In Charlotte, North Carolina, where the 2012 Democratic National Convention was held, some Democratic City Council members are voicing their opposition to hosting the 2020 Republican National Convention, and may tank the idea later this month when the issue comes to a vote.
The Republican National Committee will convene in Austin July 17-20; Charlotte city officials believe the GOP’s site selection committee may award the 2020 convention to Charlotte, according to the Charlotte Observer.
That prospect does not please some of the 11 members of the city council, nine of whom happen to be Democrats. Council member LaWana Mayfield said under other circumstances she would support hosting the RNC, but not with Trump as head of the GOP. She cited his “hostility towards minorities and people of color.” Democrat Justin Harlow added, “I would consider voting no. I have had constituents who have reached out about this. A lot has changed. Months ago, we weren’t pulling children away from their families at the border.”
At-large council member Democrat Braxton Winston stated on Facebook that Charlotte needed to cautiously weigh the decision to accept the bid, writing, “Bringing the Republican National Convention to Charlotte is/should be more than an economic development decision, We would be asking the people of Charlotte to host a celebration for a brand of politics that has been highly divisive and some would say dangerous to our community.”
Democrat Larken Egleston added, “I’m not 100 percent there (on the convention). But I do think we’re at a point in the process where it’s like the toll roads. You get to a point where the negatives of pulling the rug out from something has to be seriously considered.”
In February, Mayor Vi Lyles stated the city was bidding on the RNC.
By contrast, as the Observer notes, “When the city was awarded the 2012 Democratic National Convention in January 2011, Mayor Anthony Foxx and council members were holding their annual budget retreat at Johnson C. Smith University. They celebrated the news, and then quickly called a special meeting and voted unanimously to accept the convention.”
Not only that, a 25-foot sand sculpture of former president Barack Obama stood only blocks from the convention hall.