Susan Barrett, Fairfield Delegate to the DNC

Fairfield's Susan Barrett is no stranger to politics.

The former state representative (D-132, 1983-85) has held many positions on town boards and commissions, and currently serves on the town's Fire Commission. She's acted as Town Chair of Fairfield, been on the Representative Town Meeting, was the first Democratic woman to serve on the Board of Finance for three 6-year terms, and has been elected to the Democratic State Central Committee of District 28 four times.

But for Barrett, a retired Stratford elementary school teacher, politics is "not about yourself," as told to Patch in a recent interview.

"It's about the people you serve, the team you're on."

As a pledged delegate to the Democratic National Convention, Barrett is currently on hand in Charlotte, N.C. with the "team" nominating President Barack Obama to run for a second term. While she's volunteered at the 1980 and 1992 Democratic Conventions, this is Barrett's first time attending one as a delegate.

The convention wraps up tonight with Obama's acceptance of the nomination and his speech.

Barrett, a former president of the Connecticut Young Democrats (1980), heard Obama speak in August when he arrived in Stamford for a fundraiser. Her father William Barrett, who recently celebrated his 90th birthday, shook hands with the president.

"My father was seated in the front row, next to a relative of the governor's," Barrett said. "The president came off the stage after his speech, shook his hand and said 'hello'."

Barrett has had several run-ins with presidents and vice presidents, Democrats and Republicans alike. When former First Selectman Jacky Durrell invited Ronald Regan to speak at a Reagan-Bush rally in Fairfield in 1984, Barrett was there, standing under an umbrella with another former First Selectman John Sullivan as it began to rain.

At the Democratic National Convention in New York City in 1992, Barrett and her mother, Wilma, met with former President Bill Clinton and former Vice President Al Gore. Wilma Barrett walked right up to Clinton and said, "I love you, Mr. President."

When Barrett was teaching in Stratford, she and her class sent Gore a signed copy of "Mr. Popper's Penguins," a book that, as Gore told Barrett, was his favorite.

She's made a needlepoint for former President Jimmy Carter and had Sen. Richard Blumenthal visit the student council Barrett headed while teaching in Stratford.  

"I think back to so many of the opportunities I've had -- very rich," Barrett said. "I think we've been blessed with some great leaders."

As far as the current convention is concerned, Barrett said she was getting excited for her role as delegate and looked forward to seeing many friends in Charlotte.

Barrett's take on the election is simple, and stems from advice from her mother:

"Someone runs and wins, someone runs and loses -- it could be you. My hope is that every person will value that vote."