Tom Pérez, president of the Democratic National Committee, chose Milwaukee instead of Miami, to host the Democratic Convention in 2020.
By rejecting a proposal focused on the maritime landscape, diversity, wealthy donors and experience in large events in South Florida, Pérez decided to celebrate the party’s most important annual activity in the mid-west, where Donald Trump astonished Hillary Clinton in 2016 with a series of victories that symbolized the withdrawal of the Democratic Party from the central area of the nation.
But the decision was not unexpected: proponents of the Miami candidacy believed during the weeks prior to the announcement that if they did not finally choose Miami, the reasons would probably be both personal and political. The fact that Pérez got married in Milwaukee was mentioned several times in Miami, while Pérez gave the matter a long run.
Anyway, the decision was a blow to some local politicians and donors who last month developed a last-minute campaign with the hope of winning. In an official statement released Monday, the City of Miami Beach said Perez’s decision was “a missed opportunity.”
“I do not think Milwaukee can win on its own merits,” Ricky Arriola, Miami Beach commissioner, said recently. “We met all the requirements and he [Pérez] has tried to find a reason not to celebrate the convention here.”
Perez issued a statement on Monday in which he said the Milwaukee team is “a statement of our values.”
“The Democratic Party is the party of working people and Milwaukee is a city of workers,” he said. “I want to thank the leaders of Houston and Miami for their work during this process. The two cities presented competitive proposals that will surely lead them to hold conventions of this kind in the future. “
But people who participated in the Miami proposal believe that the region had the best offer.
Led by Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber, the proposal included key speeches at the AmericanAirlines Arena and meetings at the newly renovated Miami Beach Convention Center. Among other options, parties were planned at the ZooMiami, fundraising activities in Vizcaya and cruise trips from Terminal Isle.
In a final effort in February, the two vice presidents of the Miami Beach organizing committee, Chris Korge
Some of the largest donors in the area also participated, lobbying the Democratic National Committee to celebrate the convention in Miami, which has a greater four- and five-star hotel capacity than Milwaukee.
But the brightness of Miami was only part of the offer. The importance of Florida contributing 29 votes in the Electoral College was also stressed. Florida has a record of two decades in which elections have been decided by extremely small margins.
“The issue is that we are not a state like any other because here a slight advantage, or any contrary pressure, changes things,” said Christian Ulvert, a Florida Democratic strategist who wrote to Pérez recently. “And if Florida is the zero zone of the presidential election, Miami-Dade is clearly the zero zone of Florida.”
