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Zack Wynne, vice chair of
the New River 3 precinct, will be representing Watauga
County and the entire NC Fifth District
at the National Democratic Convention in Denver
the last week of August.
Wynne was elected a
delegate to Denver at the Fifth
District convention in Statesville on May 17.
Born in Virginia
but with deep family roots in the Fifth District towns of Eden and Mount Airy, Wynne came to Watauga County
in 2005 to work on a master’s degree in public administration at Appalachian
State University. He finished his degree in 2007 and has so far managed to
remain in Boone, which he came to love while attending ASU.
“I grew up in an
apolitical family, actually,” said Wynne. “My parents are ministers, and
although they never missed an election, they did not actively participate.”
“But me? I’ve been
interested in politics since I was about nine. I’ve always wanted to go to a
national convention but either didn’t know how to go about getting selected or
wasn’t in a position to do it. This year just seemed too incredibly important,
so I went for it.”
Wynne was elected as a
delegate “committed to” Hillary Clinton, who won the popular vote in the Fifth
District, though she lost the state to Obama. “I don’t actually know what
happens to that ‘commitment’ to Clinton,
now that she’s dropped out of the race,” Wynne said. “I’m waiting for someone
to give us instructions about that.”
Wynne is working for Mary
Fant Donnan, who is currently in a primary run-off with John Brooks for the
Secretary of Labor slot. The winner of that run-off will face incumbent
Republican Cherie Berry this fall.
For a man with a ticket to
the biggest of political shows, Wynne stays grounded in the local. “I’m also
planning to work for Cullie Tarleton’s reelection bid for the NC House. I’ve
volunteered for a number of candidates at all levels. I always try to make sure
that people don’t get so caught up in national politics that they forget about
the many local and state races that have real impact on our lives.”
“We’ve got to elect
Democrats who are truly intelligent and push real, viable ideas,” Wynne said.
“That is what I’ve especially valued about North Carolina Democrats. We’ve
worked quite hard to put smart people into office.”
Wynne
has started a blog, “Zack Goes To the DNC” (dnczack.blogspot.com), to record his
experiences becoming a delegate and to give readers a taste of what goes on at
the National Convention in August.
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