- Conventions « Democratic National Convention
« Charlotte In 2012
Charlotte DNC Host
Committee, Inc.
Committee for Charlotte 2012
400 S. Tryon St., Suite 5D, Charlotte,
NC 28285. ph. 704-330-2012.
(page corrected Jan. 26, 2013)
...June 26, 2012: CarolinaFest
2012
Moves
to
Uptown
Charlotte
...Jan. 31, 2012: 13 venues
to host delegate and media welcome events
...to raise $36.6 million.1
Co-Chair Mayor Anthony Foxx
Elected Nov. 3, 2009. Also deputy general counsel for DesignLine, a bus manufacturer, since Dec. 2009. Elected at-large member of Charlotte City Council in 2005 and re-elected in 2007. Business litigator at Hunton & Williams, 2001-09. Counsel for the House Judiciary Committee. A trial attorney for the Voting Section of the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. Served as a judicial clerk for the U.S. Circuit Court for the Sixth Circuit. Attorney at Smith, Helms, Mulliss & Moore. Law degree from New York University School of Law, 1996; bachelor’s degree in history from Davidson College, 1993; first African American elected to student body president. Raised in the Dale Brook of Charlotte neighborhood.
Co-Chair Duke Energy CEO Jim Rogers
President and chief executive officer of Duke Energy
since the merger of Duke Energy and Cinergy in April 2006. Before
the merger, Rogers served as Cinergy's chairman and chief executive
officer for more than 11 years. Prior to the formation of
Cinergy, he joined PSI Energy in 1988 as the company’s chairman,
president and chief executive officer. Deputy general counsel for
litigation and enforcement for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
(FERC). Executive vice president of interstate pipelines for the
Enron Gas Pipeline Group. Partner in the Washington, D.C. office
of Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld. Assistant to the chief trial
counsel at FERC; a law clerk for the Supreme Court of Kentucky; and
assistant attorney general for the Commonwealth of Kentucky. A
reporter for the Lexington (Kentucky) Herald-Leader. B.B.A. and
J.D. degree from the University of Kentucky.
Steering and Host Commttee Members
Executive Director Dr. Dan Murrey
(announced April
28, 2011) Orthopedic spine surgeon and recently CEO of
OrthoCarolina. Served a term as an at-large member of the
Mecklenburg County Commission, 2008-10. M.D. and M.P.P. from
Harvard University, 1992. A.B. in religion from Davidson College,
1987.
leadership team announced June 1, 2011...
Deputy Executive Director of External
Relations Torre Jessup
Longtime staffer to Rep. Mel Watt; most recently
Watt's district director since March 2007. B.A. from Morehouse
College, 1994.
Chief of Staff Dockery Clark
Chief marketing office for Professional Bull Riders,
Sept. 2010-June 2011. Director of sports and entertainment
marketing for MillerCoors, 2005-09. Executive at Bank of America,
1993-2004. B.A. in economics from UNC Chapel Hill.
Greensboro native.
Chief of Event Planning Mary Tribble
More than two decades in event production and
management; founded Charlotte-based Tribble Creative Group in
1985. B.A. in art from Wake Forest University, 1982.
Chief Operations Officer Katy Cutright
Campaign manager on Jim Kyle for Governor (TN)
2009-10. Deputy director for ticket management on the 2009
PIC. Deputy campaign manager on Protect
Colorado's Future, 2008. National trip director for Elizabeth
Edwards
on John Edwards for President, Dec. 2006-Feb. 2008. Campaign
manager on Hank Gilbert for Texas Agriculture Commissioner.
Communications director on Bob Gammage for Governor (TX),
2005-06. National lead
advance on Kerry-Edwards '04; press pool shepherd on John Edwards for
President. Graduate of Texas Tech University.
Director of Business Relations Robyn
Hamilton
(July 2011) President and CEO of Carolinas MSDC,
a regional non-profit, from Jan. 2007-Sept. 2011. Business
development specialsi for the U.S. Department of Commerce, MBDA,
1997-2007. Deputy director of the South Dekalb Business
Incubator, 1998-99. M.B.A. from Queens University of Charlotte,
2009. B.A. in human resources management from Saint Leo
University, 1994.
(Sept. 1, 2011 announcement of vendor
directory)
Press Secretary Suzi Emmerling
(Aug. 2011) Previously senior communications
officer for the Apollo Alliance for a year. Press aide and
special events coordinator at the Center for American Progress,
2007-10. Associate director of programs at Envision EMI,
2003-07. B.A. in French and political science from UCLA.
