Stateside with Stephanie
Conventional approach
Stephanie Selesnick examines what is in store when a major political convention comes to town
A long with 63 other countries , the US is holding a general election this year . One of the long-standing traditions of the US presidential election in November is for each political party to hold a formal nominating convention – like a party congress . According to Wikipedia , in the US , “ Starting with the 1796 election , congressional party or a state legislature party caucus selected the party ’ s presidential candidates . That system collapsed in 1824 , and since 1832 the preferred mechanism for nomination has been a national convention .”
Nowadays , political parties hold state caucuses or ‘ primaries ’ to select delegates who cast their votes for president and vice-president during the conventions , along with approving a platform of what they hope to achieve if elected . It ’ s a ( mostly !) straightforward process . Delegates come from all 50 States and six Territories .
The Republican National
Convention ( RNC ) takes place in Milwaukee , WI , 15-18 July . The Democratic National Convention ( DNC ) follows 19-22 August in Chicago , IL . I spoke with representatives from Visit Milwaukee and Choose Chicago , the two cities ’ convention bureaus , about the impact on their cities and what it takes when a huge citywide event comes in disrupting normal annually booked events .
The cities are in the Midwestern part of the US , 92 miles ( 148 kilometres ) apart on the western side of Lake Michigan . Chicago is the third largest city in the US and is home to McCormick Center , the US ’ s largest convention centre . Milwaukee is considerably smaller and ranks 30th . Baird Center , the city ’ s convention centre recently doubled its size , expanding from 189,000 to 300,000 sq . feet . It reopened in May .
Both Leslie Johnson , vice-president of sales & event experiences at Visit Milwaukee and Eric Kincaid , vicepresident of sales at Choose Chicago
Stephanie Selesnick
( L-R ): Leslie Johnson and Eric Kincaid were enthusiastic about their respective cities hosting the political conventions . The bidding process between cities to host these political conventions , held once every four years , began in late summer of 2021 for Milwaukee and 2022 for Chicago .
Milwaukee and Chicago have previously hosted political conventions . As one would expect , local communities , government entities and agencies , politicians and businesses were essential to their respective bids . The roles of the convention bureaus are the same as with other citywide events – to serve as a conduit between clients and local vendors .
Free speech zones Free speech and political protests are expected at both conventions . Working with the Secret Service , the cities have designated ‘ Free Speech Zones ’ for those activities to take place . The security perimeter of the conventions is also determined by the Secret Service . They are also going to ‘ share ’ police forces to supplement security personnel .
Milwaukee expects 50,000 visitors comprised of media , delegates , officials , and non-delegates . They have 6,200 rooms downtown , 19,000 in the area , and are working with nearby cities within Wisconsin ( the State ) to house remaining visitors . The transportation of said visitors is being coordinated through the RNC team . The Fiserv Forum and Baird Center will host most official events .
Fortunately for Milwaukee , their main convention centre was under construction during the bidding process and Covid , so they didn ’ t have to move any clients or professional basketball games upon being awarded the RNC . Any clients
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