Iowa DNC delegates eager to make history in Philadelphia

CEDAR RAPIDS - Tammy Wawro is going to the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia 'to see history and make history.”

The Cedar Rapids fifth-grade teacher is part of the 60-member Iowa Democratic Party delegation that will join about 4,500 other delegates Monday through Thursday to make Hillary Clinton the first female nominee of a major U.S. political party.

It's appropriate that happen in Philadelphia, 'the birthplace of our democracy,” said Iowa Democratic Party Chairwoman Andy McGuire.

'As someone who has fought my entire life against the discrimination against women and the glass ceilings and barriers I've hit, that will be a historic moment,” she said. 'The fact that we've come this far, finally, will be very historic.”

For Iowa delegates, Clinton's nomination will be the culmination of a long journey. Even before she formally entered the race in June 2015, Clinton went on a 'listening tour” that included Dean Genth's Mason City living room.

During the convention, Genth will build on that early meeting with Clinton to 'put forth a message of unity and organized effort to win races from ‘our house to the White House.'”

Unity is the overarching theme in delegates' expectations.

At the Feb. 1 Iowa caucuses, Iowa Democrats were closely split - 49.9 percent for Clinton and 49.6 percent for Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.

'Some people are still having trouble,” McGuire said. 'But I think the differences between what we stand for as Democrats - whether we were for Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders - and what the Republicans say they stand for are so different that I think we will have unity.”

First-time delegate state Sen. Rob Hogg of Cedar Rapids, who was neutral in the Clinton-Sanders race, hopes to see the Vermont independent's supporters 'like Sen. Sanders himself has done, rallying around Hillary Clinton.”

The hard-fought campaign may lead to some 'roll call drama” when state delegations cast their ballots, Hogg said. In addition to the official business of the convention, delegates will engage in a variety of issue-related activities. For example, Wawro, president of the Iowa State Education Association, will meet with other educators to develop an education agenda.

Genth, who along with his husband, Gary Swenson, were among the first legally married same-sex couples in Iowa, hopes to serve 'as a voice for, and an example of a gay same-sex married male who owes my current freedom and rights … to the values and successes of fair-minded Democratic candidates.”

Zach Wahls, 25, the author of 'My Two Moms,” plans to attend LGBT caucus meetings and participate in service projects. It will be his first DNC as a delegate, having spoke at the 2012 convention.

Wahls also will be promoting the Woman Cards, a 54-card deck featuring hand-drawn portraits of American women 'who changed the world even though the deck was stacked against them.”

He and his sister, Zebby, developed the cards. Sales of the 12,500 decks they've had printed will help cover his convention costs.

Delegate Christina Blackcloud of Tama is looking forward to networking with other Native American delegates. The director of senior services for the Meskwaki Nation plans to attend Native American caucus meetings on seniors' and women's issues.

'I want to learn more about what other people are doing in the different areas that I'm passionate about,” she said. 'I want to push all the different agendas that I would like to see happen and broaden my horizons.”

One thing McGuire doesn't anticipate being up for discussion is Iowa's first-in-the-nation precinct caucuses.

'I haven't heard of any attempt to change it,” she said.