Director of Volunteer Operations Courtney Counts
(Dec. 2011) Account executive at Octagon in the
latter half of 2011. Volunteer services coordinator for the North
Texas Super Bowl XLV Host Committee, 2010-11; also game operations for
the Texas Brahmas Hockey Club, 2010-11. Marketing assistant at
Electronic Arts, Inc., 2009. Sport marketing associate for the
Walt Disney Company, 2008-09. Ticket manager for the Orlando
Predators Arena football team, 2006-07. M.S. in sport
administration from Florida State University, 2008. B.A. in
international affairs and political science from Florida State
University, 2006.
(Feb. 23, 2012 announcement of volunteer
management
system)
Finance Director Melissa Schwartz
Has worked as a self employed political consultant
since 2007 (including Obama for America and PIC 2009). Washington
finance director on Cantwell 2006. In 2004 cycle Schwartz served
as finance director on McCaskill for Governor in Fall 2004; finance
director on Metzl for Congress to Aug. 2004; and regional finance
director on Kerry for President, 2003. Deputy finance director on
Jean Carnahan for Senate, 2002. Director of scheduling for Sen.
Jean Carnahan, 2001. Fundraiser on Mel Carnahan for Senate,
1999-2000. B.A. in political science from Saint Louis University,
1999.
Deputy Finance Director Leah Chandler
Experience includes Midwest finance director at the
DCCC, 2007-08. Washington deputy finance director on Cantwell
2006. Deputy finance director on Metzl for Congress to Aug.
2004. B.A. in political science, history from University of
Missouri-Columbia.
Grassroots Finance Director Jackie Bateman
(Aug. 2011) Previously finance director for the
Minnesota DFL, 2009-11. Deputy finance director on Al Franken for
Senate, 2007-09. Finance director on Tim Walz for Congress,
2005-06. B.A. in political science from University of
Wisconsin-Madison, 2005.
Chief Financial Officer Bobby Martin
Forty-one years of accounting experience in Charlotte,
specializing in auditing nonprofit organization.
Legal Counsel Joe Sandler
Member of Sandler, Reiff & Young, P.C.. General
counsel to the DNC, through the law firm, through 2008; general counsel
to the DNC, on staff, Feb. 1993-May 1998. Outside counsel to the
2000, 2004 and 2008 Democratic National Conventions; general counsel of
the 1996 Democratic National Convention. Partner at Arent Fox,
1989-93. Staff counsel for the Democratic National Committee,
1986-89. Associate at Arent Fox Kintner Ploktin & Kahn in
Washington, D.C., 1978-86. Graduate of Harvard College summa cum
laude in 1975 and of Harvard Law School with honors in 1978.
earlier...
President Will Miller
(served as President/Acting Executive Director from July 4, 2010 until appointment of Murrey) Organized the Social Venture Partners Charlotte chapter in 2005 after working 19 years in real estate. Partner at Beacon Partners, real estate development, and earlier worked in real estate brokerage. Worked in Washington, DC for Stanley Greenberg and on Capitol Hill. Graduate of Davidson College.
Consultants
Tom McMahon
Partner at New Partners, a consulting firm. Acting executive director of Americans United for Change. Executive director of the DNC, 2005-09. Executive director of Democracy for America. Deputy campaign manager on Dean for America (announced May 22, 2003). Worked in the Clinton Administration from 1993-99, serving as associate deputy director in Vice President Gore's scheduling and advance office, as a public affairs specialist at the Department of Defense, and as White House liaison at the United States Information Agency. McMahon was involved in the Gore campaign in 2000, the Clinton campaign in 1996, and was a regional field director in Missouri for Clinton/Gore in 1992. Law degree from the University of Iowa; bachelor's degree in political science with an emphasis in international relations from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln.
Karen Finney
Independent consultant. Director of communications at the DNC, 2005-09. Briefly deputy chief of staff for communications to Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI). Communications director for Elizabeth Edwards on the Kerry-Edwards campaign (announced Aug. 31, 2004). Press secretary for Hillary Rodham Clinton's 2000 Senate campaign. Director of business development at Scholastic Books in New York City. Deputy director of presidential scheduling in the Clinton White House into 1998. Served as one of two deputy press secretaries to First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton for the first four years of the Clinton Administration. Member of the national advance team on Clinton's 1992 campaign. California Scheduler/Field Representative to Sen. Alan Cranston. Worked as a teaching assistant at the Crittendon Center for Young Women and Infants in Los Angeles.
