Southern California leaders who attended this week’s Democratic National Convention in Chicago spoke with KNX News’s Craig Fiegener about what stood out to them not just during the four-day event, but also during Vice President Kamala Harris’ speech Thursday night.
Mayor Karen Bass, who spoke at the DNC Monday night, told Fiegener that Democrats are looking to the future.
“We need to make sure that we have someone in the White House who will continue to deliver like President Biden and Vice President Harris have done, and so I feel very positive about her becoming the president,” she said.
Giovanni Chavez, an Orange County DNC delegate and president of the California Young Democrats of Santa Ana, called Harris’ speech “remarkable.”
“Kamala Harris' story to the people have been there in her life to the stakes of the election to the values at stake, it's a continuation of Biden's messaging,” he said.
He added that Harris touched on issues that young voters care about.
“Things like student debt relief - which is personally very important to me - like gun safety, making housing affordable for younger folk, like tackling climate change,” he said.
Councilmember Bob Blumenfield, a superdelegate who has been to every DNC since 1980, said he thought Harris “walked wide appropriately” when it came to discussing the Israel-Hamas war.
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“She reaffirmed her steadfast support for Israel and the right for Israel to defend itself. She made that very clear,” he said. “She, of course, noted the humanitarian suffering which everyone notes and she said the time is to bring the hostages back and have a cease-fire, which is what everyone is saying, including the Israeli government.”
For Councilmember Monica Rodriguez, the DNC may be over but the Democrats need to keep up the moment.
“It's a matter of making sure that you coalesce everyone,” she said. “We needed to bottle that energy from this week - and especially last night - and make sure that everyone's carrying that back to their respective states.”
With the DNC and RNC wrapped up, both parties can look toward Sept. 10, which is when the first presidential debate between Harris and former President Donald Trump will take place.
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