Alaska Democrats aim to rally local voters

PHILADELPHIA — Alaska's delegates to the Democratic National Convention closed the week perhaps not much closer to reconciliation over presidential candidates, but unified in hopes for party growth and comity back home.

The week in Philadelphia has been a difficult one for some supporters of Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., their hopes for a national-level "revolution" dashed with the nomination of Hillary Clinton as the party's presidential nominee.

Many Sanders supporters said they felt disenfranchised by the national party structure and staff, and the deck was unfairly stacked against their candidate. And while most of the Alaska Sanders supporters here say they will ultimately vote for Clinton in November, it does not appear the Democratic National Committee has convinced them to be happy about it.

They don't leap to their feet in excitement for Clinton surrogates speaking at the convention. They don't wave signs and cheer for Hillary.

For many of the Alaska "Berniecrats," support for Clinton is, for now, more of a function of fear of the potential presidency of Republican Donald Trump, who they say is untrustworthy, unstable and unfit for the office.

So they are turning their focus local.

It is what Sanders has long urged his supporters to do: Run for office, be it for city council, school board or Congress. He has encouraged them to sustain their political activism and ideals and to get to work at a local level.

That message has resonated. Sanders' urging they accept Clinton's candidacy as a legitimate win has not taken hold with the same enthusiasm, though ongoing efforts by the party and Clinton's campaign — through Sanders himself and trusted surrogates — did temper at least some expressions of anger on the convention floor.

On Thursday, Nina Turner, a top Sanders delegate and surrogate, well known among Sanders' supporters, delivered a passionate plea to the Alaska delegation in a speech urging them to remain politically active.

It is important to "lift one another, even when we disagree on issues or candidates, to do the work worth doing," said Turner, a former Ohio state senator.

"It is the tension between protest and promise that will get us where we need to be," she said to enthusiastic cheers and applause at a meeting that also included the delegations from Wisconsin and Montana.

"Every election cycle is important. We cannot only get caught up with the shiny object" of the presidency, she said. "Legislatures are important. Governors are important … council people are important; mayors are important. Vote every single time," she said.

Where does the state party go now, given the ongoing tension between Sanders supporters and the national party infrastructure?

"We go home and we elect Democrats, up and down ticket," said Casey Steinau, the state's party chair, who ultimately supported Clinton in the race.

There are a lot of new members to the Alaska Democratic Party brought in by Sanders, Steinau said. And she's hopeful they remain active beyond their convention disappointment.

"There's a lot of people that were not registered Democrats a month before the caucus," which Sanders won by 82 percent, Steinau said. "And we welcome them into the party and hope that they will stay involved with us and continue to vote with us," she said.

Alaska Rep. Andy Josephson, D-Anchorage, a delegate for Clinton, said he has been thrilled with the week's activities. But he said how Sanders supporters will react to the election is still up in the air, and he hopes party members can come together against Trump.

Bringing new members into the party ultimately requires listening to them and adjusting to new opinions, said several of the party's Clinton supporters and long-time ADP workers.

And Sanders was clear to his supporters, Steinau said: part of being involved means standing up and running for office. "That was what he wanted them to do, and a lot of people in Alaska stepped up and heard him and said, 'all right, I'll run.'"

Ed Wesley was one of those inspired by Sanders: He is running for a state Senate seat representing downtown Anchorage, and was elected as a DNC member for the next four years, making him the state's newest "superdelegate," though not until 2020.

Wesley arrived in Philadelphia Thursday in time for the final day of the convention, to attend a party meeting Friday.

"And I'm going to follow Bernie's lead. I think it's time for all of us to get behind Hillary," he said. When driving, if  "you've got the greenlight, you're right to keep going. But if you see a car coming speeding the other way, wisdom says you slow down, because you can be dead right, but you gotta do the right thing."

"And so the same thing applies here. The Bernie folks are right, but they've got to do the right thing," Wesley said. "And the right thing is to get behind Hillary, otherwise they could be dead right."

In Wesley's analogy, Trump is that speeding car.