Delegate Dunleavy: There’s Work To Do In Chicago

Chicago — New Haven’s Marty Dunleavy can be counted on to cheer when the Democratic Party formally christens the Harris-Walz presidential ticket here this week. He and fellow delegates will have lots of less glamorous work to do before that.

So Dunleavy said Sunday as he and other Nutmeggers set out from Bradley International Airport to the Windy City, excited to attend the Democratic National Convention in Chicago at a time when their once-flagging presidential ticket has the wind at its back.

Dunleavy, one of four New Haven convention delegates (along with Democratic Town Committee Vice-Chair Audrey Tyson, State Treasurer Erick Russell and high schooler Jacob Schonberger), knows what the job entails: He has attended nine Democratic National Conventions. He has served in various convention capacities ranging from delegate to credentials committeeman, from member of the national committee to … a page, at his first convention, in Chicago in 1968.

Right. That convention. When hell broke loose on the streets as well as in the hall.

“I was a little kid,” recalled Dunleavy, a 68-year-old former Upper Westville alderman (as the position was called then) in New Haven. ​“They wouldn’t let me go in or do anything. They took me from the hotel to the hall and back to the hotel because all that was going on. It was almost like being babysat.”

Starting in 1976, Dunleavy went to each presidential convention without missing a cycle — and played roles ranging from national committee member, credentials committee member, and, like this year, a Connecticut delegate.

“Getting elected a delegate doesn’t make you a leader. Being a leader helps you get elected delegate,” Dunleavy said.

Delegates usually cast formal votes for the party’s presidential nominee at the convention. They won’t do that this year: Delegates already nominated Kamala Harris online.

In the modern age, when tickets are set in advance of conventions, the delegates seek to whoop and holler for TV cameras during four nights of prime-time speeches to build momentum for the fall campaign. They’ll do that again this week.

Away from the cameras, they attend morning breakfasts where they hear from national figures about party strategy. This week the Connecticut Democrats will host James Carville, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, and Pennsylvania Gov. (and VP nominee runner-up) Josh Shapiro.

They then attend issues-oriented sessions held by different party caucuses, ranging from labor to various religions to people of color to an ​“ethnic” gathering focused on retaining support of working-class past or just-barely remaining white Democrats. Dunleavy participates in that one.

In the course of both kinds of sessions, the delegates hash out where the party stands on major issues, in the hopes they’ll return home with a consistent message to transmit to voters.

They also approve a party platform, which is worked out by a separate committee.

In general, beyond making connections and having fun, they seek to strengthen a sense of mission and strategy then to bring back home as they work at the grassroots level to deliver a Democratic win in November.

“Most delegates are activists themselves. So the fact that many of us are on town committees or state committees or candidates themselves or statewide elected officials … we are considered leaders.”

What makes an effective delegate? Understanding politics and policy, and seeing a convention not as an opportunity for career self-advancement but rather an opportunity to work with a team to prepare to deliver a unified message, he argued.

Storied conventions past were more than made-for-TV programs: Factions used to come prepared to negotiate in back rooms and among state delegations to choose the nominee. Dunleavy’s favorite memories include watching legendary Connecticut Democrat John Bailey, who served as national party chairman, work the floor.

He also will never forget delivering one of the welcoming speeches at the 1992 convention in New York. At the time he headed the Democratic Municipal Officials of America organization; he blasted the Republicans’ urban policy record.

This week, as in other recent conventions, the nominees are set, but a lot is riding in how those prime time speeches and crowd reactions play out. Dunleavy is looking forward to hearing from vice-presidential nominee Tim Walz, whom he’s never met. He’s especially looking forward to Monday’s night’s keynote — by President Joe Biden. Dunleavy was one of Connecticut’s first major backers of the 2020 Biden campaign, trekking to New Hampshire when Biden’s prospects seemed dim. (Read about that here.)

And, of course, he’s ready to clap and cheer with the other delegates when Harris takes the stage Thursday on the final evening.