2016 DNC Pre-Convention Trans Delegate Musing

One of the things I'd like to see in that 2016 DNC transgender delegate contingent besides more people and continued ethnic diversity is that trans DNC delegation in 2016 and beyond include trans people who are elected to public office.  That would be in addition to the trans people already diligently working inside the various levels of the Democratic Party to ensure we have a voice in it at the policy formation tables.
TransGriot, September 6, 2012

When the 2016 Democratic National Convention is gaveled into order for its first session at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, we will have a record 28 trans folks in the house and taking part at this historic convention which will  see Hillary Clinton officially become the first female presidential nominee of a major political party.

The Green Party and Jill Stein doesn't count as a major political party and she doesn't have a credible chance of taking the oath of office on January 20, so stop hatin' fauxgressives and deal with that dose of political reality.

We've come a long way in Trans World from the 2000 days in which Minnesota's Jane Fee became the first out trans person the attend a DNC convention and was the lone trans delegate in Los Angeles.

Trans representation at the DNC convention has grown exponentially to the point that we had our most diverse delegation ever in Charlotte with 14 people in 2012,   One of the 14 people in attendance in Charlotte was a superdelegate in New Jersey's Barbra Casbar Siperstein.

Babs has been blazing the trail and active in New Jersey and national Democratic Party politics for years, and will be one of the superdelegates in attendance in Philadelphia, the other super being Laura Calvo of Oregon.  
I'm hoping that the 2016 trans DNC contingent during their time in Philadelphia will actually see more trans history made with one of our people actually making a speech to the convention attendees and hopefully the nation from the convention stage.

It's even more vital the American people see that in the wake of the Republicans putting together a virulently anti-trans and LGB platform.  We need to make it clear as a party that we are proud of the most pro-trans platform in Democratic Party history, and putting a trans Democrat on stage would put an exclamation point on our values of treating trans people with dignity and respect.

We already know the Texas DNC delegation will have its first ever out trans masculine representative in Lou Weaver, and Montana will be sending its first ever out trans delegate in Anita Green.  Monica DePaul will be the first ever out trans delegate from Florida.

There will also be just as in 2014, two African American trans representatives in Merrick Moses from Maryland and Sharron Cooks representing the host delegation from Pennsylvania

While I'm proud of the record numbers of trans people headed to Philadelphia, many for the first time, we do have room for improvement in terms of the diversity of our trans DNC delegates.   It's been a dream of mine to one day be a DNC delegate, and I hope I can make that happen someday.

I would also like to see more trans people of all ethnic backgrounds showing up at future DNC's as elected representatives, and hope the 2016 election cycle is the first step toward that becoming a reality.

Speaking of reality, will be nice to not only see a political convention that's grounded in reality, but looks like America at the same time.