from sunup to sundown. I also wore a T-shirt with my name on it at the district convention and gave out leaflets and stickers.

Dream ticket: I want to leave that up to the campaign.

First political experience:I attended a caucus in Minnesota in 1972.

First presidential vote: Jimmy Carter.

* JASON DEGROOT

Alternate

Age: 35

City: Colorado Springs

Supporting: Obama

Elected officials, party workers

* VERONICA BARELA

Age: 62

Occupation: President/CEO of NEWSED Community Development

City: Denver

Family: Husband Thatcher; two grown daughters, Anna Abeyta and Andrea Barela; four grandsons

Pets: Two cats, Baby and Little Foot

Years in Colorado: Native

Of all Colorado's elected leaders, living or dead, whom do you most admire? Former Denver Mayor Wellington Webb, U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar and U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette

Supporting: Obama

Eligibility for category: Precinct committee person

Is this your first time as a national delegate? Yes

How did you campaign? I printed vote cards and handed them out at the different conventions, and I called people.

Why do you think you were picked? I've been a really strong supporter of Obama.

Dream ticket: Obama and John Kerry

First political experience: As a child, my mom always was a strong Democrat and was part of the precinct process, and I was always with her and helping her. Her favorite president was Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

First presidential vote: Campaigned for John F. Kennedy and voted for Lyndon Johnson.

* REP. TERRANCE CARROLL

Age: 39

City: Denver

Occupation: Legislator

Pets: None

Years in Colorado: 16

Of all of Colorado's elected leaders, living or dead, whom do you most admire? Ralph Carr, governor from 1939 to 1943, because he stood up for Japanese-Americans at a time when it wasn't popular to do that.

Supporting: Obama

Eligibility for category: Elected official, chairman of 1st Congressional District convention

Is this your first time as a national delegate? Yes, I'm pretty excited about it.

How did you campaign to win your national delegate seat? I've been pretty involved in the campaign from the beginning.

Dream ticket: Obama and Gen. Wesley Clark

First political experience: In 1976 I waved signs for Jimmy Carter. I think I was 7.

First presidential vote: 1988 for Michael Dukakis

* JESSICA CLARK

Age: 29

Occupation: Sales management for resort real estate

City: Parker

Family: Husband, Razvan Carcoana

Pets: Two dogs and a cat

Years in Colorado: Her whole life

Of all Colorado's elected leaders, living or dead, whom do you most admire? Former Lt. Gov. Gail Schoettler

Supporting: Clinton

Eligibility for category: Precinct committee person

Is this your first time as a national delegate? Yes. This is my first time doing anything in politics.

Why do you think you were picked this year? I worked really hard at it.

Why did you want to be a delegate? I wanted to be a young voice for Hillary Clinton. A lot of people think Obama has all the youth. It's not true.

Dream ticket: I think the most uniting ticket would be Clinton with Obama as the vice president.

First political experience: I've voted before, but this is my first time in looking at how politics works on a local level. I'm really hopeful that local politics gets more efficient. I've heard Bill Clinton speak before. Loved him. I grew up in the Clinton years. The economy was great.

First presidential vote: Al Gore

* PAUL D. LOPEZ

Age: 29

Occupation: Denver city councilman

City: Denver

Family: Wife Marisol; daughter Nayeli turns 1 next week

Pets: None

Years in Colorado: Born and raised in west Denver

Of all Colorado's elected leaders, living or dead, whom do you most admire? Rodolfo "Corky" Gonzales and Rich Castro

Supporting: Obama

Is this your first time as a national delegate? Yes. It's my first time ever going to a caucus, county assembly. It's a first for everything.

How did you campaign? I've been campaigning for Obama for almost a year. I'm a surrogate. We help him campaign and deliver his message.

Dream ticket: Obama and John Edwards

First political experience: I was 13 years old, and I began campaigning to rename Westwood Elementary, which was going to be rebuilt, the Richard T. Castro Elementary School. I remember going door to door. We got it dedicated in his name.

