DaytonDailyNews.com

DENVER — Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama impressed longtime Darke County party leader Enid Goubeaux when she saw him at the party's Boston convention in 2004.

"I looked at him and the feeling I had was that I was looking at the future," said Goubeaux, who lives in Greenville.

Four years later, Goubeaux will cast her superdelegate vote for Obama as he makes history as the first black presidential nominee of a major party.

At least 16 superdelegates, delegates and alternates from the Dayton area are heading to the Democratic National Convention, which starts Monday, Aug. 25, and ends Thursday with Obama's acceptance speech.

A key goal is to unify the party after one of the most heated Ohio primaries in decades. U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton won the state and has more pledged Ohio delegates going to the convention than Obama — making the unity challenge tougher.

Of Ohio's 141 pledged delegates, 74 are for Clinton and 67 are for Obama. The state has 21 superdelegates.

Middletown business owner Stephen Hightower, 51, a Clinton delegate, plans to cast his vote for Obama.

"She (Clinton) has told us to put our full support behind Senator Obama and begin to move on," Hightower said.

Clinton still has strong support from some local delegates, including first-time delegate from Yellow Springs Jerome Sutton, a candidate this year for Greene County commissioner.

Sutton, 64, plans to vote for Clinton during the roll call Wednesday night. After that, he plans to support Obama.

"I don't think the Democratic Party needs a floor fight," Sutton said. "We need to move on."

Moving on may be easier for Democratic delegates than it will be for some Democratic voters. According to a Wall Street Journal/NBC poll released on Wednesday, Aug. 20, only 52 percent of people who voted for Clinton in the primaries now support Obama. Nearly one out of five of Clinton supporters polled said they would support Republican John McCain in November.

Since Clinton won 18 million votes during the primaries, bringing those supporters on board will be a key to Obama's success.

Dayton Mayor Rhine McLin, a superdelegate and vice chairman of the Ohio Democratic Party, believes Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland will play a major role in helping Obama win Ohio.

"I think the fact that our governor showed that he had juice in the Clinton campaign, I think he'll be courted to make sure that same juice will be delivered for Obama," said McLin, who is attending her sixth convention since 1972.

Makeup of the delegation

The 59-year-old mayor is part of a diverse Ohio delegation — by design. Party rules require that the delegation be evenly split between men and women.

Of Ohio's 186 delegates and alternates, 50 are black, five are Hispanic, and three are Asian-American, according to Alex Goepfert, spokesman for the state party.

But the delegation is diverse in another way as well: at least 36 delegates and alternates are younger than 40, including Dayton City Commissioner Matt Joseph, 36, who is attending his first convention as an alternate delegate supporting Obama.

Joseph said he hopes to develop connections at the convention that will help address Dayton's problems.

"We have a lot of needs right now," he said. "We've gotten hit hard in Ohio."

Obama supporter Mitchell Artis, 45, of Springfield, is also a first-time delegate.

"I was among the grassroots group out of Columbus that helped get Barack on the ballot ... to be able to go to the convention is like, just, wow," said Artis, an administrative assistant at Central State University.

State Rep. Clayton Luckie, D-Dayton, said the convention will give Ohio delegates a chance to "make sure our voices are heard." He also hopes to see his cousin, U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek of Florida, at the convention. Meek supported Hillary Clinton for the nomination, while Luckie backed Obama.

"I picked the right one," said Luckie, 45.

State Sen. Tom Roberts, D-Dayton, is attending his second convention, but the first as a delegate.

"This is the first time I think I've really wanted to be a delegate because I knew this was going to be a historic moment and I wanted to be part of that history," said Roberts, 56. Being a part of that history may be exhausting. The delegates start each day with a 7:30 a.m. breakfast and end it with a midnight gathering at the delegation hotel.

In years past, Goubeaux wrote articles for the Greenville newspaper then went to bed early. She says she might change her plans this year.

"This time maybe I won't write anything," she said. "Maybe I'll party."

Ohio's Delegation

Leaders: Gov. Ted Strickland, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, state Democratic Chairman Chris Redfern

Delegates and alternates: 141 pledged delegates, 21 superdelegates and 24 alternates

Pledged delegate breakdown: Hillary Clinton, 74;

Barack Obama, 67