Later today, or tomorrow, I will finally get around to writing some stories about things other than politics, but for this morning, I need to provide my recap of the 2010 CT Democratic State Convention. It is one that will be talked about for years to come.

I believe the first political convention I ever watched any of was the 1968 Presidential conventions. I was about nine years old. We had only recently gotten our first television. It was a small black and white model that could pull in three stations, a CBS affiliate, an NBC affiliate and a PBS affiliate. I watched with fascination and little comprehension as I twisted the mechanical dial to select a station and watch Cronkite, Huntley, Brinkley, and others try to explain what was going on. I remember long roll calls, and learning a little bit about the states in our country and their claims to fame.

It seemed like no convention I ever watched matched this level of drama. Slowly, conventions morphed into coronations and viewership declined. In 2004, I became much more involved in the political process. I went to Diane Farrell’s nominating convention for Connecticut’s Fourth Congressional District. It was pretty much a coronation, but it was exciting as my first convention attended in person. It was all the more exciting for me, because by then, I knew the candidate, the campaign staff, and many of the delegates.

The next convention I attended was the nominating convention for my wife’s 2004 bid for State Representative. This was a very small convention. It was packed with friends, and there was excitement because it was the first time in many years that the state representative district had a nominee.

Later that year, I was credentialed to cover the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston. It was a wonderful experience watching the convention and chatting with bloggers from the nosebleed seats that had been set aside for the bloggers’ roost. We bloggers were a curiosity. We were bringing new eyes, new ideas, and diversity to convention coverage. I was interviewed by members of the foreign press who were incredulous that a political party would allow in writers whom they could not control. Most of the bloggers had strong Democratic leanings, so it was not as much of a surrender of control as people might imagine, but it did provide a stark contrast for the Arabic listeners who listened to my interview.

Since then, I’ve attended several Massachusetts conventions, and they have been lively and fun. There always seem to be a collection of rogue delegates ready to challenge the party machinery at every turn. I’ve attended other coronation conventions, which have been fun parties, and this year, I served as a delegate in my Probate District Convention. This was also a coronation, but there was some interest because the district boundaries have changed.

The first Connecticut Democratic State Convention I attended was in 2006. I lived in Stamford, and my daughter had done an internship with Mayor Malloy’s campaign. I had worked as Blogmaster for New Haven Mayor John DeStefano’s campaign and then become technology coordinator for Ned Lamont’s U.S. Senate campaign. Instead of attending the convention as a blogger, I was there as a member of Ned’s campaign staff. We were prepared for all kinds of political maneuvers to block Ned, but he received enough delegate votes to make such maneuvers unlikely to have any success.

There was a minor skirmish on the Secretary of State’s office. Initially, Secretary of State Susan Bysiewicz had explored running for Governor. Several candidates entered the Secretary of State’s race. In the end, Bysiewicz decided to run for re-election and most of the other candidates withdrew. Yet one remained and there were some votes for Bysiewicz’s opponent. All of the other Constitutional Offices were unopposed.

The Governor’s race was a different story. It was too close to call, and ended up with challenges, maneuvering, and ultimately Dan Malloy narrowly winning the nomination. Mayor DeStefano who was on Line B, along with Ned Lamont, ended up winning the primary and being the Democratic Candidate for Governor. It was probably the first time I had seen a contested election since watching national conventions on my little black and white television as a child. It was a memorable convention, and I didn’t expect to see such a lively convention for a long time. It turns out that a long time was two years.