Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s campaign manager met on Friday afternoon in Burlington with some of the Vermont delegates to the Democratic National Convention who are pledged to support Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).
Robby Mook, Clinton’s campaign manager and a native Vermonter, was asking Sanders’ delegates to get behind Clinton for a peaceful convention in Philadelphia in July, several delegates said afterward. It appeared no promises were made.
“We’re still processing,” said Rep. Mary Sullivan (D-Burlington), a pledged Sanders delegate, as she came out of the meeting at the Hilton Burlington.
“We just had a really productive conversation about the way the campaigns can come together,” said Christina Amestoy, the Vermont Democratic Party spokeswoman, who also attended the meeting.
Some of the state’s 16 pledged delegates declined to attend, said Shyla Nelson, who was among those who stayed away. Others who declined the invitation were Ashley Andreas, Noah Detzer, Maria Rinaldi, Laura Simon and alternate Matthew Kiley.
In a statement, the no-shows said they preferred to allow Sanders to hammer out with Clinton any agreement on how the convention will proceed. “Upon completion of those negotiations, we look forward to his clear direction for us and our fellow 1,900 delegates,” their statement said in part.
Claudia Pringles, a delegate from Montpelier, said she had considered not going to the meeting but changed her mind. After the meeting, she said, “There were a lot of presumptions about who’s going to be the nominee.”
Pringles indicated she wasn’t ready to concede that it will be Clinton. “I am in this for Bernie as far as Bernie goes,” she said.
Mook, who grew up in Norwich, got his start politically working on Vermont Democratic House campaigns.
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Obama campaigned on transparency and now a simple meeting, that should not have taken place, is off the record simply because of an un named delegates request?
It’s this sort of thing that really turn people off about politics!
#SeeYouInPhilly
#BernieOrBust
HRC is doing what she always does and trusting on the analytics of her polling. Not her moral conscience. If the internal polling of the DNC show that she can win moderate Republicans, then She does NOT NEED PROGRESSIVES to win the election.
This platform committee is a charade…Bernie should understand it as well as Dr. Cornell West does. Keep your moral integrity Bernie, no matter what, nothing good ever comes of anyone who associates with the Clintons.
I thank our delegates for honoring their job as delegates for #ForeverBernie