Democrats pick delegates to represent Manatee, Sarasota at convention

MANATEE -- The delegates who will represent Manatee and Sarasota counties at the Democratic Convention in Philadelphia have been selected.

Four delegates for Hillary Clinton -- two men and two women -- and two delegates for Bernie Sanders -- one man and one woman -- were selected last May 7. The apportionment was based on the results of the March 15 presidential primary, Sheryl Wilson, chairwoman of the Manatee County Democrats, has previously said.

The four delegates for Clinton are Christine Jennings, chairwoman of the Sarasota County Democratic Party; Lucy Lapides, fundraising chair for the Manatee County Democratic Party; Michael Fischer, who is from Manatee County and involved in the Clinton campaign; and Lawrence Jennis, who is a West Manatee Fire Rescue commissioner.

The two delegates for Sanders are Katherine Sogolow and David Beaton, who are both from Sarasota County and were endorsed by Sarasota/Manatee for Bernie.

In Manatee County, Clinton received 62.6 percent of the vote with Sanders receiving 35 percent, according to the Manatee Supervisor of Elections Office.

The 135 district-level delegates elected May 7 will meet in Orlando on May 21 to select the "27 Pledged Party Leader and Elected Official Delegates, 45 At-Large Delegates and 17 At-Large Alternates to the Democratic National Convention," according to the Florida Democratic Party website.

"By ensuring all Democrats have a voice in the national convention, this Delegate Selection and Affirmative Action Plan will ensure that the Florida Democratic Party delegation will truly represent the tremendous diversity of Florida and the Democratic Party," according to the website.

The delegates who will represent Manatee and Sarasota counties at the GOP convention in Cleveland this summer, and vote for Donald Trump to be the presidential nominee, were selected in April.

Joe Gruters, chairman of the Republican Party of Sarasota County; Kathleen King, chairwoman of the Manatee County Republican Party; and Chris Ziegler, state committeeman for Sarasota County, will represent Florida's 16th Congressional District at the presidential convention.

Claire Aronson, Manatee County reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7024. Follow her on Twitter@Claire_Aronson.

This story was originally published May 11, 2016 at 2:35 PM with the headline "Democrats pick delegates to represent Manatee, Sarasota at convention ."