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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Spokane delegate says Bernie Sanders supporters were disrespected at national convention

Ava Sharifi, then a 17-year-old student at Lewis and Clark High School, in February. (Tyler Tjomsland / The Spokesman-Review)

Ava Sharifi was not the average Washington delegate to the Democratic National Convention.

She was the youngest for the state, and among the youngest at the convention, at 18. She’s from Spokane, which is not a Democratic stronghold compared to several cites in Western Washington. An Iranian-American, she was one of a half-dozen Muslims in the delegation.

Because of that – and because she’s an articulate young woman who has won speech and debate awards while at Lewis and Clark High School – Sharifi’s comments were regularly sought by regional, national and even international reporters in Philadelphia. She lost count of the number of interviews she gave, but believes it was more than a dozen.

She came to the convention a Bernie Sanders delegate, and left believing the Vermont senator’s supporters were not given the proper respect or inclusion in discussions of key issues like the Trans-Pacific Partnership or fracking by nominee Hillary Clinton’s campaign.

Clinton’s acceptance speech didn’t win her over, Sharifi said, even though it included some progressive themes, because it didn’t have details on how she’d accomplish them. Asked if she’ll cast her ballot for Clinton in the fall, the recent high school grad replied she doesn’t like to say who she’s going to vote for because it generates attacks on social media.

She did say, however, the convention wasn’t what she expected.

“I knew that Bernie wouldn’t win the nomination,” she said on the last day of the convention. “I did expect more effort to make the people who came for Bernie Sanders feel like it was worth it.”

One of the most senior members of the delegation, longtime Clinton supporter Sen. Patty Murray, felt Sanders delegates were part of the discussions and decisions and predicted the vast majority eventually will unite behind the nominee. Sanders isn’t going away, she added, he’s going back to the Senate where they sit next to each other on three key committees.

“His voice is not going away. It’s been amplified by the campaign,” Murray said. “It’s always hard to say ‘OK, my team lost, it’s time to move on.’ ”

Like many first-time attendees to a national convention, Sharifi had hoped for serious discussions of political issues. Instead, it was “a four-day TV commercial, in my opinion,” she said.

She and some other frustrated Washington Sanders delegates joined others in the Oregon delegation chanting “No More War!” when former CIA Director Leon Panetta spoke. They were unhappy the convention managers turned off the lights above their delegation to make it hard for television cameras to capture the protest.

They repeated the chant during Clinton’s acceptance speech Thursday night when she mentioned support for Israel. They fear defending Israel will lead to the deaths of Palestinians. Other delegates drowned them out with chants of “Hill-a-ry!”

As a Muslim, Sharifi found Bill Clinton’s speech offensive when he said, “If you’re a Muslim and you love America and freedom, and you hate terror, stay here and help us win and make a future together.” She realizes the former president was trying to counter Trump rhetoric, but believes he failed in an effort to reach Muslims.

“It’s as though American Muslims must still give a reason to stay in this country. It felt like a threat,” she said.

But Sharifi was moved by the parents of an American Muslim Army officer killed in Iraq.

“I was genuinely proud the entire crowd gave support to” Khizr Khan, and jumped to their feet when he offered to lend Donald Trump his copy of the Constitution, she said.

This fall she’ll study political science and pre-law at the University of Washington, but for the rest of the summer, she has an unpaid internship with the Democratic Coordinated Campaign in Spokane, working to help local candidates get elected. Her experience with the caucuses and conventions has convinced her “change starts from the ground up.”