Party pride

Ville Platte Mayor Jennifer Vidrine couldn’t help but get the chills when she first stood on the floor at the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver as a delegate from the state of Louisiana.
“It was electric,” Vidrine said. “It was emotional for me. I never thought I would see the day when an African-American would become a nominee for the presidency. To see an African-American accept the nomination was truly amazing. It gave me the frissons (goose bumps).”
Vidrine is hoping to experience that level of euphoria again this coming week when she will be attending the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia. It will be the third straight convention Vidrine has served as a delegate.
This time around Vidrine will also serve as a Delegate Whip, appointed by Hillary Clinton, which means that she will be in charge of a certain number of delegates at the convention.
“It is a great honor that I have been selected for this position,” Vidrine said.
At the past two conventions, Vidrine has spent mornings meeting some of the party’s leaders, including the late and legendary U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy, as well as former President Bill Clinton and her former classmate at LSU, Donna Brazile who serves as Vice Chair of the Democratic National Committee and as an political analyst for CNN.
Then at night, the delegates (which pay their own way to the convention) are bussed to the convention center and take the floor for that evening. Louisiana will officially cast its votes for Clinton on Thursday.
So how did the Ville Platte native get the chance to rub elbows with some of the bigger names in the Democratic party?
In 2006, two years before becoming mayor, Vidrine was elected to the Democratic State Central Committee for District 38A. Two years later, she campaigned to be voted as one of the state’s Democratic delegates.
“You have to meet each member of the committee and tell them why you want to go as a delegate,” Vidrine said. “I was fortunate enough that I was elected.”
That first convention for Vidrine proved to be historic as Barack Obama was nominated, and would of course eventually win the general election, and then reelected four years later.
“In 2008 it was very important for me because President Barack Obama was the first African-American to be nominated for President,” Vidrine said. “Then two years later I became the first African-American mayor of Ville Platte. This year will be historic once again as Secretary Hillary Clinton will become the first woman to be nominated for President.”
A moment from that 2008 convention that Vidrine still holds dear is when she called the late Mildred Thomas.
“I remember calling her from the convention floor,” Vidrine said. “She started singing and crying with me on the phone. She never forgot that and neither have I.”
Her favorite memory from the 2012 convention held that year in Charlotte, North Carolina was when a photographer captured a convention tradition.
“The delegates always see which state can holler the loudest,” Vidrine said. “The next day I picked up the Charlotte paper and there was a big photo of me screaming on the floor. It made me laugh.”
That year was also the first time Vidrine took her famous promotional baskets, which feature a slew of spices, sauces and other goodies that are made right here in Ville Platte. This year Vidrine has already shipped 16 baskets to Philadelphia that will be distributed to other delegates and party leaders from across the country.
Vidrine is excited about once again being at the convention as she will cast her vote for Clinton, but also is thrilled about her party’s platform.
“It is the Democratic platform that she is standing for that inspires me,” Vidrine said. “The platform wants to raise up the middle class with health care and education. That way they don’t have to be this country’s working poor. We want to take better care of our veterans. It is the least we can do as a party is to give them the proper care they deserve when they get back home and we need to take care of our elderly because they took care of us. We need some humanity right now.”
And how does she feel about the first woman to be nominated for president?
“She is an immensely qualified candidate,” Vidrine said of Clinton. “She has been First Lady, she has been a U.S. Senator and she has been Secretary of State. It is a hard job. She will do what is needed to help the country.”
After already making a name for herself as a delegate the past two conventions, Vidrine has already been requested to be interviewed this coming week by National Public Radio (NPR) and USA Today.
Just don’t expect the die-hard Democrat to spend time being critical of the other major political party that just wrapped up their own convention in Cleveland.
“It is not going to be me bashing the Republican party,” Vidrine said. “I am just proud of the Democratic party and our platform and we want to reach across the aisle and help move our country forward.”
For Vidrine, the experience also provides her with the opportunity to talk with national foundations, organizations and vendors about obtaining available grant money that could be used for different city projects back home.
“It gives me the opportunity to represent and promote Louisiana and Ville Platte,” Vidrine said. “I am proud of our state and proud of this town.”