April Burbank

Free Press Staff Writer

PHILADELPHIA - Two Vermonters have left the Democratic National Convention because of Hillary Clinton's nomination and will return to Vermont.

Shyla Nelson, an opera singer and activist from Hartford and Norwich, announced her decision Wednesday, the day after Sanders lost the presidential nomination.

Maria Rinaldi of Jericho also skipped the convention Wednesday and planned to drive home.

"I just couldn’t take sitting through two more days of a Hillary celebration," said Rinaldi, who feels Hillary Clinton's campaign has not listened to people like her.

Nelson's departure followed a string of high-profile appearances at the convention. Sanders personally asked Nelson, a former employee in his Burlington mayoral administration, to deliver a speech in support of his presidential nomination at about 5:15 p.m.

"It was one of the greatest honors of my life," Nelson said in an interview.

After the votes were tallied, Sanders made a motion for all Democrats to support Clinton as their nominee — and Nelson walked out.

At about 7 p.m., Nelson served as spokeswoman for a silent demonstration of Sanders delegates in front of media centers used by news reporters. She said the demonstration was called "No voice, no unity," and was meant to draw attention to Sanders delegates who had been silenced. She said people from more than 30 state delegations, including seven delegates from Vermont, participated in the loosely-organized demonstration.

“We have been feeling intensely pressured, in some cases insulted, and confronted by Clinton supporters asking them to fall in line," Nelson told reporters who quickly gathered. "Unity at the expense of the dignity of any human being is no unity at all.”

Nelson said she was not ready to support Clinton for president, even though Sanders had asked supporters to work for Clinton's election. "We all must vote our conscience, not out of fear, not out of a sense of the lesser of two evils," she said, noting as one example that delegates were not convinced that Clinton would vigorously oppose the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal.

Nelson has known Sanders' family for decades. At age 19, she led a project on media bias and politics in Sanders' mayoral office in Burlington.

At breakfast Wednesday, Sanders personally thanked Nelson for her speech at the convention.

Sanders: Just electing Clinton 'not good enough'

"Where’s Shyla? Shyla, stand up," Sanders said at a meeting of Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine delegates.

Nelson stood, beaming.

"Shyla Nelson got a call from me yesterday afternoon" Sanders said. "I said, ‘Oh Shyla, by the way, in about 45 minutes, can you go and second the nomination?’ And she did a great job.”

Sanders did not mention Nelson's activism, and his campaign spokesman later declined to comment on the multiple protests that had taken place at the convention.

By Wednesday evening, Nelson could no longer sit through the convention's praise for Clinton.

"Having fulfilled our commitment and after deep consideration, I have made the decision to leave the convention and return to Vermont to begin the work of supporting the next steps of our political revolution," Nelson wrote in a statement on Facebook.

"Again, I do so in a spirit of profound respect for Bernie’s commitment to complete the process of this convention, and in honoring the DNC’s process of nomination of Secretary Clinton tomorrow night," Nelson wrote. "However, in good conscience, I cannot support this process by my continued presence at this convention because, with respect, I am simply not prepared to offer my support for Hillary Clinton’s candidacy at this time."

President Barack Obama was expected to speak at the convention Wednesday evening, and Clinton was expected to formally accept the nomination Thursday.

Nelson said the pro-Sanders delegates needed to meet with people in their home states to talk about what it would take for them to support Clinton.

Christina Amestoy, a spokeswoman for the Vermont Democratic Party, said one alternate delegate, Matt Kiley, also left the convention for a medical issue in addition to Rinaldi and Nelson. Vermont lacked a full delegation on the floor Wednesday night.

“It comes down to a personal decision," Amestoy said. "Our delegates were extremely respectful this whole process. We’re very proud of them.”

This story was first posted on July 27, 2016. Contributing: USA TODAY. Contact April Burbank at 802-660-1863 or aburbank@freepressmedia.com. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/AprilBurbank.

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