The following story appeared in the Park Labrea News and Beverly Press 70th Anniversary issue, published April 21. To view the entire issue, click here.

During the presidential campaign season, it can be easy to get lost in the electoral math and chaos around primaries, caucuses and delegate counts. When candidates head for national conventions this summer, pressure increases as attention turns to delegates and super delegates, although not much is said about who they are.

Kerman Maddox is one of those super delegates, appointed by President Barack Obama to the Democratic National Committee. He came to Southern California from Detroit with his family when he was 10 years old. He graduated from USC’s Intergovernmental Master’s Program and started a career that has included strategic planning, media relations, governmental relations, public outreach and political guidance with less fanfare than some of the people with whom he works.

He has worked behind the scenes as an aide and advisor to mayors Tom Bradley and Antonio Villaraigosa, who became mentors to Maddox, as well as other elected officials such as Congresswoman Karen Bass. He said throughout his career, one of the most satisfying things was teaching political science with L.A. Community College District schools.

“I had the chance to work with some really smart needy kids who didn’t know they were smart,” Maddox said.

He taught students who came from some of the toughest parts of Los Angeles. He said they were “a lot sharper than they realized” because they hadn’t reached their potential in high school. He said watching students build confidence and self-esteem and then move on to schools like UC Berkley and USC was the one of the most satisfying and enjoyable experiences.

“These kids are nurses now. They’re police officers and lawyers. And they talk fondly of taking my class back in the ’90s. It has an impact on them, and it had an impact on me,” he said. “Whenever you can have an impact and you can see students grow and develop and blossom, that’s what it’s all about.”

Maddox continued to work with elected officials, legislative and governmental agencies, business organizations and nonprofit groups, which led to a meeting with a young Illinois Senator named Barack Obama in 2004. The two stayed in touch, and when Obama ran for president in 2007, he wanted Maddox on his team.

Maddox said, since he is not old enough to have experienced the civil rights movements with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., he jumped at the opportunity to get involved with the civil rights movement of his time and help put the first African American in the Oval Office.

“My wife and I traveled to so many primary states [for Obama’s campaign],” he said. “We didn’t take vacations. Our vacation was going to South Carolina or Iowa or New Hampshire, and the other primary states. We traveled all over the country. It was a fascinating experience seeing how people interact, and seeing how different states have caucuses or primaries. … That’s also when you realize how lucky you are to live in L.A.”

After he was elected, Obama appointed Maddox to the Democratic National Committee as a super delegate to help carry out the initiatives of the administration and help advance the President’s agenda on a range of issues from health care to trade, jobs programs to appointment confirmations.

Presidential candidates must receive a majority of the delegate votes at the national convention to secure the nomination. “Pledged delegates” support the candidate their state voted for in the respective primaries or caucuses. But Maddox is an unpledged delegate, or a “super delegate,” which is unique to the Democratic Party. He said super delegates typically vote for the candidate their state has voted for, but they are not bound to vote for one candidate or another.

“It means I’m a free agent delegate,” he said. “[This year,] I could go with Bernie or Hillary. Super delegates can sway the election one way or the other.”

Maddox said one of the best aspects of his career is that he has been able to use it to connect with others and make a difference in communities in more direct ways than advising and helping elected officials. For example, Maddox is a member of the advisory board for Vision to Learn – an organization providing free eyeglasses to public school students, mostly for children in low-income families.

“We talk to the school in advance and then bring a doctor to their campus. The kids pick the frame and we put the lenses in. I love it,” Maddox said. “When you see these kids try the glasses on and say, ‘I had no idea the leaves were that color.’ And then you have to think they can’t see in the classroom either. And if they can’t see there, they can’t learn.”

Maddox also served as a chairman for the Open Access Alliance, an organization dedicated to making the Internet available, affordable and accessible to everyone, especially for those in low-income communities. In 2002, the NAACP recognized Maddox as a positive male role model.

Today, Maddox still serves on the National Finance Committee for Obama and is the managing partner for Dakota Communications. He develops planning and public outreach programs for corporations, government agencies, faith-based institutions, academic institutions and political candidates.

Now with his friend set to leave office, Maddox and a small group of associates recently met with Clinton in New York, and he said they had a very “frank, spirited discussion” with her.

“I was very impressed by her intelligence, her thoughtful responses to questions and her demeanor,” Maddox said. “She is very persuasive in small group meetings. Prior to the meeting I was leaning toward supporting Hillary Clinton but after the meeting I became a solid supporter of Secretary Clinton … Her experience, vast knowledge of the issues and realistic proposals won me over.”