Last week, myself and nine other reporters from various ethnic and community newspapers in New York, flew out to Denver to cover the Democratic National Convention.

I stayed in a house on the outskirts of Denver, and travelled into the city center every morning, to take in the sights and sounds. In the evenings I blogged about my experiences on the West Bronx Blog, at www.westbronxnews.blogspot.com.

Never having been to a convention before, I was taken aback by the sheer size, scope, and energy of the event. Beyond the well publicized speeches — each one carefully designed to build unequivocal support for nominee Barack Obama — there were hundreds of panel discussions, lunches, parties, and protests. Last Friday, I followed a pro-immigration rally which called for an end to the deportation of illegal immigrants. Other demonstrations criticized the Iraq War; still others demanded that abortion be outlawed, and taxes be cut. The world’s media watching, everyone — regardless of political affiliation — wanted to be heard.

With so much going on, it was sometimes hard to know where to begin – like covering the Olympics, I imagine. In the end I spent much of the time stalking our Bronx elected officials. Many were delegates, meaning they got to cast a vote for either Obama or Hillary Clinton. Mainly, I wanted to see if there was any truth to the rumors that some New York delegates — those close to Clinton — were reluctant to throw their weight behind Obama, and whether this in turn was creating tension in the party.

Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz, for one, stuck with Clinton until the very end. But he didn’t see his decision as a threat to party unity, or as an embarrassment to Obama. “I was elected by the voters to vote for Hillary so that’s what I’m going to do, no regrets,” Dinowitz told me as he waited to vote. “I’m voting for Hillary, but I will support Obama.”

Later that day, I tracked down Assemblyman Michael Benjamin, a staunch Obama fan. Benjamin, not surprisingly, had a different read on the situation. “There are those like myself who believe we should support unanimously for Obama,” he said. “I think people [Clinton delegates] are making a point. I don’t know if I’d call it stubbornness, but I think they want to make a point and support her and make sure it’s reported in history that she acquired delegates and came close to getting the nomination. She conceded, she’s supporting Barack Obama. What’s the point in having your home delegation pass votes for you that really don’t help you?”

Benjamin estimated that nearly half of the 281 delegates voted for Clinton. In the end, however, these numbers were never made public because Clinton put a halt to the roll call vote, thus confirming Obama as the nominee. But if Benjamin is correct, it hints at the real sadness and disappointment felt in much of the New York camp that their beloved senator came up short.

In the end, I never did get to see Obama give his nomination speech, as we had to catch our flight back home. All the same, it was fun to be part of a momentous few days. A big thank you to the New York Community Media Alliance for putting the trip together — and in the process giving small newspapers like the Norwood News a chance to cover such a historical event.

Ed. note: In addition to James Fergusson’s coverage of the convention on the West Bronx Blog, you can find the coverage of other New York City journalists, most from the ethnic media, at www.feetin2worlds.wordpress.com.