Joe Sandler
Member of Sandler, Reiff & Young, P.C.. General
counsel to the DNC, through the law firm, through 2008; general counsel
to the DNC, on staff, Feb. 1993-May 1998. Outside counsel to the
2000, 2004 and 2008 Democratic National Conventions; general counsel of
the 1996 Democratic National Convention. Partner at Arent Fox,
1989-93. Staff counsel for the Democratic National Committee,
1986-89. Associate at Arent Fox Kintner Ploktin & Kahn in
Washington, D.C., 1978-86. Graduate of Harvard College summa cum
laude in 1975 and of Harvard Law School with honors in 1978.
Under the
contract signed with the DNC, the Host Committee will not accept
contributions from corporations, PACs, federal lobbyists, Section 527
organizations and incorporated for-profit entities and will limit
individual contributions to $100,000.
Statement from DNC Communications Director Brad Woodhouse on
these new rules:
“From the very beginning, President Obama has placed a high priority on increasing the influence of grassroots and individual donors, and this convention will go further in that direction than any convention ever. This convention and the new way it is being financed will allow more people from all over the country to be involved in this historic event, to have ownership of this convention and help fulfill the President’s vision for moving the country forward and winning the future. This unprecedented step is another sign that things are continuing to change under President Obama's leadership and that this will, in fact, be the ‘People’s Convention.’”
Relevant provision from the convention contract:
Policies and Guidelines for Donations to the Host Committee
1. The Host Committee
shall screen monetary and in-kind contributions in compliance with FEC
regulations and policies and guidelines adopted by the DNCC, including,
without limitation, a prohibition on the receipt by the Host Committee
of contributions from the following:
(a) Any contribution whatsoever from any individual who is neither a US
citizen nor a legal permanent resident of the U.S.;
(b) Monetary contributions from any incorporated for-profit entity;
(c) In-kind contributions from any corporation organized under the laws
of, or with its principal place of business in a foreign country
provided, however, that nothing shall prohibit in-kind contributions
from any subsidiary of such corporation incorporated under the laws of
a state within the United States, any tribal nation, the District of
Columbia, or any territory of the United States, and provided that any
such in-kind contributions from such a subsidiary must be made using
revenue generated from U.S. operations;
(d) Monetary contributions in excess of $100,000 from any individual;
(e) In-kind contributions of goods or services from corporate entities
that received TARP or other bail-out funds, unless those funds have
been repaid in full to the U.S. Government;
(f) Monetary or in-kind contributions from political organizations as
defined in Section 527 of the Internal Revenue Code, such as political
action committees, unless approved in advance by the DNCC;
(g) Monetary or in-kind contributions from individuals registered as
federal lobbyists under the Lobbying Disclosure Act; and
(h) Monetary or in-kind contributions from foundations established by
or affiliated with any incorporated for-profit entity, unless approved
in advance by the DNCC (and any such contribution approved by the DNCC
would be subject to a limit of $100,000).
2. In addition to the
guidelines above, the Host Committee shall comply with the following
policies of the DNCC:
(a) No individual registered as a federal lobbyist under the Lobbying
Disclosure Act may serve on the Host Committee;
(b) No incorporated entity may sponsor any event or any other items
funded under the Master Contract unless approved in advance by the DNCC;
(c) No incorporated for-profit entity may sponsor any event or other
items funded as part of hospitality activities undertaken by the Host
Committee on behalf of the DNCC such as events for party
representatives, foreign dignitaries, Convention delegates, volunteers
or media representatives, unless approved in advance by the DNCC.
(d) All "Official Provider" designations shall be negotiated with the
DNCC and the Host Committee and signed by the Host Committee;
(e) All targets for monetary, in-kind, official provider, or other type
of contribution to the Host Committee shall be approved in advance by
the DNCC;
(f) All contributions, monetary or in-kind, shall be disclosed publicly
by the Host Committee within an agreed upon regular timeframe on the
Host Committee's website; and
(g) The Host Committee shall develop a grassroots fundraising plan for
review and approval by the DNCC within 60 days of the signing of the
Master Contract.
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