First presidential vote: Bill Clinton in 1996

* REP. ROSEMARY MARSHALL

Age: 66

Occupation: Retired director of policy for the state Department of Labor and Employment; state lawmaker

City: Denver

Family: Husband Cleophus; three grown daughters

Pets: None

Years in Colorado: Native

Of all Colorado's elected leaders, living or dead, whom do you most admire? I couldn't pick just one.

Supporting: Obama

Eligibility for category: Elected official

Is this your first time as a national delegate? Yes. I was an alternate once before.

Why do you think you were picked this year? I have been committed to the candidacy of Barack Obama since its inception.

Dream ticket: I'm sure Barack Obama will be very thoughtful about this.

First political experience: Involved since the 1960s.

First presidential vote: John F. Kennedy

* MONA MERCHANT

Age: 61

Occupation: Retired Frontier Airlines marketing official; former biology professor at Metropolitan State College of Denver

City: Lakewood

Family: Husband Kirit. We were married on Aug. 25, 1973. I got my Ph.D in the morning and got married in the evening. I told my husband I wanted to have my maiden name on my diploma. I'll be celebrating my 35th anniversary during the convention. Two children, Monisha Merchant, 31 (she's also a delegate), and Kunal Merchant, 28.

Pets: None

Years in Colorado: 32; moved from Florida, born in India.

Of all Colorado's elected leaders, living or dead, whom do you most admire? Former U.S. Rep. Pat Schroeder

Supporting: Clinton

Eligibility for category: State House District 22 chairwoman and a state central committee member

Is this your first time as a national delegate? Yes

Why do you think you were picked this year? I started working on the Hillary campaign last July. I was on her staff as a regional field director. I knew quite a lot of people. I held information sessions regarding the caucuses and the caucus process. I also did a mailing.

Dream ticket: Clinton and Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh

First political experience: When I was in school back in India I met first lady Jackie Kennedy. It was a dream come true.

First presidential vote: Walter Mondale and Geraldine Ferraro

* VIVIAN STOVALL

Age: 60

Occupation: Retired city and county of Denver employee

City: Denver

Family: Two adult children, Tizzeda Stovall and Sean Stovall; three grandchildren

Pets: None

Years in Colorado: Since 1972

Of all Colorado's elected leaders, living or dead, whom do you most admire? The late state Rep. Arie Taylor. She was down to earth and to the point. She could communicate with anyone.

Supporting: Obama

Eligibility for category: I chair the African-American Initiative of the Colorado Democratic Party, and I'm precinct committee chairwoman for House District 4.

Is this your first time as a national delegate? No. I attended the Democratic National Convention in 2000 in Los Angeles and the DNC in Chicago in 1968. I was there as a college student. I demonstrated. And I have a scar on my forehead to remember it by.

How you campaigned: Phone calls, mailings, signs. I've helped mentor a lot of people, and I've done a lot of outreach. I also supported Obama before he announced.

Dream ticket: Obama and John Edwards

First political experience: The civil rights movement in Washington and Louisiana. Worked on Robert Kennedy's presidential campaign.

First presidential vote: Carter

7th Congressional District

The following delegate was inadvertently left out of last week's coverage.

* ALLISON COTTON

Age: 39

Occupation: Professor of criminology, Metropolitan State College of Denver

Family: Single

Pets: None

Years in Colorado: Native

Of all Colorado's elected leaders, living or dead, whom do you most admire? Former Denver Mayor Federico Pena and former Gov. Roy Romer. Both were strong on jobs and the economy.

Supporting: Obama

Is this your first time as a national delegate? Yes

Why do you think you were picked this year? I've been really involved with the Obama campaign since the beginning. I've done everything from being a precinct captain to doing a mock caucus for my sorority. So I met a lot of people. And I did give out a flier, although mine was not so fancy as everyone else's.

Dream ticket: Sen. James Webb of Virginia or former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards.

First political experience: I became politically active in college in 1987 at the University of Colorado in Boulder when the Black Student Alliance put together a shantytown to protest apartheid in South Africa.

First presidential vote: Michael Dukakis in 1988

Subscribe to the Rocky Mountain News