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By Matt de Simone
Contributing writer
Last Monday, the Executive Director of the Democratic Party of Virginia (DVPA) Andrew Whitley spoke during Botetourt County’s Democratic Committee Meeting at the Botetourt Courthouse.
“I’m a Southwest Virginia guy,” Whitley stated. “I wanted to go out and visit some local communities because I know how it can feel to be a Democrat in southwest and rural Virginia. I chatted with them and talked a little about how to become a National Delegate for a presidential campaign, to go to Milwaukee, and that kind of stuff.” The 2020 Democratic National Convention takes place in Milwaukee, Wis. this July.
Whitley was born and raised in Smyth County and is a graduate of Virginia Tech. In 2011, Whitley began his career working for President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign. He shared his experience on that campaign with local Democrats. Whitley explained he mainly wanted to greet the Botetourt County community and thank them for all their support during the 2020 presidential election season.
The Smyth County native took the time to let the Botetourt community’s Democrats know that there are hard-working Democrats in the area who have the same ideas and the same hopes for their party’s future in the coming election and beyond.
“The committee brought in a really good crowd,” Whitley noted. “There was a lot of conversation about how to become a delegate to our convention for whichever campaign the people support. I stayed a little while after the meeting to speak with the Committee’s chair. It was a good conversation.”
Whitley explained to the Committee the steps to take if someone wanted to support their candidates beyond the local political climates.
“I mainly spoke about understanding the process of becoming a delegate,” Whitley continued. “We reviewed the process and if a person wants to get to the National Convention, we reviewed the steps to do so.”
He explained that the state party is the main resource for becoming a delegate and answered all of the audience’s questions about representing the community at the Democratic National Convention.
For more information about how to become a delegate for the Democratic Party of Virginia, visit the delegate selection page at: vademocrats.org/delegateselection.
