Two Westonites are Delegates at the DNC

Westonites Susan Moch and Barbara Reynolds will be on hand to nominate President Barack Obama to run for his second term as Democrats converge on Charlotte, N.C. this week at the Democratic National Convention.

Moch, who owns a law practice in Westport, spoke with Patch about the delegate process and what being a delegate means.

“This is something I’ve wanted to do for a long time,” she said.

In order to become a delegate, Moch said you have to apply and put your name up for nomination. Delegates are then chosen during two rounds, becoming pledged and at-large delegates.

“I am an at-large delegate,” she said. “I submitted an application and was lucky enough to be chosen because they needed women to balance the demographics of the delegation.”

Moch said she’s looking forward to the speeches by President Bill Clinton, President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama and and Elizabeth Warren, who is running for Senate against Senator Scott Brown in Massachusetts.

“There are also a lot of receptions and seminars during the day, and of course there are supposed to be a lot of fun parties,” she said. “I’m really looking forward to taking my husband, because he worked for ABC News at the 14 National Republican and Democratic Conventions between 1984 and 2000 and always had a great time. This time, we get to share the experience.”

Moch said delegates vote for the candidate they endorse and have a say in the party platform as well.

“This year, since the candidate is the incumbent, we vote by acclamation rather than the repeated ballot calls [which] are part of convention proceedings when it is a contested race and no one is clearly the primary winner,” Moch said.

Delegates get “credentials that allow us access to a lot of diverse events, including, of course, the floor of the DNC,” Moch said.

“We do have to pay our own travel, hotel and costs—we are not funded by the Democratic Party,” she said. “But really, the biggest perk is being able to say that I participated in this historic event.”

Moch, offering her personal opinion, said she believes the economy and health care are two of the country’s top priorities.

“This election is important because it is really going to determine the path that his country goes down over the next decade,” she said. “If Romney wins, I think that a lot of the reforms that have been instituted will be undone, and a lot of personal freedoms may be lost to the conservative leanings of the Republican Party.”

Moch said President Obama’s accomplishments during his first term are “astounding”—but not as astounding as “how fast what he did is being forgotten in the rhetoric of campaigning.”

“During his administration he has tried to clean up the mess of the prior eight years, including getting us out of Iraq, the deaths of Osama Bin Laden and Saddam Hussein, trying to ensure healthcare and so on,” she said.

While she hopes the election isn’t close, Moch said it’s too early to tell who will be the President on Jan. 20, 2013.

“I am keeping my fingers crossed,” she said.