Brian Tumulty

btumulty@gannett.com | @NYinDC

PHILADELPHIA – New York supporters of Hillary Clinton attending the Democratic National Convention reacted positively Sunday to her decision to choose Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine as her running mate. But convention delegates pledged to Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders had mixed feelings.

Clinton announced her selection via text message Friday evening. Kaine is a former governor and missionary from a battleground state who is fluent in Spanish. He showcased his Spanish skills Saturday at a rally with Clinton in Florida.

But New York delegates and guests who were checking into their downtown Philadelphia hotel Sunday, the day before the convention begins, were mostly concerned about policy issues.

“I think (Kaine) is a medium choice at best,’’ said Bill Benet, a university professor, a former member of the Monroe County Legislature and a Sanders delegate.

Benet was critical of Kaine’s support of state right-to-work laws prevalent in many Southern states, including Virginia, that allow union workers to avoid paying dues to their collective bargaining unit.

Benet also said Kaine supported some restrictions on abortions as governor, which Benet opposes.

“I think there are a lot stronger candidates like (Massachusetts Sen.) Elizabeth Warren or Bernie himself who could have helped to energize the left wing of the Democratic Party,’’ he said.

One upside is that Kaine and his wife, who is secretary of education for Virginia, have both been big supporters of public education, Benet said.

Jack Simel, a volunteer for the state Democratic Party from Rochester who formerly worked for Kodak, was worried that Kaine is “another corporate Democrat’’ who “would just as soon represent the owning classes (as) the working classes.’’

Larry Sykes, a Yonkers attorney and a Sanders delegate, described Kaine as “a reasonable choice under the circumstances.’’

Sykes, who is black, said he “absolutely’’ believes minority voters will support the Clinton-Kaine ticket because Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has “turned them on’’ to vote Democrat.

“I like Tim Kaine on a personal level,” said Kate Miller, a Sanders delegate from the Buffalo suburb of Hamburg who works as a research scientist at the University of Buffalo Research Institute on Addictions. “I’m a little disappointed he’s not more progressive in some areas.’’ She cited Kaine’s support for the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement as a disappointment.

“One the other hand, on social issues I think Tim Kaine is pretty good,’’ Miller said. “I think a lot of Bernie delegates are disappointed in him, but he was a safe choice.’’

She would have been happier with Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio or Warren.

“I don’t think he’s going to hurt anything,’’ Miller said. “He will, I think, provide an additional sense of basic competence and inoffensiveness,’’

On social issues such as civil rights and civil liberties, Kaine seems to be very liberal, but on economic issues “he seems a little conservative,” said Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-Manhattan.

“But I think he’ll make a fine running mate with Hillary,” he said. “What’s very important is that they work well together, which they seem to.’’

Nadler said the last running mate who was crucial for a Democratic presidential candidate was Texas Sen. Lyndon B. Johnson, who helped deliver his state for then-Massachusetts Sen. John F. Kennedy.

Kaine will probably help deliver Virginia — including “certain working class votes’’ — for Democrats, Nadler said.

Carmen Hulbert, a Sanders delegates from Red Hook in Brooklyn, said no matter whom Clinton selected as vice president, she’s apathetic about the whole convention.

“I wasn’t happy with the process in the primaries,’’ she said. “In my opinion they were rigged, especially in New York.’’

“I had no expectation about who would be the vice president because it didn’t mean much to me,’’ Hulbert said. “Because I am not planning to vote for Hillary Clinton. In November I’m planning on going with the Green Party because they have more similarities in their platform to Bernie Sanders. We are trying to get money out of politics and protect the environment and raise the minimum wage.’’