Obama 'ignited' delegate's passions
For Cheryl Miller, the Obama candidacy rekindled a passion buried long ago.
An Anne Arundel County native who studied political science in college, Miller, 55, said she became “disenchanted” with public service after working briefly with the U.S. Conference of Mayors after graduation.
“When we were in college, everybody wanted to save the world,” she said in a recent interview. “Then you graduate, and you start understanding how hard that is.”
Working on programs in Los Angeles, Miller became frustrated because “the people that I wanted to help the most were the hardest to get to.”
So she moved on, putting her career on hold after getting married and moving around the globe with her husband, an executive with Washington Gas, and two children. The family has lived in Connecticut, California and South Africa before settling in Annapolis.
She and her husband invested in commercial real estate, and she launched a small home-based event planning business.
Miller first became aware of Obama during the 2004 Democratic Convention, when he delivered the keynote speech. Watching from home, she was intrigued. Obama “ignited something that was dead in me,” she said.
But it was the words of a friend that triggered her intense involvement in the Obama campaign.
She was invited to a local fund-raiser event in fall 2007 by a host who told her: “I don’t know what is going to happen with this guy, but there is something special about him. We cannot allow him to look bad. We cannot allow him to go unsupported.”
It was before the Obama candidacy had taken off, and Hillary Clinton was riding high in polls. “The thinking was Hillary Clinton was going to have all this money,” Miller said. “He did not deserve to look embarassed.”
The words resonated, and after the fund-raising event, Miller dove in.
She and her husband turned space in a commercial building they own on Ritchie Highway into the Anne Arundel volunteer headquarters for the Obama campaign.
The space buzzed with activity, with weekly meetings, phone-banking and voter registration. It was also a forum for passionate discussions on race and other hot-button topics.
“People would ask questions they didn’t know how to ask,” she said. “We talked to each other about our feelings and our issues.” The Obama campaign, Miller said, has created “the truest diversity I have ever known.”
During major events, such as the Super Tuesday primaries, Miller would make food for the crowd. “We’re like a family,” she said.
The commitment of Miller and her husband drew the attention of Obama’s top supporters in Maryland.
Her name wasn’t on the ballot Feb. 12, when 46 of Maryland’s 99 Democratic convention delegates were selected by primary voters. She was chosen later as one of 15 “pledged at-large add-on delegates” at a state party meeting in May.
This will be Miller’s first convention, and she’s taking it seriously. She’s not going to Denver to wear funny hats and attend parties.
“I look at this as hard work,” she said. “I look at this as a huge responsibility.”
-- David Nitkin
Carmen Amedori, 52, is a resident of Westminster and was a state delegate representing Carroll County from 1998 to 2004, when she was appointed by then-Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. to serve on the Maryland Parole Commission. A native of Baltimore and graduate of Villa Julie College, Amedori worked as a paralegal and journalist while raising two daughters, before entering the world of politics. She was one of the few elected officials in Maryland who supported John McCain when he ran for president in 2000, and was an alternate delegate at that year's convention. Her backing has not wavered, and this year, Amedori is the Western Maryland regional director for McCain. She has also been cleared to be a surrogate — meaning she has the blessing to speak on McCain’s behalf when called upon.
Cheryl Miller, 55, and her husband, Michael, coordinate the Volunteers for Obama office in Anne Arundel County. She is an Annapolis resident and mother of two who runs a home-based event planning business. Despite studying political science at Lycoming College in Pennsylvania, Miller was not particularly involved in politics until this year. She was invited to a fund-raiser last fall, and soon found herself immersed in the Obama campaign, working phone banks and traveling to Ohio and Pennsylvania to door-knock. This will be her first convention.
Comments
I applaud the Baltimore Sun's comprehensive coverage of Election
2008 and David Nitkin's features
including the article Maryland Democrats applaud choice of OBAMA
and Biden candidacy.
The Convention Chronicle is uniquely interesting, and timely with views
from Cheryl Miller, Democrat and
Carmen Amedori, Republican.
The Miller's effort to coordinate
Volunteers for Obama in Annapolis
and across the states has been tremendous. Together with the inspiration of Barack Obama, the Miller's have ignited the passion of family and friends to get involved in this important upcoming
Presidential election '08 and local politics. Thank you for bringing this important Election 2008 and Convention Chronicle coverage to
Marylanders. I will be emailing the Baltimore Sun's election coverage
to Americans across the nation.
The election 2008 with Barack Obama is truly historic and I am so glad that the Baltimore Sun is doing such a comprehensive effort of reporting updates to Marylanders.
Jacqueline Miller Byrd
Baltimore Sun reader
and Election 2008 coverage with David Nitkin and Convention Chronicle
with Cheryl Miller, enthusiast
Posted by: Jacqueline Miller Byrd | August 24, 2008 6:24 PM
Cheryl, continued good fortune and blessings as you represent our entire family this historic week!
Posted by: Billy Miller | August 24, 2008 11:01 PM