Editor’s note: This article has been updated from its original version. New information came to light about the history of Colquitt Countians at the Democratic National Convention, so this story has been updated throughout. 

MOULTRIE, Ga. — A Moultrie attorney believes he’s Colquitt County’s first delegate to the national Democratic Party convention since World War II.

Joseph “Jody” Weathers, one of four delegates representing Georgia’s 8th Congressional District, is having to experience the event through his computer screen due to the coronavirus pandemic. He’s held numerous meetings with fellow delegates and state party officials. He’s participated in discussions to shape the convention’s platform. On Tuesday night he was interviewed by CNN.

“All this is having to be done virtually because of COVID,” Weathers said.

Weathers, who received a bachelor’s degree in political science from Valdosta State University in 1988, said he’d always wanted to participate in a national convention but never had.

“So when the opportunity came along I said, ‘Here I am,’” he said.

Weathers initially believed he was the first Colquitt Countian at a Democratic National Convention since 1861, when Georgia voted to secede from the union. He based that on a county history that didn’t mention any other delegates.

Further research has found Colquitt County residents at several such conventions, including E.W. Vereen attending the 1944 convention. The website this information comes from, www.politicalgraveyard.com, has incomplete delegate lists for more recent Democratic National Conventions, but this is the most recent delegate from here that it notes. Colquitt Countians attended more recent Republican National Conventions, according to the website.

Other Colquitt Countians who’ve been delegates to the Democratic National Convention include W.C. Vereen (1912), R.L. Shipp (1916), W.A. Covington (1924) and William J. Vereen (1928).

“I’m glad to be a part of that fraternity,” Weathers said upon learning of the other delegates.

On Tuesday, Nikema Williams, chairwoman of the Democratic Party of Georgia, cast all 117 Georgia delegate votes for the party’s official nominee, Joe Biden.

Weathers said he hasn’t yet met Biden but he’s read a lot about him and talked to people who’ve worked with the former vice president. He’s developed a lot of respect for him.

“I think he’s a very honest individual,” Weathers said. “I think he’s true to his family. He loves his kids. He’s had his share of tragedy in his life. He’s buried a lot of family members and I have too.”

Weathers said Biden’s family values impressed him through a story from Biden’s time in the U.S. Senate. Biden, who represented Delaware, rode the train home from Washington every night so he could be with his sons. His wife and 1-year-old daughter died in an automobile crash in December 1972, a month before he took office, and riding home to Delaware each day let Biden help the boys with homework and give them as normal a life as possible for the children of a single parent who’s also a U.S. Senator.

“He rode the rails every day for 30 years. … That says a lot,” Weathers remarked.

Weathers interprets that as Biden’s commitment to others before himself.

“That, to me, is what public service should be about: There’s a greater thing than yourself. Your self sometimes is last,” he said.

Weathers, who in his younger days identified as a Republican, now sees a successful Democratic Party as essential to the nation’s well-being.

Democratic presidents have historically created jobs and income for everyday people, he said, citing Franklin Roosevelt’s programs that helped the United States out of the Great Depression.

“It’s going to take somebody like Joe Biden to get us out of this mess now,” he said.

Weathers’ interview on CNN Tuesday was about the impact and importance of the Democratic Party retaking the White House and flipping the Senate from Republican to Democratic.

“Of course, we’d love to be able to turn this state blue,” he said.

The last time Georgia voted for a Democratic presidential nominee in the general election was 1992.