More than 300 Democrats Rally at Tenth Dems Convention

More than 300 Democrats Rally at Tenth Dems Convention

This is a shot of the crowd at the Tenth Congressional District Democrats 10th District Convention by pau1ke11y

More than 40 candidates and elected officials at the 10th  District-Wide Democratic Convention raised their voices in support of working families throughout the district, inspiring the more than 300 enthusiastic conventioneers Sunday at the Vernon Hills High School.

The convention was hosted by the Tenth Congressional District Democrats, or Tenth Dems. Candidates running for election at all levels of government from all parts of the district were able to meet active and passionate Democrats and interested independents.

The Tenth Dems members conducted a straw poll for their favorite congressional candidate in the March 20 primary, with Vivek Bavda receiving 1 percent, Brad Schneider getting 6 percent, John Tree getting 20 percent, and Ilya Sheyman garnering 73 percent. While the convention was open to the public, only Tenth Dems members were eligible to vote.

The keynote speaker was Fay Hartog-Levin, the 65th Ambassador to the Netherlands. Ambassador Levin’s speech reminded everyone what the task at hand is—getting out the vote and sending Democrats to Washington, to Springfield, and to the many local offices in the district. “The country needs Barack Obama,” Levin said. “But the world needs him even more.

“There was a generation in the world that only saw America through George W. Bush’s eyes,” Ambassador Levin added. “The international community needed to see America through President Obama’s eyes. The Dutch and the international community never understood, for example, how a country with the wealth and influence of the United States did not allow many of its citizens access to health care.”

Ambassador Levin was a senior consultant at Res Publica Group from 2006 to 2009, was Vice President for External Affairs at Chicago’s Field Museum from 1997 to 2005, and was an attorney in private practice and at Seyfarth, Shaw, Fairweather and Geraldson. Ambassador Levin’s parents were Dutch citizens who left the Netherlands during WWII, and immigrated to the U.S. thereafter.

Other speakers at the convention vowed to unify after the primary to change the direction of the country and the district. “The rally was a fun event and a great way to energize voters,” said Northfield Trustee Karen McCormick. Other speakers spoke in amazement at the number and the energy of the attendees.

The chair of the event was John Hmurovic, who has been the vice chair of Tenth Dems since 2003 and is a recognized expert in area politics. Hmurovic has been chair of Tenth Dems since 2006, he served as precinct committeeman in Libertyville, and he was the campaign manager for State Rep. Karen May in 2006, 2008, 2010, and for Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering in 2009.

This good old-fashioned political convention was headlined by most of the local candidates running in any precinct within the geographic boundaries of the 10th District, and it featured rousing music, sign-waving to support Democratic candidates, and more.

The Tenth Congressional District Democrats, or Tenth Dems for short, is a group of grassroots political volunteers who formed the organization in late 2003 to help elect Democrats to all levels of government throughout the 10th District.

For more information or to volunteer, go to http://www.tenthdems.org, email info@tenthdems.org, or call 847-266-VOTE (8683).

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The Illinois Tenth Congressional District Democrats is a volunteer group with members from all parts of the 10th Congressional District. The 10th District contains portions of both Cook and Lake Counties stretching from Winnetka through Waukegan and from Lake Michigan west through Round Lake. The District includes all or part of the following townships: Avon, Benton, Grant, Libertyville, Moraine, Shields, Waukegan, West Deerfield, Vernon, Zion and parts of Fremont, Lake Villa, Maine, New Trier, Newport, Northfield, Warren, and Wheeling.