UPDATED RESULTS: District 2 Democratic delegates selected

UPDATED: Election results

By Will Collette

I had suggested three solid Progressives to Democrats who voted in the Presidential Preference Primary. I'm pleased to report that these three, Reps. Teresa Tanzi, Josh Miller and Frank Ferri took three out of the top four highest vote-getting slots and will be going to the National Democratic Primary in Charlotte, NC.

In Charlestown, my three picks came in #1, #2, and #3 - Teresa Tanzi, followed by Josh Miller and Frank Ferri.

Here are the 11 Democrats chosen by Rhode Island District 2 voters to go to the Convention:

Joshua MILLER		1313	7.8%
Patrick T. FOGARTY		1272	7.6%
Teresa TANZI		1233	7.3%
Frank G. FERRI		1137	6.8%
Elaine PRIOR		1131	6.7%
Michael A. SOLOMON		1109	6.6%
L. Susan WEINER		1033	6.1%
Mark S. WEINER		1007	6.0%
Thomas J. IZZO		990	5.9%
Ryan Patrick KELLEY		986	5.9%
Elisa M. POLLARD		972	5.8%

Continue for my commentary on the delegate selection process.

Frankly, I don’t care which ridiculous people RI Republicans send to Tampa for Willard Mitt’s coronation. But I do care who gets the votes from the Second Congressional District to vote for President Obama’s renomination.

Among the candidates who wish to be Convention delegates for President Obama from the Second Congressional District, there are three in particular I would recommend. All three are members of the Rhode Island House Progressive Caucus, along with Charlestown’s Donna Walsh and Larry Valencia. The three who are running for Convention delegate are Reps. Teresa Tanzi, Frank Ferri and Josh Miller. All three are hard-working progressives who frequently line up with Donna and Larry on state legislation.

John O. Matson, famous for littering the South County landscape every two years with his “Matson the Carpenter” signs, had been running as an Obama delegate but switched and is now qualified as the only “uncommitted” person running to be a Convention delegate.

It didn’t make sense for Matson to run as an Obama delegate, as he really isn’t a Democrat. In his long and unsuccessful career as a perennial candidate, he has run under a wide range of party labels. So running as “uncommitted” is a very honest statement from a guy whose only real commitment seems to be putting his name in our faces every two years.

UPDATE: Mattson received only 208 votes, which is 367 votes less than the lowest scoring Obama delegate candidate. I guess he'll have to watch the Convention on TV.