Lehigh Valley delegates enthused by Kamala Harris as Democratic National Convention begins in Chicago
Lehigh Valley delegates attending the Democratic National Convention in Chicago that begins today will witness history as Vice President Kamala Harris is the first woman of color to accept the party’s presidential nomination.
“I’m looking forward to being in the midst of all the positive energy … and being in the room as history is being made,” said Carmen Bell of Allentown and second vice chair of the Lehigh County Democratic Committee.
“It's a very historic candidacy, and I am very happy to see her at the top of the ticket,” said Baron Vanderburg of Palmer Township and chair of the Northampton County Black Caucus.
Bell and Vanderburg are two of seven delegates elected in the April primary to represent the Lehigh Valley area’s 7th Congressional District at the convention.
The state’s delegation totals 187, with 105 selected in the primary by congressional district and the rest selected by the state Democratic Party officials as at-large members or by being a party leader or elected official.
Nearly 4,700 delegates and a total of 50,000 people will be in Chicago for the four-day convention.
The gathering is the 26th major party convention hosted by Chicago, with the first coming in 1860, when Republicans nominated Abraham Lincoln as their presidential candidate. The last was in 1996, when Bill Clinton was nominated for a second term as president.
One traditional task the delegates won’t do at the convention: officially choose their party’s ticket for president and vice president. That roll call was completed online by Aug. 5 to meet an Aug. 7 deadline to get Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz on the Ohio ballot. There will still be a ceremonial roll call vote on Tuesday, however.
In addition to Bell and Vanderburg, the other delegates from 7th District are: Leslie M. Altieri, chair of Bethlehem Township, Freemansburg, Saucon Valley/Hellertown Democratic Committee; Julian Alexander Guridy, who works for the state Senate; Aidan Levinson, a political consultant from Zionsville and 2020 delegate; Lori McFarland, chair of the Lehigh County Democratic Committee; and Anne Wakabayashi, a political consultant from Bethlehem who also was a delegate from Philadelphia to the 2016 DNC.
The local delegates had backed Biden but shifted their support to Harris after she replaced the president on the ticket following the president’s poor performance in a June 27 debate and calls from many Democratic leaders that he step aside.
“After his decision to step down and immediately endorse Kamala Harris, it was very easy for me to do the same as did all of our delegates representing District 7 here in the Lehigh Valley,” said McFarland, who will attend her first convention.
Levinson, a Biden delegate in 2020, agreed.
“I am equally excited about Vice President Harris as our nominee. She has unlocked a major sense of joy and excitement, and we are in great position with her as our party’s nominee,” he said.
Both Vanderburg and Wakabayashi emphasized the significance of Harris’ background as a daughter of a Black father from Jamaica and a mother from India for the Democratic Party and the nation.
“As an AAPI (Asian American and Pacific Islander) woman and as a person who has worked hard to increase the level of diversity in our party, I could not be more thrilled that our ticket is being led by Kamala Harris, who will hopefully make history as our first AAPI and first woman president,” Wakabayashi said.
Vanderburg said he did not advocate for Biden to bow out of the race for president, believing Biden had a path to victory on Nov. 5. However, he is now fully behind Harris.
“I believe the momentum that has come around Harris being on the top of the ticket is unmatched . … I’m very happy to see Kamala engaging sections of voters that weren't formally engaged,” he said.
He added, “I think the intersectionality of Kamala Harris is a strength for the top of the ticket and for the American presidency. We have a long history of [mostly] old white men who have held the highest office in the land, and not only are we overdue for a different perspective in the White House, we are … (seeing) somebody who is incredibly qualified to hold that space.”
How to watch the convention
The convention will be aired and streamed by major broadcast and cable news networks.
The DNC will livestream the event at www.dem.convention.com as well as on other sites such as YouTube. Convention organizers also issued press credentials to 200 social media influencers to present their perspectives on events through TikTok, Instagram and other similar sites.
Speakers include Hillary Clinton, the party’s presidential nominee in 2016, and President Joe Biden, on Monday; former President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, on Tuesday; former President Bill Clinton on Wednesday, followed by vice presidential candidate Walz. Harris will deliver her acceptance speech Thursday night.