September 6, 2011
Hundreds of Charlotteans joined Democratic National Committee Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx at the Time Warner Cable Arena today, one year from the date that President Obama will accept the Democratic Party’s nomination for President, to officially kick off the 2012 Democratic National Convention.
During the event, Wasserman Schultz unveiled the official 2012 Democratic National Convention logo, which symbolizes Americans coming together. The logo can be found at the official 2012 Democratic National Convention website, www.demconvention.com.
Merchandise with the official logo is now available for purchase at the Host Committee website, www.charlottein2012.com.
Democratic National Committee Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz
“This convention is about more than renominating President Obama, it’s about Americans coming together to commit ourselves and our country to a path that creates more opportunity. The success of this convention will be determined by the participation of you, the American people. This convention’s success will be based on engaging the American spirit and involving people who want to put their shoulder to the wheel and change the country for the better.”
Charlotte Mayor and Committee for Charlotte 2012 Co-Chair Anthony Foxx
“This convention will be about coming together, strengthening our community and renewing our faith that tomorrow’s promise is possible if we work hard today. In Charlotte, when our economy stumbled, we re-invented and adapted together. We’ve been meeting new challenges and seizing new opportunities for a long time here in Charlotte and the Carolinas.”
Democratic National Convention Chief Executive Officer Steve Kerrigan
“We are going to include Americans in ways that no convention has ever done before. Today is just one part of that effort. We are kicking off our year of convention planning by including everyone in the community and throughout the region. This convention isn’t about special interests – it’s about you, the grassroots of our party and our country.”
Charlotte Mayor Harvey Gantt
“I am so proud of all that Charlotte accomplished even before we were chosen to host the Democratic National Convention. This convention is just the next step towards a more prosperous city that everyone can share in together. We’re ready to seize this opportunity and market the Queen City to the world. “
DNC Chair
Debbie Wasserman Schultz
Democratic National Convention Kick Off
September 6, 2011
[prepared remarks]
Hello Charlotte! Thank you Steve for that kind introduction and for all the work that you, the DNCC staff and the Host Committee are doing to make Charlotte 2012 the best DNC Convention ever!
I am thrilled to be here today. This is my first visit to the Queen City as DNC Chair, and what better time to be here than to kick off the 2012 Democratic National Convention!
We are just one year away from the day that President Barack Obama will once again accept his Party’s nomination as President of the United States.
Let me thank everyone at the Democratic National Convention Committee and the Charlotte in 2012 Host Committee for organizing an event that truly reflects the spirit of Charlotte and the vision of President Obama.
Mayor Foxx, thank you for your efforts to lead this fine city as it prepares to host this convention and Mayor Gantt, thank you for your support, leadership and guidance. And, many thanks to my Congressional colleagues, City Council Members and all of the other elected officials here today.
But most of all I want to thank Charlotteans for your enthusiasm and support for this convention. You’ve already gone above and beyond southern hospitality and I am confident you will help us put on a fantastic, successful convention. I know I don’t need to tell you how important North Carolina is going to be in the next Presidential election. Your involvement here in Charlotte will make a huge difference. Together, we will keep North Carolina blue and send President Obama back to the White House!!!
And we can start on November 8th during our local elections, please remember to go out and vote.
President Obama and the DNC chose Charlotte because Charlotte has a story to tell that represents what America is all about.
Charlotte is a dynamic, diverse and vibrant community – a city that reflects America in the 21st century. The story of Charlotte is an example of how that can-do spirit can help a community build a better future and rebuild its economy in a way that creates opportunity. When Charlotte faced challenges, the city came together to rebuild and reinvent its economy to make a stronger and brighter tomorrow.
What’s happening here in Charlotte is what President Obama has set out to do for the country: Charlotte is strengthening and diversifying the community through investments in education, technology, research and development, through innovations and entrepreneurship that will create jobs for working families.
The Democratic Convention will give Charlotte the opportunity to showcase this dynamic, diverse and vibrant city to the rest of the world!
And as important as Charlotte was to this decision, and as emblematic as it is of what President Obama is working towards, the entire Southern region is a part of that vision. From the high-tech corridor of Northern Virginia, to Research Triangle Park, through the triad of North Carolina and on down to Atlanta and my home state of Florida, the entire region is making investments that will prepare us for the future.
It’s the aspirational style of leadership and raw determination of people like Mayor Foxx and all of you that brought us here. But, I don’t have to tell anyone here that there were many people who had their doubts. The Washington pundits put their bets on other cities.
You know what happens when people doubt you? You prove them wrong!!!
I was 25 years old when I first ran for the Florida House of Representatives. I was involved in a six-way primary. Competition was fierce and my opponents well funded.
But I was not deterred, because I knew that even though I did not have a lot of money, no one was going to out-work me. So I spent every single day, rain or shine, knocking on the doors of my would-be constituents. Before that race was over, I had knocked on 25,000 doors.
I won that primary and went on to win the general election.
That race taught me two things:
First, there is no substitute for good, old-fashioned hard work.
Second, don’t take no for an answer.
And that’s what Charlotte did when you decided to bid for the Democratic National Convention.
People said you couldn’t do it, but you didn’t take no for an answer.
When everyone else said no, you can’t, Charlotte said: YES, WE CAN!
Now, it’s time for Charlotte to show the rest of the country and the rest of the world what you and I already know—that Charlotte is a world-class city!
It’s time for the rest of the world to get to know Charlotte on a first-name basis! After this convention, everyone in the world will know where Charlotte is, and what you stand for!
In just a few moments we will unveil the official 2012 Democratic National Convention logo. The logo represents what this convention is all about—you. We’re not kicking off the convention by holding a closed-door, special interest, invite-only event, selling access to the highest bidder, we’re kicking it off by bringing people from all across Charlotte, and all across the Carolinas, together, to celebrate the convention and the community.
This convention is about more than renominating President Obama, it’s about Americans coming together to commit ourselves and our country to a path that creates more opportunity. The success of this convention will be determined by the participation of you, the American people. This convention’s success will be based on engaging the American spirit and involving people who want to put their shoulder to the wheel and change the country for the better.
This convention is will be different. It will not look like any other we’ve seen before.
President Obama set a high bar that we will meet - we will make this the first convention in history that does not accept any funds from lobbyists, corporations or Political Action Committees.
This will be the first modern political convention funded by the grassroots, by the people. Does that make our job harder? Yes it does. But we are committed to funding this convention in a way that represents the values of our party and our President, and puts the American people in charge.
In 2008, when President Obama was running his campaign, he didn’t do it by following the same old playbook. He did it by involving millions of Americans and letting them determine their destiny. There were millions of Americans who knocked on doors, made phone calls, talked to their friends and neighbors because they believed in a collective hope and vision bigger than themselves.
And that’s what you’ll see in this logo—Americans coming together.
I’d like to invite my friends Steve Kerrigan, Mayor Foxx and Mayor Gantt to join me on the stage.
Now to help me unveil the official 2012 Democratic National Convention logo, please join me in counting down from five…FIVE….FOUR…THREE….TWO….ONE!
Thank you Charlotte! On to a great convention and big Democratic Victory!