Mike Higdon

mhigdon@rgj.com



After delegate counts, 275 Hillary Clinton and 350 Bernie Sanders supporters will go to Las Vegas for the state convention. State delegates were given until Monday at 5 p.m. to report who will go. The biggest difference between Sanders and Clinton supporters at the Washoe County Democratic Convention was how much louder Sanders supporters can chant.

Since Sanders won the Feb. 20 caucus in Northern Nevada, it's no surprise he took the county. Only two people changed their minds at the convention and they both switched sides, canceling each other out, so the number of delegates did not change.

The convention at the University of Nevada, Reno's Lawlor Events Center on Saturday went off without any noticeable hitches, arguments or major contention. Whenever the room of about 2,000 people would start to grow impatient or rowdy, someone — whether a random delegate or speaker at the podium — would remind everyone "that we're all here for the same reason, to elect a Democrat," and that would illicit cheers and settle down the rabble rousers.

"I thought it went amazing," said Paul Catha, a Sanders delegate and one of the early founders of Nevada Youth for Bernie Sanders at UNR. "Registration was smooth, especially compared to the caucus. Very few complaints. We had a very civil discussion, no violence or anger. It was a very calm atmosphere."

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Catha gave the stump speech for Sanders after the Clinton supporter got heckled by Sanders' supporters. Catha said the heckler was booed by fellow supporters and Catha helped bring order back to the room.

"My first words were, 'Let’s give her a round of applause, we’re all on the same side," he said.

He said Sanders supporters were louder because they are more energetic.

"I think people support Hillary, but are not super excited for her," he said. "Hillary supporters think she’s already won so don’t need to show up. Bernie supporters are afraid he will lose, so we’re energetic and show our support more.”

Others agreed the day went smoothly. Volunteer Dennis Colling has been going to conventions since the 1970s. He said his first convention ended in a fistfight, but today was nothing close to that. People generally seemed cordial and excited to participate in the process.

“One of the things I enjoyed was getting to know other people that were not only voting for Hillary but also voting for Bernie," said Natalie Sanchez, a Clinton delegate at the convention. "It was an opportunity to bring people together and find out why they wanted to become delegates."

Sanchez said she was originally not interested in going to the state convention but changed her mind at the event.

"I enjoyed the process, enjoyed the day and thought it would be neat to be part of the state convention," she said. "I thought it’d be a good learning experience."

During realignment, no undecided delegates appeared but one delegate from each side switched places.

After talking to her neighbors, Gina Bogne switched from Clinton to Sanders. Also, after reading an article comparing Sanders to President Franklin Roosevelt's "revolutionary changes," Bogne said it convinced her to support Sanders' "similar revolutionary ideas."

Susan Lisagor, who switched from Sanders to Clinton, quoted a Slate.com article, "Barney Frank Is Not Impressed by Bernie Sanders" for her reason for changing sides. She said she could think of no Democratic organizations, such as Planned Parenthood, that supported Sanders. She also said President Barack Obama and Clinton both approached their campaigns as a way to fund the party, not just themselves. She said this will matter during the next mid-term election when voters have a chance to put more Democrats into local and state office.

The last order of business was the platform reading, which thinned the crowd down to about 100 people.

Even the platform committee and their presentation after the delegate count remained civil, with people voicing their dissent and asking questions about various planks (out of 264). Among the few planks added to the platform by the Washoe County Democratic Party, one supports a proposal to give Washington, D.C., a seat in Congress, since their population is larger than Wyoming and Vermont, yet they have no representation in the legislative branch.

The platform generally focused on issues relating to civil rights, immigration, raising the minimum wage, improved mental health and benefits for veterans and the poor. These same issues fit in line with the various guest speakers, including former Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto, who said she would be the first Latina women elected to the U.S. Senate if she received the vote in November.