4TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT RUSHERN L. BAKER III, 45, of Cheverly, was a member of the Maryland House of Delegates from Prince George's County from 1994 to 2003. He is executive director of the Community Teachers Institute, a Washington nonprofit focusing on the improvement of public education, and a senior fellow at the University of Maryland?s James MacGregor Burns Academy of Leadership. He is originally from Springfield, Mass., and earlier in his career, he spent a year (1986-87) as senior Congressional Black Caucus fellow in Sen. John Kerry's office, so he looks at the convention as a homecoming on several levels. This is his second convention. MARK FEINROTH, 46, of Olney, recently became a lobbyist for the Maryland Association of Realtors. Before that, he was an assistant secretary in the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing, and Regulation, where he ran all regulatory programs, including 30 licensing divisions. He was appointed to this post by former Democratic Gov. Parris Glendening. He also was a private practice attorney in Silver Spring. He is, he says, designated representative of the Kerry campaign for the Maryland delegation. This is his first convention as an elected delegate; although he attended conventions in 1980, when he was just out of college, Franklin and Marshall, and 1984, when he was working for former Maryland Democratic U.S. Rep. Michael Barnes. DAWN C. FLYTHE, age unknown, of Upper Marlboro. She graduated from the University of Maryland in 1997 and has been a political donor. Flythe is currently on medical leave, and Democratic Party officials are uncertain whether she will be attending the convention. ANNE R. KAISER, 36, of Olney, a first-term member of the Maryland House of Delegates, made news earlier this year when she publicly revealed she is a lesbian during hearings on a medical decision-making bill. Before her election in 2002, she was an Internal Revenue Service economist. She holds master's degrees in public policy and educational studies. This year will be her second convention, but her first as a delegate. MICHELLE MELTON, 32, of Upper Marlboro, a program analyst for the U.S. Coast Guard, has been involved in Democratic politics for years. She served as case manager for Maryland Democratic U.S. Rep. Albert Wynn from 1994-1996; special assistant to Vice President Gore from 1996-2000; and special assistant to Secretary of Energy Bill Richardson from 2000-2001. Melton earned her bachelor's degree from the University of Maryland at College Park and her master's from Bowie State University. This is her second convention, but first as a delegate. In 2000, she was at the convention helping out with fundraising for the Women's Leadership Forum. JOHN D. PORCARI, 45, of Cheverly, is vice president for administrative affairs at the University of Maryland, College Park. He was secretary of transportation during Gov. Parris Glendening's administration, and before that, vice president of Loiederman Associates, an environmental consulting firm. He also has held several positions in Prince George's County, including development manager, development review coordinator and environmental planner, and was the governor's ombudsman and assistant secretary for economic development. He and his wife, Heidi, are bringing their five children, ages 3 to 15, to the convention, Porcari says, as a live civics lesson. Alternate LOUISE GALLUN, 55, of Montgomery Village is a legislative aide for Delegate Anne R. Kaiser, D-Montgomery, and vice chairman of the Montgomery County Central Committee. She formerly was legislative aide for Delegate Joan F. Stern, D-Montgomery. She is also president of the local chapter of the American Association of University Women. She is married to a Unitarian minister, the Rev. Gary Gallun, who is affiliated with the River Road Unitarian Church. This is her first convention as a delegate; in 2000, she attended as a special guest. 5TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT JUSTIN CHAPPELL, 25, of Laurel is disabled wheelchair-user and national treasurer of the Young Democrats Disabilities Caucus. He is a legislative correspondent covering, among other things, education, labor and judiciary issues for U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa. He graduated from Catholic University in 2001, and worked at the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees before moving to the Senate. He attended the 2000 Convention in Los Angeles as a volunteer. He is a board member of HireAbilities.org and sits on the Prince George's Democratic Central Committee. He is pledged to Edwards. TED BESEPARIS, born in 1954, is vice president of the National Insurance Trade Association. He had been an editor at Standard News, a Washington-based wire service. He has also been a radio talk show host in Palm Beach, Fla. He is pledged to Kerry. EDITH PATTERSON, 58, of Pomfret, is in her second year as chairwoman of the Charles County Central Committee. She is a college administrator and has been active in county education issues for more than a decade. She is pledged to Kerry, and she has never been to a convention before. JILL A. DICKEY, 48, of Bowie, is the proprietor of Retro Tea Room, also in Bowie. She and her delegate husband, Michael Gollin, have been active in community politics and organizations