Work Starts On 2016 DNC

The Democratic National Convention isn’t until next July, but for those putting the event together, the work starts now. This week, organizers set up office in Philadelphia to start planning for the event, a massive undertaking that requires an immense staff and several months of preparation to get off the ground. The work is being done under the oversight of Rev. Leah Daughtry, the convention’s CEO.

Work is already being done for the 2016 DNC in Philadelphia.

It is the job of Daughtry and her staff to organize what the press is calling Conventionville – a makeshift city surrounding Wells Fargo Center, where the DNC will take place. Conventionville will encompass some 50,000 people, all staying at nearby hotels. It will have over 200 miles of electric cable stuffed inside Wells Fargo Center, and an adjoining media village for the anticipated 15,000 reporters covering the event. It will even have its own transportation infrastructure in the form of some 500 buses meant to shuttle guests around town.

Wrangling all these details, and a budget of $50 million is Rev. Daughtry, a Pentecostal pastor from Washington, D.C. It’s her job to deal with businesses wanting contracts with the convention, as well as wrangling media. Daughtry has previously worked as chief of staff for the Democratic National Committee, an undersecretary of the Department of Labor, and worked to pilot the Democratic Party’s outreach to people of faith. She also headed up the 2008 DNC, at which Barack Obama was nominated for president. Daughtry has been working in Democratic politics since she helped with Jesse Jackson’s 1984 presidential run.

Philadelphia has proven its capabilities at hosting political conventions in the past; it hosted the 2000 Republican National Convention.