Off stage, convention brimming with state stars hoping to riseBOSTON -- Look past the main stage. Everyone knows how this ends. The future can be glimpsed among the party's rising stars -- governors hoping to be senator, mayors eyeing a governor's race, activists weighing a run for a state legislature.
These are loyal Democrats, focused on one political contest above all -- the race for the presidency. But that doesn't mean they can't do two things at once. So along with the Kerry-Edwards praise, this week brings a flurry of hand shakes, business cards and talks about the future. "It's the Olympics of politics," said Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano, seen as someone to watch, in part for adroitly getting her agenda through her state's GOP-led legislature. Many of the rising stars like Napolitano get coveted TV time -- Barack Obama, the favored candidate for the Senate from Illinois; Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley, a likely candidate for governor; and Columbus, Ohio, Mayor Michael Coleman, raising money for a likely statewide campaign. But most of the others are off the stage, outside the cameras and bright lights. They're in the shadows now, but they don't plan that for long. "It'd be cool to be governor," said Jennifer McClellan, a 31-year-old black lawyer from Virginia. She's not just dreaming -- she's been working hard as a party activist since 1992 and is now a state party official and member of the Democratic National Committee. "The biggest thing that's happening here is it's re-energizing all of us to do what we need to do to go forward," she said. "Whether it's to work for John Kerry, or work for (the Virginia governor's race) next year, or to work for yourself." But her first real shot at elected office, probably a run for state legislature, is likely a few years off. For others, the time is now. Tim Sultan, a former aide to House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi, is already in the running to join his former boss in Washington. He's aiming for a longtime GOP House seat in Arizona held by Rep. Jim Kolbe. "The main reason I came is to get national support for the general election ... to let them know we can win this election," Sultan said, hobnobbing with his state delegates at breakfast. "It's been written off for years." Sultan, 33, is already a shoo-in to win his party primary, and is hoping to capitalize on Kolbe's intra-party fight against a conservative challenger. The primaries take place next month. Sultan said he's telling party leaders it will cost $1 million for him to win -- and give the Democrats overall a boost in their longshot bid to retake control in the House. These are people who live and breathe politics -- talking policy, arguing poll numbers, passionately dissecting campaign speeches. Many of the 4,964 delegates and alternates here aren't aiming for elected office itself; they're organizers or fund-raisers. Thousands more are lobbyists or activists or with the media. To these people obsessed with politics, elected leaders provide the rock-star element threading through the days and nights. Some gather autographs and take photos. Others aim for a minute of conversation. "This is probably one of the only moments you'll meet members of the United State Senate. You can wander around, introduce yourself," said David Cicilline, the mayor of Providence, R.I. "I always follow up with a note. Just let people know about me." He's not only being polite. Cicilline -- half-Italian, half-Jewish and openly gay -- is less than two years into his first term, but ambitious for more. "If you love politics, it's natural that you think about other offices," said Cicilline, who at age 12 would nag his parents to take him to school board meetings. "My dream someday would be to go to Washington. But I'm not in a rush for that. There's a lot of work to do as mayor." For him and others looking ahead, the convention offers a mix of working both for the good of the party and for their future, of changing the world and getting ahead.
"It reminds you why you got into this in the first place, to make a difference," said McClellan. "In my small way, I can help someone get elected who I believe in. And hopefully one day, do it myself." © Copyright 2004 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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