When Clayton Valley seniors arrived at school the week of Aug. 19-23, one ubiquitous face was missing. Where in the world was AP Government and Politics teacher James Corcoran?
Well, while his students were enriching themselves in the classroom with US Government and Politics, Corcoran was doing his civic duty and participating in US Government and Politics. Corcoran spent the entire week in Chicago, partaking in the Democratic National Convention as a delegate for California.
This was no spur of the moment trip. In an interview, Corcoran revealed he has wanted to go to the DNC ever since he was 8 years old. According to Corcoran, “I have watched every single DNC and RNC since 1996.”
As a delegate, Corcoran attended speeches, caucuses and voted on the Democratic Party's official Nominee for President. Corcoran was one of many delegates who made Kamala Harris the official Democratic Nominee. He also attended many fully catered parties with excellent food options and a John Legend concert in his time at the DNC.
Corcoran was approached for an interview multiple times at the DNC whilst walking along. He was approached for an interview by Tony Dokoupil from CBS about what the Democratic candidate stood for. He was also interviewed by our local NPR news affiliate in the Bay Area, KQED, which was put on their podcast.
The subject of Corcoran’s KQED interview was actually related to his students.
“I tricked a bunch of my students into watching this convention coverage and they’re playing a Where's Waldo game with me, finding me in the crowds,” Corcoran told KQED.
Many of his students took him up on his challenge and dedicated their afternoons to finding Corcoran at the DNC.
"I found Mr. Corcoran after hours of skimming speech footage when the camera cut to the California Delegates booth," claimed Aiden Jensen, one of Corcoran's zero period students.
Another goal of Corcoran's was to take selfies with as many politicians as possible. However, true to his personality, the way Corcoran went about accomplishing this goal was comical. Instead of stopping with each politician and taking a thoughtful picture, he ambushed each politician and took the most awkward selfie he could muster. Corcoran managed selfies with California Governor Gavin Newsom, California Representative Nancy Pelosi, California State Superintendent of Instruction Tony Thurmond, Californian Representative Jared Huffman, Delaware Senator Chris Coons, and Massachusetts Senator Ed Markey.
Photo Credit: Lorie Shaull
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