'It's going to be wild.' Stark County Democratic delegates excited to support Harris

Stark County will be represented at the Democratic National Convention .

Three residents — Kathleen Purdy, Mandy Wagner and Robert Thompson Sr. — are attending the convention, which begins Monday in Chicago. They are among 143 Ohio delegates who will celebrate the selection of Vice President Kamala Harris, the first Asian American and Black woman chosen as a presidential nominee. Her running mate is Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.

Delegates are people chosen to represent their state or community at nominating conventions and ultimately select the party's presidential candidate. The names include top statewide officials, members of the state legislature, candidates and other key players in the Ohio Democratic Party, from donors to county party leaders.

The Canton Repository spoke with the three local delegates about what they are looking forward to at the convention:

What you need to know: The 2024 Democratic National Convention kicks off next week. Here's what to expect.

Kathleen Purdy: 'It's going to be wild'

Lexington Township resident Kathleen Purdy, 71, who is attending her first convention, is a former Plain Local Schools social studies teacher of 20 years. She will be serving as a delegate from Ohio's 6th Congressional District.

She signed up for five caucuses at the convention that cover the issues of labor, military families and veterans, Black rights, women's rights and environmental activism.

"I'm expecting that it's going to be wild, just so energetic and so joyful because of the excitement around Vice President Harris," Purdy said. "The exciting part is that we've seen the biggest criticisms of her from the MAGA crowd — that all she does is laugh — get turned into a rallying point. Our joy is coming to replace their hatred."

Purdy also said she is excited about Harris' choice of Walz to be her running mate. Walz was a teacher as well as a coach, a mutual experience in the educational field that Purdy said resonates with her.

"It's a significant moment in American history and it's going to be great," she said.

Mandy Wagner: 'We have energy, momentum and the message'

Mandy Wagner, 46, like Purdy, is also a first-time attendee to the convention as well as a teacher. She lives in Plain Township and teaches sixth grade at Wooster City Schools. She will serve as a delegate representing Ohio's 13th Congressional District.

Wagner said she hopes public education is front and center, raising concerns about a Republican push for school vouchers that in turn divert funding from public institutions to private ones.

"We educators have seen the effects of legislation especially as of late and are seeing our profession become political," Wagner said. "We're not going to take that lying down. We want a seat at the table to ensure our students and their educations are taken care of."

She said the issues of making a living wage and having abortion access are also important to her, and she is optimistic about those issues after Ohio's previous election in which the state — Stark County included — voted in favor of abortion rights.

"I'm excited about Harris and Walz advocating for these rights and Ohioans proved that they're the same issues we care about, too," Wagner said. "As a teacher and union worker, I've also noticed this ticket has seen a groundswell of support from organized labor in every field."

Robert Thompson Sr.: 'It's one big, giant festival'

Canton resident Robert Thompson Sr., 70, is a delegate representing Ohio's 13th Congressional District. He retired as Akron regional director of Ohio Council 8 for the American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees.

Unlike the previous Stark attendees, this is far from his first time going to the Democratic Convention. Thompson attended in 2000, 2008, 2012, 2016, and was a virtual attendee of the 2020 convention via Zoom.

"It's one big, giant festival and they're all different from each other, but they're all so exciting," Thompson said. "You gotta rah-rah-rah, get everybody riled up to win the election."

Thompson said that while he holds President Joe Biden in high acclaim and was not fully on board with the criticisms of his age, he understands the politics of his decision to step aside and is ready to rally behind the Harris-Walz ticket.

"The most important thing to me about this election is simply to win because if we don't, Project 2025 comes into play," Thompson said. "We cannot take this election for granted or it'll be at the cost of our civil rights, union rights and personal freedoms, which will be detrimental to our society here in America."

This article originally appeared on The Repository: 'It's going to be wild.' Stark County Democratic delegates excited to support Harris