Moses Lake man is Republican delegate

Ephrata attorney to serve as alternate

MOSES LAKE - Moses Lake attorney Robert Schiffner will travel to the Republican National Convention in St. Paul. Minn. in September as one of 40 Washington state delegates.

Grant County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Angus Lee was elected as an alternate delegate.

That means Schiffner and Lee - both McCain supporters - will help the Republican party nominate candidates for president and vice president of the United States.

The state Republican Convention concluded last weekend in Spokane. Forty delegates and 40 alternates were chosen to represent the party at the national level.

Among the 40 delegates, 33 support Sen. John McCain, four are in favor of Ron Paul and three back Mike Huckabee, said state GOP spokesman Patrick Bell on Wednesday.

Schiffner, 49, said there are about six delegates and six alternates from Eastern Washington.

Delegates on the rules, credentials and platform committees arrive in Minnesota about 10 days before the convention, he said.

He understands the national platform will likely be hammered out a week before the national convention.

Schiffner said he expects the convention week will be more about speeches and uniting the party.

The convention is also about meeting people, he said. There's a tradition that delegates exchange state buttons and pins.

"We voted to have a high quality pin," he said.

Delegates pay their own way to the event, which costs an estimated $2,300 for a plane ticket, hotel room and delegation costs.

Because of Washington's place in the alphabet, the state likely won't be the state that puts McCain over the top, Schiffner said.

Nonetheless, Schiffner said he's still excited to attend.

"I don't think it's really hit me yet," he said.

Schiffner said he was contacted by a representative from the McCain campaign because of his work as a Rossi attorney in Grant County during the governor's race recounts.

Lee, 31, said he's also excited to attend the convention and the convention is his first.

He said he was also contacted by a McCain campaign representative, who asked him if he was interested in being a national delegate.

Lee said he voluntarily withdrew from the delegate process after realizing there was a strong possibility McCain votes would be split if he didn't. He later got back on the ticket as a alternate delegate, he said.

Grant County Republican Chairman Tom Dent said many people want to attend the national convention.

"Absolutely, it's an honor. I would like to go someday," he said.

Mike Massey, a former party district chairman from Grant County, went to the national convention about four years ago, Dent said.

Dent said Massey spoke about how he went through the platforms and of the time he spent with different candidates.

Dent said delegates learn a lot of behind the scenes details about the candidates by watching them candidly.

"It gives you an insight on who they are as people," he said.

In a prepared statement, state party Chairman Luke Esser said "Our grassroots leaders in Central Washington have been working hard to support our outstanding Republican candidates and I'm thrilled that their incredible efforts have been rewarded with an opportunity to represent our state at the Republican National Convention in the Twin Cities this September."