2024 Democratic-Republican National Convention
.jpg) The Moscone Center, the venue of the 2024 convention | |
| Convention | |
|---|---|
| Date(s) | February 10–12, 2024 |
| City | San Francisco City |
| Venue | Moscone Center |
| Chair | Indira Johannesen |
| Keynote speaker |
Cedric Harrison Maggie Chan |
| Notable speakers |
Preston Bolivar Kimberly Lincoln Gary Newsom Melinda Peters Malcolm Siegel |
| Leadership nominee | Cedric Harrison |
The 2024 Democratic-Republican National Convention was a national political convention organized by the Democratic-Republican Party of Sierra in order to ratify and confirm the party's next leader. The convention was announced shortly after the start of the 2024 Democratic-Republican Party of Sierra leadership election following the resignation of Maggie Chan as party leader and prime minister. The convention was held to certify the results of the leadership election and formally swear in the election's victory, Cedric Harrison. Due to the Democratic-Republicans being the governing party of the Kingdom of Sierra, Harrison as also sworn in as the next prime minister. The convention was held at the Moscone Center in San Francisco City with San Francisco governor Indira Johannesen serving as the chair of the convention.
Background
On January 20, 2024, prime minister and Democratic-Republican Party leader Maggie Chan formally announcer her resignation as the party's leader and prime minister. While she didn't initially state the reason, it was later revealed to be due to occupational burnout and Stage II colorectal cancer that was revealed to members of her government privately before it went public. Following her resignation, the Federal Executive Committee announced that a party leadership election would be held and set February 8 as the date of the election. Lasting four weeks, it was the shortest party leadership election in modern history and the selection process lasted nearly two weeks as well, being held on a short-term basis.
Party platform
Selection process
According to party insiders, three sites were chosen to be selected as the potential site of the 2024 national convention. These included: the Moscone Center in San Francisco City, the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, and the Bernheim Memorial Civic Auditorium in Bernheim. The selection process took place over a two week period, in which party officials examine each potential site. It was announced on February 3 that the Moscone Center in San Francisco City would be the site of the 2024 national convention. According to the Porciúncula Times, it is believed that the Moscone Center was chosen over the other options because of its size and location within the host city.
Schedule
Day One
The first day of the convention was marked with party formalities. At around 8am, party leadership formally declared K.S. Minister of Education Cedric Harrison the winner of the 2024 leadership election, certifying his victory. However, Harrison will not officially become party leader until February 12. Along with that, a new party platform was officially voted on by party delegates, which included changes to party policies regarding education reform, LGBTQ+ rights, and the issue of theodemocracy in the Deseret. The meeting of delegates officially concluded with party chairman Pat McLoughlin officially opening the 2024 Democratic-Republican National Convention.
Later in the day, a banquet of party officials, including parliamentary leaders, was held at the Hyatt Regency. The banquet was most notably attended by Harrison, Chief Whip Kimberly Lincoln, who was the runner-up in the leadership race, and K.S. Minister of Culture Evelyn Lyerly, who was also a candidate in the race. Prime Minister Maggie Chan was unable to attend the banquet, reportedly due to a medical check-up. Harrison gave a speech at the banquet, commending his former opponents and stating his vision for the Democratic-Republican Party moving forward.
A number of DRPS-sponsored events were held around San Francisco City, including panel discussions and fundraising events. Along with that, Mayor of San Francisco City Sherry Banning held a rally outside of San Francisco City Hall in support of local candidates.
Day Two
The second day of the convention was officially opened at 2pm and the main events began at 6pm. Doors to the Moscone Center opened at noon, and panel discussions on LGBTQ+ rights and racial equity were held from 2:30pm to 3:30pm and 4:30pm to 5:30pm respectively. The LGBTQ+ rights panel was hosted by Derrick Dutton, a San Joaquin-based LGBTQ+ activist, and Tyreek Griffin, former SAFL player turned anti-racist activist. At 3:00pm, the LGBTQ+ panel was briefly interrupted by hecklers, who criticized the DRPS's response to the rise in homophobia in the public education system. They were quickly removed and the panel went forward as planned.
The main event, convention speeches, lasted from 6pm to 9pm, and featured eight speakers, seven of whom were officials of the Democratic-Republican Party. The speeches began with Chair of the Federal Executive Committee Pat McLaughlin giving an opening speech in which he praised the party's electoral success in the 2022 federal election. He was followed by Speaker of the House of Commons Ryan Kaneko, who praised the Chan agenda as "the most effective legislative agenda in Sierran political history". He also praised Chan for "inspiring a new generation of Asian-Sierran leaders". Other notable speakers included Allen Blumenthal, an LGBTQ+ activist and founder of the Wainwright Project, who denounced a the rise in anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment in Sierra, and former prime minister Melinda Peters, who spoke on female Democratic-Republicans in power.
Speeches concluded at 9:03pm, and the second day of the convention was officially closed at 10:00pm.
Day Three
The third and final day of the convention will begin at 2pm, and like the previous day the doors to the convention will open at noon. Panel discussions on women's rights, progressive education, and social welfare will be held from 2:30pm to 5:30pm. Convention speeches will begin at 6:00pm and will conclude around 9:00pm with Harrison officially being sworn in as both party leader and Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Sierra.
Speakers
Day Two speakers
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Day Three speakers
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Panel hosts
Notable speeches
Responses
Demonstrations and protests
Prior to the convention taking place, various organizations and groups from both sides of the political spectrum promised to protest the convention. On the first day of the convention, members of the Social Democratic Committee of San Francisco organized a protest outside of the Moscone Center. Many protesters held signs supporting embattled former prime minister Susan Kwon and denounced Maggie Chan as a "traitor to the progressive movement". Protestors were later joined by Democratic-Republican former San Francisco governor and current member of parliament Terry Scott, who claimed that he was barred from entering the convention center despite being a San Francisco delegate. Right-wing protestors also arrived at the convention center, with the far-right Gentlemen's Club group staging a "Save Our Kids" rally near the convention center.
The second day of the convention was also marked with protests from leftist and rightist groups. A clash between members of the Gentleman's Club and supposed Antide members resulted in police intervention and the arrest of three individuals. Following this incident, Chair of the Federal Executive Committee Pat McLoughlin called upon Mayor of San Francisco City Sherry Banning to establish a block-wide protest-exclusion zone in order to secure the safety of convention attendees.
Criticisms and controversies
The 2024 Democratic-Republican National Convention has received criticism from groups for a variety of reasons. The necessity of the convention was questioned by some members of the party, most notably Governor of Santa Clara Alfonso Tsai, who stated on Bubbler that he believed a convention was "unnecessary" given the "circumstances of the rushed leadership election". Tsai had previously criticized the leadership election for its length, believing that it took place too quickly. According to various sources, there was rumors that the planning for the convention only began a week before and was incredibly rushed.