When Molly Henderson walked to the lectern, the first thing she did was turn it so she could be seen both by the city Democrats seated behind her and the rest of the county delegates in front of her.

Facing her fiercest critics head-on didn't win Henderson many votes with the city party.

But at the Democrats' endorsement convention Saturday, the county commissioner had enough support to win a first-ballot endorsement from a party divided over her performance.

While city Controller Craig Lehman was their top choice, the Democrats gave Henderson enough support to get the second endorsement over former Mount Joy Borough councilman Charles Groff.

The vote — 135 for Lehman, 100 for Henderson and 64 for Groff — raised the specter of a split in the campaign and the specter of "bullet" voting — voting for only one candidate when more than one can be selected — both in the May 15 primary and general elections.

Lehman and Henderson sidestepped the divisions.

"I have committed that I'm going to run an issues-oriented campaign," Lehman said, "and that's what I'm going to do."

"I appreciate the confidence of the party members," Henderson said. "I have worked hard for the Democratic Party for a long time. I look forward to working with Mr. Lehman."

Will the Democrats pull together, despite their differences of opinion?

"I hope so," said county chairman Bruce Beardsley.

Saturday's convention at the Quality Inn & Suites in Manheim Township was the largest such Democratic gathering on record.

It also exposed, to a clearer degree than ever, the differences between city and county Democrats.

Some city Democrats, who gave Henderson a cool reception during nominating speeches, were upset after the endorsement vote. City Councilman Jose Urdaneta said he was disappointed that the party would back Henderson after she pleaded guilty last year, along with her Republican colleagues, to violating the state Sunshine Act.

But as one county Democrat noted, with the exception of Henderson's vote to sell the county nursing home, Conestoga View, other Democrats aren't angry with her.

The city represents only about 13 percent of the party's primary vote, the county Democrat said, and the city no longer can control which candidates the party backs.

That was evident in the vote totals.

Of the city's 40 committee members — with 80 total votes for the two endorsements — 34 chose Lehman, 13 voted for Groff and 10 picked Henderson.

But Henderson got 20 votes in Hempfield, to 18 for Lehman; 11 in Garden Spot, to six for Lehman; eight on her home turf, Lancaster Township, to three for Lehman.

With several other district committees splitting their votes between Lehman and Henderson, the first ballot produced two endorsements. Democratic rules require a simple majority for endorsement; with 171 delegates, the magic number was 86.

All three commissioners have been under fire for actions in the last three years, particularly the Conestoga View sale and the subsequent grand jury investigation that produced the commissioners' guilty pleas to Sunshine Act violations during the sale talks.

GOP Commissioner Pete Shaub resigned Friday; Republican Dick Shellenberger has said he won't run for re-election.

That leaves Henderson, and Democrats signaled Saturday that they are willing to move forward with her on the ticket.

In her speech, Henderson touted her Democratic credentials and said she has stood up to "powerful Republican forces that have had their way for too long" and to the "monopoly newspapers."

Henderson has told Democrats that she gets bad press from Lancaster Newspapers, publisher of the Sunday News, because the company is a partner in the private firm developing the hotel that complements the proposed Penn Square convention center.

Using a line from a Bob Dylan song, "The times, they are a'changin'," Henderson said the county is at a political "tipping point."

"When did it become OK for Democrats to win elections in Lancaster County?" she asked. "It became OK — now."

Lehman, a former city councilman and senior budget analyst in the state House, pledged to build partnerships as a commissioner. He warned that managing growth is the critical issue facing the county.

"Lancaster County is a special place," he said, "but Lancaster County is not the place I remember when I was growing up."

If growth isn't handled intelligently, he said, "we will be just like any other suburban bedroom community outside Philadelphia. That's not the Lancaster County I love."

Groff, who had promised to withdraw from the race if he was not endorsed Saturday, said the city and county need to unite to make the city again the hub of the county for shopping and entertainment.

"Somewhere along the line," he said, "the county sort of diversified themselves from the city. I think we have to get back together again."

Quest for unity

In the Democratic Party, that might not be as simple as it sounds.

Beardsley, the chairman, who has been warning the party about the divisiveness of this race, issued another call for unity in his annual state of the party address.

Democrats' commitment to their "fundamental principles" remains "why the institution of the Democratic Party is far more important than any election, any candidate or any transient issue," he said.

"... If we allow relatively small issues to divide us, if we fail to protect and respect each other even as we forthrightly face our disagreements, if we are unwilling to compromise and sacrifice for the preservation of our coalition, then we jeopardize our ability to prevail in the great battles over our fundamental principles."

City Democrats have been dissatisfied with Henderson's record on Conestoga View and the loss of jobs through that sale, with the stalled housing project for the county-owned Sunnyside peninsula and with the commissioners' taking through eminent domain of the former Armstrong building at 150 N. Queen St., as well as with her opposition to the convention center.

Her guilty plea to violating the Sunshine Act also raised hackles.

"We have, as a party, publicly chastised Republicans for doing the things Molly Henderson has done," said Councilman Urdaneta. "The only thing she's done is being one of the [Republican] boys.

"This is not just about the convention center."

But Urdaneta noted that the endorsement vote means a group of Democrats will be rooting for the city project to fail to justify their support of Henderson.

The split over Henderson makes it likely, veteran Democrats said, that supporters of each candidate will be "bullet" voting rather than voting for the commissioner team in the primary and general elections.

Lehman said he had been hopeful of endorsement, "but you never know."

Now, he said, "There are three seats up for grabs. I'm going to be working hard to win one of them."

Henderson said she was pleased that the party had succeeded in endorsing two candidates. Her campaign co-chairwoman, Lois Herr, said she expected the outcome.

"This was a wonderful convention," Herr said, with multiple candidates for most of the positions on the ballot — a rarity at past Democratic conventions.

"We're now a grown-up party."

With growing pains, too.

Beardsley said he was excited by the turnout and the energy in the room. As for the divisions, he said, "It's a long time between now and November.

"Hopefully, party loyalty rises."

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Contact Helen Colwell Adams at hcolwell@lnpnews.com.