THB: What made you want to go to the national convention?

JL: There’s so much excitement. There’s so much history that we’re going to witness, and the fact that I will be representing our District 6, our Madison County, our Mayor Kris Ockomon, the city.

We are the state of Indiana, and we say that we will be part of having a Democrat president that’s going to make a difference, that’s going to do the healing.

Barack Obama is bringing all this excitement out, and people now want to register to vote, they want to vote, they want to get involved — people of all colors, people of all ages. I think that is just outstanding phenomena.

There is just so much excitement that people can’t believe the political air is like this. It kind of gives you a reason to get involved and to vote, when maybe you’ve been kind of laid back. People are ready for change.

We know it can be better, and the only way it can be better is if you have the right president that has the compassion to make these things happen, and that’s for real, from the heart. That makes a difference.

THB: How many delegates come from District 6 in Indiana?

JL: Five delegates from this district. District 6 is not just Madison County. It’s Delaware County, Rush County, Henry County, Portland County and a little bit of the Fort Wayne area. So there’s a large area that (a national delegate nominee) has to compete with, so you have to put your name out. You have to give the reasons why you’re supporting and why you should represent District 6 and the state of Indiana.

I’m hoping that I will be elected to go to the National Convention. I want to represent the best for all of us, and hopefully make a difference and be very supportive of the next president of the United States.

THB: Have you ever been to the national convention before?

JL: No, but I’ve seen it on the news, and I’ve heard people talk about it.

I’m just overwhelmed, excited and ready to do what we need to do. I just said, “I want to be part of making things better.”

I would be the happiest person to be able to say I was part of that, part of the change, part of getting out the votes, part of getting people the information they need, and be part of saying, “Hang in there. A change is going to happen, and we’re going to make a difference, but we’ve all got to work together.”