The New Haven delegation included the youngest Democratic delegates to the national convention and two veterans of city politics. After four busy days in Chicago, they have two months to promote Vice President Kamala Harris.
Ethan Woolen 10:54 PM, August 27, 2024
Staff Reporter
Courtesy of Amy Marks
Three New Haven residents of different generations arrived as delegates to the Democratic National Convention last week, carrying different views on the final push for their party's presidential ticket.
They returned home energized by Vice President Kamala Harris's campaign, and exhausted after four days of non-stop activity at the quadrennial party festival.
Democrats representing Connecticut in Chicago included members of the convention. Youngest DelegateJacob Schoenberger, who will be entering his senior year of high school in New Haven and will turn 18 in October.
“The energy was so high, it felt more like a party than a political event,” Schoenberger, son of 26th District Rep. Amy Marks, told the News. “It was a little crazy to be in the room with these people who were the face of the Democratic Party when I grew up.”
The convention days were long for the roughly 4,700 delegates. Connecticut delegates gathered for an early breakfast before attending sessions with constituency groups and elected officials throughout the morning. At night, they packed the United Center to hear speeches from party leaders and other supporters of Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.
Marty Dunleavy, a former senator who attended his first Democratic convention as a child in 1968, is back in Chicago for his 14th convention, and is now a seasoned delegate. Like Schoenberger, Dunleavy said he felt overwhelmed by his schedule, which typically ran from 6 a.m. to midnight Monday through Thursday.
“I slept all weekend, and I'm very energetic, despite the lack of sleep,” he added.
President Joe Biden won Connecticut's Democratic primary in April, with little opposition except for a campaign that promoted the “noncommittal” option in protest of Biden's support for Israel in the war in Gaza. “Uncommitted” got 21 percent of the vote. In New Haven.
Schoenberger, Dunleavy and Democratic City Committee Vice Chairwoman Audrey Tyson won a contest in May to join the Group of Eight representing Connecticut’s 3rd Congressional District in Chicago. They pledged to vote for Biden — but when Biden dropped out of the race on July 21, the delegates were free to decide who to support.
“I think he would have won,” Donleavy said. “I didn’t like the way he was treated on the way out. He’s been stabbed by a lot of people close to him over the years, instead of being handled calmly and respectfully.”
Biden’s withdrawal also upset Tyson, a part-time social worker who has mobilized voters in the 29th District for 15 years and was a delegate to the 2008 and 2016 conventions. The two veteran Democrats said Biden’s endorsement of Harris played a pivotal role in their decisions to support her.
For his part, Schoenberger heard doubts about Biden from other young people before he left the race.
“There was a lot of depression and almost fear when it came to the Biden-Trump rematch,” he said. On the convention floor, he recalled, “you could feel this energy of rallying behind this candidate who maybe didn’t get there in the most traditional way, but who was really a sign and a sign of hope in a party that I think has been through some really tough times in the last year.”
New Haven’s three delegates voted for Harris and Walz in the virtual ballot that formally nominated the pair in early August. One of Connecticut’s 74 delegates voted “present” in protest of the Gaza policy.
Schoenberger said he saw prominent politicians at the convention up close, surrounded by supporters and reporters. Dunleavy saw what he called “the beginning of a jockeying” for potential gubernatorial candidates if Gov. Ned Lamont doesn’t seek a third term in 2026. Tyson enjoyed former first lady Michelle Obama’s speech, but he didn’t like the long lines at the convention.
Now the three are looking forward to the work ahead before Election Day.
“I want to make sure that we get people to vote. That’s the big goal,” Tyson said. When she talks to voters, Tyson said she tends to ask them what new policies they want implemented. “And let them know that this is the person who is going to make sure you get that,” she said, referring to Harris.
Although Connecticut is certain to send its seven electoral votes to Harris and Walz, the three local delegates told the newspaper that New Haven residents can contribute to the national campaign by donating money, traveling to volunteer in swing states like Pennsylvania, or doing phone banking from home.
The trio were not the only New Haven residents to serve as delegates in Chicago. Representative Rosa DiLauro and State Treasurer Eric Russell were automatic superdelegates by virtue of their positions.
