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3 county residents head to US political conventions

Three Portage County residents will be representing the 7th Congressional District at the Republican and Democratic National Conventions.

Betty Barnes will be leaving Saturday evening, July 29, for Philadelphia for the Republican National Convention from July 31 to Aug. 3, while Mary Thurmaier and Gary Hawley will be going to Los Angeles for the Democratic National Convention from Aug. 14 to 17. For Barnes, this is her first convention as a delegate, while Thurmaier and Hawley have been delegates before.

Barnes can't hide her enthusiasm. "It's just so exciting," she said. "Every day I get something new in the mail to add to the itinerary."

This is the third or fourth time the Republican convention has been in Philadelphia, she said, and the first one was in Philadelphia.

She said there's excitement in the party about George W. Bush as the presidential candidate and she's looking forward to being there.

She's the only Portage County delegate among the six delegates from the 7th District. Each district in the state has six delegates, and then various at-large delegate positions are usually filled by governmental officials, such as Gov. Tommy Thompson, who is also chairing the Platform Committee.

The first thing Sunday morning, Betty and her husband, the Rev. Bob Barnes, who is accompanying her, will have breakfast with the governor.

Monday will be a long workday for the delegates, with two sessions scheduled. After that, a single daily session will be held, with delegates getting information at breakfast about what will be covered.

One thing she hasn't heard about yet, she said, is a final proposal on a three-tier primary system.

Another thing Barnes is excited about is visiting with her sister, who's a delegate from Michigan. "I'm looking forward to seeing her," she said.

For Thurmaier this is her fourth convention, but she said that doesn't make it any less exciting. "Each one is totally different," she said. "I'm really excited." She attended the 1980 convention in New York, the 1984 convention in Atlanta and the 1992 convention in New York.

At her first convention, she said, she had a temperature of 104 degrees and couldn't go at first, missing the first night of being with the state delegation.

In Atlanta, the city rolled out the red carpet, she said, hosting parties and picnics.

Hawley is making his second trip. He was at the convention in Chicago in 1996 and said he's starting to get all kinds of invitations for the Los Angeles convention.

Both are going as Al Gore delegates, and Thurmaier said she'll have a mini-reunion and some jostling with her son, Matt, who'll be at the convention as a Bill Bradley delegate from Florida.

Thurmaier and Hawley started their effort to become delegates at the Portage County caucus in April. Getting elected there allowed them to go to the district and vote on the delegates.

Getting elected at the district level takes some politicking, and Hawley said he and Thurmaier did that. "You have to get more than 50 percent of the votes to get elected," he said, and both he and Thurmaier did that on the first vote.

"The reason we got the vote on the first ballot was our activity in the 7th Congressional District," he said, pointing out that Thurmaier had been chair of the district and on the Democratic National Committee. "The 7th Congressional District supports its activities."

Thurmaier said Hawley downplays what he did before the district caucus because he did a lot of calling. Some people were trying to develop a slate, she said, but she and Hawley rejected that. "I just don't believe in slates," she said. "We ran on what we have done for the party, we have been there."

Hawley is on the state committee for Gore and campaigned for him in Iowa and New Hampshire. "The reason I did go to Iowa and New Hampshire, I knew that by the time he got to Wisconsin it would be done," he said, referring to Gore capturing enough delegates in primaries before Wisconsin to ensure his nomination.

Both had hopes to get on national committees, but those positions went to delegates-at-large who weren't elected as district delegates. If they had landed on committees, that would have meant one less delegate would get to go to the convention.

Los Angeles has some promising events, and Thurmaier said one she is looking forward to is a concert featuring Barbra Streisand, Bill Cosby and Whoopi Goldberg.

Hawley knows he's in for a hectic time during the convention and after. When the convention ends, he'll fly back to Minneapolis, drive home and then get ready to leave at 8 a.m. the next day for the National Carpenters Convention in Chicago.

