PEP, October 2008: DC 37 helps Obama win in Denver

By DIANE S. WILLIAMS

Executive Director Lillian Roberts and five other DC 37 leaders were among the 4,200 delegates at the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver who made U.S. Sen. Barack Obama the party’s choice for president.

One fourth of the delegates at the Aug. 25-28 convention were unionists, and DC 37’s parent union, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, sent 162 members, the largest labor delegation.

“We made sure health care, the Employee Free Choice Act, affordable housing, funding public housing and stopping foreclosures — issues that strongly impact working families — were priorities,” said Roberts.

District Council 37’s other delegates were President Veronica Montgomery-Costa, Treasurer Maf Misbah Uddin, Local 1549 activist Belinda Dixon, Local 299 President Jackie Rowe-Adams and Political Director Wanda Williams.

“Michelle Obama opened the convention with a rousing speech, and each day was more exciting and spectacular than the previous one,” said Williams.

United for Obama
In an address that set aside differences and unified Democrats nationwide, Sen. Hillary Clinton said, “Barack Obama is my candidate and he must be our president. This is a fight for the future, and none of us can afford to sit on the sidelines.” Former President Bill Clinton also threw his support behind Obama. And Sen. Ted Kennedy, a lifelong advocate for working families, left his hospital bed to address delegates on why victory for Obama is crucial for America.

And on the 45th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s seminal “I Have a Dream” speech, Barack Obama took the stage in a stadium filled with a diverse crowd of 84,000 cheering supporters to accept the nomination for president. He delivered an address that was both symbolic and historic.

Obama outlined concrete policies that would improve the economy, cut middle-class taxes, end the war in Iraq, create jobs and protect workers’ rights, and he linked McCain to the “failed policies of George W. Bush” and the “broken politics in Washington.”

“America, we are better than these last eight years,” Obama boomed. “We are a better country than this.