for several years, but both are going to their first convention. Dickey is a member of the Bowie Chamber of Commerce and the Restaurant Association of Maryland. She and Gollin have three children. She is pledged to Kerry. MICHAEL GOLLIN, 47, of Bowie, is a patent attorney in Washington and has practiced for 20 years. He was born in Rochester, N.Y., and graduated from Princeton University in 1978. He received a master's from the University of Zurich in zoology and molecular biology before attending law school at Boston University. He is an adjunct professor of intellectual property at Georgetown University's business school. This will be his first convention. He is married to delegate Jill Dickey, and, like her, is pledged to Kerry. MARY ANN GREEN, is a former staff member for famed former House Majority Leader Thomas P. "Tip" O'Neill Jr. She has worked for Prince George's County Councilman Tony Knotts as a community liaison since 2003. She also serves as the membership supervisor of the Ebenezer A.M.E. Church in Fort Washington and studies at Prince George's Community College. She is pledged to Edwards. Alternate ONO EKEH, 33, of Waldorf owns a small business, St. Martin Catholic Books and Gifts, also in Waldorf. He has never been to a convention before nor held elective office, but he has been an active volunteer in the Kerry campaign over the past year. He was asked to resign this spring from his post with the Secretariat for African-American Catholics at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in Washington after the conference took issue with his Web postings and his running of a Catholics for Kerry site. He is pledged to Kerry. 6TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT ROBERT A. BLUMENTHAL, 49, of Jefferson, will be attending his first political convention this year. A political newcomer, Blumenthal decided "on a whim" to register as a candidate for the delegation. He is a sales director at Cambrex Corporation, a life sciences company. He is a pledged delegate to Edwards. CORYNNE COURPAS, 49, of Westminster, is the secretary of the Carroll County Democratic Central Committee, and will be attending her first political convention as a delegate. She has attended three previous conventions as a campaign volunteer. She works in the Performance Food Group at Carroll County Foods. She is pledged Edwards. JENNIFER DOUGHERTY, 43, of Frederick, is serving her first term as the mayor of Frederick, the second-largest city in Maryland. It is her first elected position. This will be her first political convention. She is a pledged delegate to Kerry. DAN RUPLI, 61, of Brunswick, has been involved in politics his "whole adult life." He was a candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives in 1976 and has worked on various local, state, and national elections since. He is a volunteer for the Kerry campaign, acting as John Kerry's "principal surrogate" in Maryland's 6th District. This will be Rupli's first convention as a delegate, although he has attended three previous conventions as a volunteer. He is a pledged delegate to John Kerry. 7TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT SARA FORD HAMER, 60, of Ellicott City, is a retired Social Security Administration staff member and has no formal political experience, although she is a lifelong Democrat. She is married to fellow convention delegate Gary Hamer. It will be the first convention for both of them. GARY K. HAMER, 62, of Ellicott City, is a retired supervisory investigator for the U.S. Office of Special Counsel, married to convention delegate Sara Ford Hamer. Like his wife, Hamer has no formal political experience but served on the Human Rights Commission in Howard County. Also a lifelong Democrat, Hamer campaigned for Adlai Stevenson and John F. Kennedy during his youth in Ohio. LYNNE WARSHAW, 64, of Columbia, is a grass-roots activist who works in sales. She has never held elective office, but she has been active in community organizations, including the Secondary Materials and Recycled Textile Association, for more than 30 years. This will be her first convention. BELINDA CONAWAY, 36, of Baltimore, is a guidance counselor in Baltimore County Public Schools. She is in the "long awkward 14-month" waiting period as councilwoman-elect for Baltimore's seventh district. She followed the example of her parents, who have both held offices in city courts. Her father is Frank Conaway, Circuit Court clerk, an independent 2004 mayoral candidate. This is her first convention. WALTER WILLIAMS, 61, of Baltimore, is manager of Capital Fixed Assets for the state, and is an active American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees union member. He is an Executive Board Member of the American Legion Federal Post No. 19, Baltimore, and on the staff of Maryland Sen. Verna L. Jones, D-Baltimore, after working as her vice campaign manager. WILLIE THOMAS, 57, of Baltimore, is a program administrator for Maryland state government and an American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, Council 92 union member. He has worked as a community activist for years, but this will be his first convention. Alternate RUTH ZLOTOWITZ, 59, of Ellicott City, works for the Social Security Administration. This will be her first convention. - MORE-

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