Speech inspires Las Vegas delegates

Suzanne Struglinski

Friday, July 30, 2004 | 9:12 a.m.

BOSTON -- Las Vegas delegate Edna Flores had one of the best seats in the house to hear John Kerry tell America why he should be president.

She sat right behind him on the stage.

Flores, 78, the oldest member of the delegation and Carson City delegate Jim Wallace arrived at the Fleet Center early on Thursday to get good seats for Kerry's acceptance speech. Some convention staff came around saying they needed two people to help fill the space behind the podium.

The catch was that the volunteers had to sit there for three hours and could not leave, but Flores said "you bet!"

"It was unbelieveable," Flores said. "I was right there."

Flores loved the speech, particularly Kerry's commitment to stem cell research. Her eyes teared up as she spoke of her husband's death due to Alzheimer's disease in 2000.

"I wish he had all the help in the world," she said. "It's really so stressful and financially hard, the care can become a burden.

Flores said Kerry's speech offered a sense of hope.

"I feel that we have been in such a hopeless state," Flores said.

The speech inspired the Nevada delegation to register more voters and get the word out about Kerry. Nevada is a battleground state for the White House and the party knows the other side will be working just as hard as they are to win the state's electoral votes for their candidate.

"We will win in November," said Chris Wicker, chairman of the Washoe County Democratic Party. "I have no doubt about that, but that doesn't mean you still don't have to do the work."

He said what "John Kerry told America tonight is really what I think Americans wanted to hear."

Ida Gaines, a Las Vegas delegate, said Kerry hit on every point.

"He spoke of everything that was important to America," Gaines said.

Nevada State Democratic Party Chair Adriana Martinez said his message was about bringing respect to the country, improving education and health, both of which are so important.

"It starts with this convention," Martinez said. "All of American watched this on television.

Marilyn Melton of Reno said it was not just what he said, but the way he presented his positive message.

Dan Hinkley said that even though he did not mention gays and lesbians in his speech he felt Kerry's line about not using the Constitution for political means directly spoke to the Bush administration's efforts to outlaw gay marriages.

"He asked George W. Bush to campaign on a higher level," said Hinkley, who lives in Las Vegas.