'The whole place went nuts'

Montanans played key roles in convention

By RICHARD HANNERS / Whitefish Pilot

Joan Vetter Ehrenberg is still emotional after returning from the Democratic National Convention in Denver. Her immersion in the world of politics is relatively new, but the intensity leaves her both excited and determined about the future.

Ehrenberg moved to Whitefish from New York about 17 years ago, and the Montana resort town turned out to be a natural fit for her.

"I grew up skiing at places like Stowe, Vermont," she said, adding that she had to keep up with her three older brothers.

She met her husband Ted while sailboat racing in Somers, and together they have a 10-year-old daughter, Kate.

After 12 years working in marketing and sales at several lodges in Whitefish, Ehrenberg took up volunteer work and spending more time with her daughter. She spent five years with the Whitefish Convention and Visitor Bureau and two years with the Whitefish PTA's after-school arts and theater education program. She also ran the nursery and helped run the kids club at the All Saints Episcopal Church.

But several years ago, she gave up all three activities to devote herself full-time to Democratic Party politics. She was vice chairperson of the Flathead County Democratic Party for nine months and the chairperson for the past year and a half. Prior to that time, Ehrenberg ran the Flathead Votes and the Billwatch subcommittees for the central committee.

"I'm pretty much a strategist for Democrats," she said.

This isn't her first foray into politics, however.

"I cut my teeth on billboard sign regulations beginning in 1995," she said.

Working with Citizens For A Better Flathead and others, Ehrenberg helped create county-wide regulations for billboard signs that were approved by the county commissioners. After that, she and others networked with Polson, Missoula and Billings on similar regulations.

"I also worked on Gov. Marc Racicot's scenic task force to get smaller and fewer billboards statewide," she said, calling it the only regulatory bill passed by the Republican administration.

Ehrenberg found herself defending her billboard sign regulations in 2005 when state Sen. Bob Keenan, R-Bigfork, introduced legislation that would make it more costly for counties to remove the signs.

That's when people asked her to run for the legislature, but so far she's said no.

"Someone needs to organize the folks at home," she said.

Ehrenberg really likes the role she plays now, and she's totally focused on politics.

"When I graduated from high school in 1978, the speed limit was 55 mph, we cared about fuel standards, we cared about environmental issues, we were respected in the world, we cared about global issues," she said.

She cited the Coca-Cola commercial that spun off the popular song "I want to teach the world to sing."

"Now we drive Hummers, the Republicans have raised speed limits, they've voted against fuel efficiency standards — how can you not want to save taxpayers money?" she asked.

Ehrenberg says America's standing in the world is the lowest it's ever been because of the war in Iraq.

"We went into another country that never did anything to us and bombed innocent women and children," she said.

When the idea of being a national convention delegate arose last year, Ehrenberg said she didn't think she had the money or time to go, and that other people with more years working for the Democratic Party should go.

"But people said, 'Joan, you should go, you work so hard,'" she said.

After this year's primary, Flathead Democrats chose eight delegates to attend the state primary in Helena. Ehrenberg got the most votes, but campaigning in Helena for the national convention proved difficult.

"It was the hardest thing I ever did in my life," she said. "We were all packed into one hot and noisy room, Obama and Clinton backers, and you needed to be a strong speaker to be heard."

By a narrow 52-50 vote, Ehrenberg was chosen as a "party leader or elected official" delegate, one of Montana's 25 delegates to go to Denver.

Reflecting on all the hard work, Ehrenberg noted how she got drawn into the selection process.

"Once I got going, I thought it was pretty cool," she said. "I got psyched."

She left for Denver on Aug. 20 and attended an Interfaith Gathering at the Wells Fargo Theater that spurred her on even more. After that, there were mandatory 7 a.m. breakfast meetings where delegates got their schedules for the day and, most importantly, their credentials.

"Stevie Wonder couldn't get on the podium without his credentials," she said.

Security in Denver was tight. Ehrenberg said she saw pro-life protesters carrying bullhorns and "very graphic" images on 4-by-8 posters, and she saw a group of Iraq veterans for peace.

"We clapped for them," she said.

The Montana delegates stayed at the same hotel as dozens of European reporters. By the time she left Denver, she said, she was interviewed by reporters from Norway, CNN Radio, the Congressional Quarterly, the AP and several Montana media.

"I wasn't intimidated," she said. "I was fired up and ready to go."

Ehrenberg said she was particularly moved by Michelle Obama's speech on the convention's opening day. Ehrenberg had met the presidential candidate's wife when she was at the KM Building in Kalispell on June 2, and both have lost parents.

The next day, Ehrenberg attended a women's caucus with 900 other people, including Ellen Malcolm, founder of the online political networking site Emily's List. She wanted to call her mother and tell her what she was doing, but her mother and father have both passed on.

"I got all emotional," Ehrenberg said. "I buried my head in my hands and started crying. All of our delegation got emotional at one time or another."

She got a big lift that night when Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer fired up the 20,000 people in the Pepsi Center just before Sen. Hillary Clinton was scheduled to speak.

"He had the entire crowd rocking. The whole place went nuts," Ehrenberg said. "After that, when we wore our Montana lapels, people told us they loved our governor and said, 'He rocks.'"

The Montana delegation also played an important role when the roll call vote took place at Pepsi Center the next day. Behind-the-scenes organizers were well aware that Clinton would stop the state-by-state count and call for an acclamation vote when New York's turn came, but she was late in arriving to the convention floor.

"They asked us, 'Montana, you have to drag it out,'" Ehrenberg said, pointing out that some Montana media didn't know this and thought the Montana delegates behaved badly.

She said her neighbor, Bob DePratu, said he saw her on TV during the roll call vote.

The energy the Montana delegates delivered apparently had a positive impact — when the convention was moved outdoors to Invesco Field on the convention's last day, they found themselves even closer to the podium.

Ehrenberg, who was a cheerleader in high school, joined a delegate from North Carolina in leading the chant "fired up and ready to go" after Sen. Barack Obama's speech. She and Montana delegates later sang the Montana state song while looking for their bus amongst the 85,000 people at the Invesco Field parking lot.

All in all, Ehrenberg called the trip a phenomenal experience.

"I'm grateful to be a part of American history and witness one of the finest speeches ever," she said. "If Pat Buchanan, a conservative commentator, can rave about Sen. Obama's acceptance speech, we know we have something significant."

After some much needed rest, Ehrenberg said she'll be back at work at the Democratic Party offices on Denver Avenue organizing volunteers. She can be reached at 862-2008.