Norfolk County District Attorney Michael Morrissey is one of 136 Democratic delegates from Massachussetts that will likely pledge their support to President Barack Obama for the party's nomination during the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, NC. Patch asked the DA a few questions ahead of his trip.

What conventions have you attended in the past? How do you think those experiences will differ from this year's DNC?

I have been to the last four: Chicago, L.A., Boston and Denver. Some of those were nominating conventions. This is the re-nomination of the President of the United States by his party, so it won’t prove to be contentious.

Will you be traveling to Charlotte by yourself, or with any friends, family or other delegates?

I am one of seven people from the 10th Congressional District elected to go, as are the mayors of Weymouth and Braintree. There will also be people from the state committee whom I have worked with over the years.

Do you feel that your presence at the convention will make an impact? How so?

Yes, and this article in Patch is one example of how so. It is an opportunity for the delegates, as a group, to talk about the President and what he has done and to help the president communicate what he has done and what he is going to do over the next four years.

What are you looking forward to most at the convention? 

Hearing nationally recognized speakers every night, culminating in hearing the Vice President and the President of the United States. People who will talk about issues important to my friends, neighbors and family.

These days a lot of people are disenchanted with the two major parties. What makes you proud of your party?

People are disillusioned with the gridlock and the contentiousness between the parties that stops progress. But elections are based upon the party structure. The way to change the gridlock is to work within the party, whichever party you identify with, rather than run from it. Politics has often been defined as the art of compromise. When inflexibility and ideological rigidity make compromise impossible, government becomes difficult. Even Speaker Boehner has had trouble keeping control of his own party, and seen his legislation fail in his own House. Government only works if people talk to each other. And work toward the betterment of us all.

When the Democrats left the White House at the close of the Clinton administration, there was no deficit. And since, we have worked hard to get the country back in the right direction. It might not be as fast as we would like, but the President has a plan to control the deficit through spending cuts and revenue increases. The Democrats are more financially in tune with the average worker and the average family.