Gore will probably be there, he said, so he'll get to see him again.



	3 county residents head to US political conventions Three Portage County residents will be representing the 7th Congressional District at the Republican and Democratic National Conventions. Betty Barnes will be leaving Saturday evening, July 29, for Philadelphia for the Republican National Convention from July 31 to Aug. 3, while Mary Thurmaier and Gary Hawley will be going to Los Angeles for the Democratic National Convention from Aug. 14 to 17. For Barnes, this is her first convention as a delegate, while Thurmaier and Hawley have been delegates before. Barnes can't hide her enthusiasm. "It's just so exciting," she said. "Every day I get something new in the mail to add to the itinerary." This is the third or fourth time the Republican convention has been in Philadelphia, she said, and the first one was in Philadelphia. She said there's excitement in the party about George W. Bush as the presidential candidate and she's looking forward to being there. She's the only Portage County delegate among the six delegates from the 7th District. Each district in the state has six delegates, and then various at-large delegate positions are usually filled by governmental officials, such as Gov. Tommy Thompson, who is also chairing the Platform Committee. The first thing Sunday morning, Betty and her husband, the Rev. Bob Barnes, who is accompanying her, will have breakfast with the governor. Monday will be a long workday for the delegates, with two sessions scheduled. After that, a single daily session will be held, with delegates getting information at breakfast about what will be covered. One thing she hasn't heard about yet, she said, is a final proposal on a three-tier primary system. Another thing Barnes is excited about is visiting with her sister, who's a delegate from Michigan. "I'm looking forward to seeing her," she said. For Thurmaier this is her fourth convention, but she said that doesn't make it any less exciting. "Each one is totally different," she said. "I'm really excited." She attended the 1980 convention in New York, the 1984 convention in Atlanta and the 1992 convention in New York. At her first convention, she said, she had a temperature of 104 degrees and couldn't go at first, missing the first night of being with the state delegation. In Atlanta, the city rolled out the red carpet, she said, hosting parties and picnics. Hawley is making his second trip. He was at the convention in Chicago in 1996 and said he's starting to get all kinds of invitations for the Los Angeles convention. Both are going as Al Gore delegates, and Thurmaier said she'll have a mini-reunion and some jostling with her son, Matt, who'll be at the convention as a Bill Bradley delegate from Florida. Thurmaier and Hawley started their effort to become delegates at the Portage County caucus in April. Getting elected there allowed them to go to the district and vote on the delegates. Getting elected at the district level takes some politicking, and Hawley said he and Thurmaier did that. "You have to get more than 50 percent of the votes to get elected," he said, and both he and Thurmaier did that on the first vote. "The reason we got the vote on the first ballot was our activity in the 7th Congressional District," he said, pointing out that Thurmaier had been chair of the district and on the Democratic National Committee. "The 7th Congressional District supports its activities." Thurmaier said Hawley downplays what he did before the district caucus because he did a lot of calling. Some people were trying to develop a slate, she said, but she and Hawley rejected that. "I just don't believe in slates," she said. "We ran on what we have done for the party, we have been there." Hawley is on the state committee for Gore and campaigned for him in Iowa and New Hampshire. "The reason I did go to Iowa and New Hampshire, I knew that by the time he got to Wisconsin it would be done," he said, referring to Gore capturing enough delegates in primaries before Wisconsin to ensure his nomination. Both had hopes to get on national committees, but those positions went to delegates-at-large who weren't elected as district delegates. If they had landed on committees, that would have meant one less delegate would get to go to the convention. Los Angeles has some promising events, and Thurmaier said one she is looking forward to is a concert featuring Barbra Streisand, Bill Cosby and Whoopi Goldberg. Hawley knows he's in for a hectic time during the convention and after. When the convention ends, he'll fly back to Minneapolis, drive home and then get ready to leave at 8 a.m. the next day for the National Carpenters Convention in Chicago. Gore will probably be there, he said, so he'll get to see him again.