The Democratic State Convention in Worcester this weekend proved Will Rogers’s point when he said, “I am not a member of any organized political party. I am a Democrat.”

Most everyone walked out of the DCU Center with a smile on their face but about the only one who could say he was truly happy about the painful process was Don Berwick, who not only made the ballot but nearly pulled ahead of the frontrunner in the polls, Attorney General Martha Coakley. Coakley, who came in second, added an element of surprise when she took on her 2010 loss to Scott Brown head-on in her speech to the delegates, noting how disappointing it was. Steve Grossman, who couldn’t deliver the knockout blow he wanted and was handed the endorsement when Coakley didn’t pursue a second ballot, had another reason to be happy. He found out his son and daughter-in-law delivered him a grandson while voting was underway. Bigger than a consolation prize but still not the reason he was in Worcester.

Other than that the convention was an exercise in futility and frustration as party officials kept the delegates and the media in the dark during a tedious five-hour voting process that produced little action during or after. About 5 o’clock, when there was still nothing but rumors wafting through the hall about vote totals, many of the more than 4,600 voting delegates began to flow toward the exits, making any potential second-ballot runoff questionable and the result suspect.

It ended up that only one of the four contested statewide races produced an endorsement from the delegates, Warren Tolman winning by a wafer-thin margin over Maura Healey. No candidate for treasurer or lieutenant governor garnered the necessary 50 percent plus 1 needed to get the party imprimatur on the first ballot so rather than annoying the remaining handful of delegates, all candidates opted against a second ballot and decided to have no winner. Coakley’s people waved off the runoff, giving Grossman the nod by acclimation, but that’s not what everyone went to Worcester for.

The idea of a convention, at least in theory, is to produce a party-stamped nominee that everyone can get behind. Instead, the most productive aspect of voting was to winnow the field for governor and lieutenant governor but that didn’t sit well with some observers. Juliette Kayyem and Joe Avellone missed the cut, prompting the Globe‘s Scot Lehigh to label the convention “disorganized and counterproductive.” Few inside or outside the hall would argue with that assessment.

And not everyone went to Worcester to vote, it seems. Nearly 10 percent of the votes cast in the first ballot were blanks, with some delegates voting “present” rather than going on the record with a vote for a certain candidate. Boston City Councilor Stephen Murphy and his wife both cast their votes for Tolman for attorney general but then voted “present” for the remainder of the races. That prompted one fellow delegate to chirp outside Murphy’s hearing: “Why come to Worcester? There’s better ways to spend a Saturday.”

–JACK SULLIVAN  

MUNICIPAL MATTERS

Lawrence Mayor Daniel Rivera is starting over in the search for new space for the city’s school department and other city agencies, the Eagle-Tribune reports.

Housing pressure on low-income residents in Boston keeps increasing, raising difficult policy choices for Mayor Marty Walsh, writes columnist Lawrence Harmon in the Globe.

Middleboro voters rejected a $12.1 million override that would have expanded and renovated the town’s historic police station, a vote that stunned officials who thought it would easily pass.

NATIONAL POLITICS/WASHINGTON

The American Spectator points out that many of those who are offended by the “tasteless” TRUMP sign Donald Trump is putting up in Chicago also happen to be supporters of President Obama, who was the target of Trump attacks throughout the 2012 election and beyond.

ELECTIONS

Republican gubernatorial candidate Charlie Baker is leading all candidates for governor in fundraising north of Boston and statewide as well, the Eagle-Tribune reports.

The Herald’s Kimberly Atkins says Mitt Romney is keeping his options open to run for president a third time.

BUSINESS/ECONOMY

Medtronic , a medical device giant based in Minneapolis, agrees to buy Covidien of Mansfield for $42.9 billion, the Globe reports.

Charity watchdog groups have filed suit to force the IRS to release digital tax forms of nonprofits when they’re available rather than PDFs long after the filings are in.

EDUCATION

Most schools are not equipped to meet the tech demands of taking the state’s new standardized test online, the Globe reports. CommonWealth reported on the problem earlier this year. Meanwhile, the MetroWest Daily News endorses a Gates Foundation proposal to put a two-year moratorium on using PARCC, the new standardized test, for decision-making purposes about students and teachers.

Starbucks is offering employees a free or heavily discounted rate for earning a degree online from Arizona State University, Time reports.

Fall River is extending the free lunch program to eligible students through the summer.

HEALTH CARE

An artificial pancreas developed by researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital and Boston University shows promise for diabetes patients, the Globe reports.

TRANSPORTATION

With the federal Highway Trust Fund slated to run out of money before the end of the year, officials say drivers can expect continuing delays and detours this summer as road projects slow to a trickle.

MEDIA

GoLocalProv is reporting that GateHouse Media is buying the Providence Journal for between $50 million and $60 million.

David Carr of the New York Times says House Majority Leader Eric Cantor’s defeat highlights the blind spot of much of Washington’s media.