DURHAM -- The Democrats are trying to make their national convention into more than just a four-day coronation of President Barack Obama in Charlotte next September. They want to turn it into a statewide event that will help keep North Carolina blue.
That was evident Wednesday, when the CEO of the Democratic National Convention Committee arrived in Durham to drop off $2 million in deposits each with the Mechanics and Farmers Bank and the Latino Community Credit Union.
The money is part of $17 million in public funding the Democrats have received - the Republicans have received a like amount - to help pay for their convention. The Democrats have made it a practice to deposit some of the money in minority-owned financial institutions.
It was the first event by the convention committee held outside Charlotte, although others are expected.
The photo op in Durham was part of the Democrats' efforts to turn the Sept. 3-6 convention at Time Warner Cable Arena into a yearlong event to help Obama win a state that he carried by a mere 14,177 votes in 2008.
The Democrats' convention plan includes sending staffers to all 100 counties to designate "convention community organizers" who will serve as ambassadors to the Charlotte convention. The committee hopes to announce all 100 organizers by March.
"The process has been more than just about political pageantry and what happens inside the arena for that period time," Steve Kerrigan, the convention CEO, said at Wednesday's news conference, which was held at the North Carolina Mutual Insurance Building.
"We succeed when this convention has a significant impact on the community - both long-term economic benefits but also when we allow the world to see North Carolina the way we see it, which is this amazing beacon for the entire country to follow," Kerrigan said.
Kerrigan said the idea was to make sure the Democratic convention engages the public in ideals. He also readily acknowledges there is a more practical goal of helping Obama win a key state where he narrowly defeated Republican John McCain in 2008.
"The political reason is that we won the state by a very small margin," he said.
That is something the Obama campaign did effectively four years ago, said Charles Black, a Republican strategist.
"When they had the convention in Denver, they swept up thousands of volunteers to work at the convention," he said. "And they converted those people immediately to knock on doors and to make phone calls in the general election. I am sure they will do it again."
The Democrats expect to recruit between 7,000 and 10,000 volunteers to work on the Charlotte convention, according to the committee. The committee's paid convention staff now numbers more than 50 and is expected to eventually grow to 200 people.
Kerrigan was joined Wednesday by U.S. Rep. David Price, Durham Mayor Bill Bell and business leaders.
