BOSTON — A Maryland delegate to the Democratic National Convention is missing, and Democratic Party officials don’t seem to know where she is or if she will be here.
Dawn C. Flythe of Upper Marlboro had not checked in with the delegation by Monday afternoon, said Meredith Bowman, deputy director of the Maryland Democratic Party. She also did not have a reservation at the Seaport Hotel in Boston, where the rest of the state’s delegation is staying. A Maryland phone number listed under her name was disconnected. If Flythe doesn’t show up by the time of the convention’s Thursday vote, then the delegation will call up an alternate.
Flythe, who is pledged to Sen. John Edwards, was an aide to former Maryland Secretary of State John T. Willis. She was elected as a 4th Congressional District delegate in the March primary.
Louise Gallun, who is the alternate, is unsure whether she will get the opportunity to be a voting delegate. Gallun is vice chairwoman of the Montgomery County Democratic Central Committee and a legislative assistant to state Delegate Anne Kaiser of Montgomery County.
Gallun attended the 2000 Democratic Convention in Los Angeles as a guest. This would be her first time as a delegate.
Still, she says that so far she’s having all the fun that comes with being a delegate.
“The only thing an alternate can’t do is vote,” Gallun said. “I’ve been out to lunches and dinners. I can sit down with the delegates on the convention floor.”
Gallun says she’s eager for the chance to cast a vote for her candidate, Sen. John Kerry, who she’s supported since the first steps of the campaign trail.
“Of the field, I thought he was the most electable,” Gallun said. “He had the most discipline, he was capable of raising the needed huge amounts of money, and he had the most experience.”
Flythe isn’t the only one of the original Maryland delegates not at the convention. Beatrice Tignor, chairwoman of the Prince George’s County Board of Education and a member of the Democratic National Committee, was forced to drop out at the last moment for what she described as “personal reasons.” However, under party rules DNC delegates are not replaced with alternatives.