Off to Denver

Watauga resident picked as Democratic delegate

Zack Wynne, vice chairman of the New River 3 precinct, will be representing Watauga County and the 5th District at the National Democratic Convention in Denver the last week of August.

Wynne was elected a delegate to Denver at the 5th District convention in Statesville on May 17.

Born in Virginia but with family roots in the 5th District towns of Eden and Mount Airy, Wynne came to Watauga County in 2005 to work on a master’s degree in public administration at Appalachian State University. He finished his degree in 2007 and has remained in Boone.

“I grew up in an apolitical family, actually,” said Wynne. “My parents are ministers, and although they never missed an election, they did not actively participate.”

“But me? I’ve been interested in politics since I was about nine. I’ve always wanted to go to a national convention but either didn’t know how to go about getting selected or wasn’t in a position to do it. This year just seemed too incredibly important, so I went for it," he said.

Wynne was elected as a delegate committed to N.Y. Sen. Hillary Clinton, who won the popular vote in the 5th District, though she lost the state to Illinois Sen. Barack Obama.

“I don’t actually know what happens to that ‘commitment’ to Clinton, now that she’s dropped out of the race,” Wynne said. “I’m waiting for someone to give us instructions about that.”

Wynne is working for Mary Fant Donnan, who is currently in a primary run-off with John Brooks for the Secretary of Labor slot. The winner of that run-off will face incumbent Republican Cherie Berry this fall.

“We’ve got to elect Democrats who are truly intelligent and push real, viable ideas,” Wynne said. “That is what I’ve especially valued about North Carolina Democrats. We’ve worked quite hard to put smart people into office.”

Wynne has started a blog, “Zack Goes To the DNC” (dnczack.blogspot.com), to record his experiences becoming a delegate and to give readers a taste of what goes on at the National Convention in August.