Sacramento-area Democratic delegates prepare for convention drama: ‘We’re all biting our nails’

Jenavieve Hatch
·4 min read
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SACRAMENTO DEM DELEGATES PREPARE FOR WILDCARD CONVENTION: ‘DEFINITELY NERVOUS’

As Democrats across the country react to President Joe Biden stepping down and passing the baton to Vice President Kamala Harris, Sacramento-area delegates are starting to get anxious about the August Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

“I’ll be honest, I’m definitely nervous,” said Michael Vargas, a lawyer and board member at Elk Grove Unified School District. The August convention will be his first convention as an elected delegate for the 7th U.S. Congressional District, which encompasses part of Sacramento, and West Sacramento, Galt and Elk Grove.

“I, like many people who ran to be delegates, thought this would be a relatively straightforward convention,” he said. “I didn’t think this was a possibility.”

Tomas Vera, an Auburn delegate representing the 3rd. U.S. Congressional District, which includes Placer County, said on Friday he was “frustrated” by elected officials who might “put the party in complete turmoil” by forcing Biden to step down without the party being unified behind a replacement.

“Biden remaining in the race is the most stabilizing decision that can be made,” Vera said. “If he steps down, it’s total chaos.”

When Biden dropped out Sunday afternoon, he named Harris, a Bay Area native, as his logical successor — and as Biden’s running mate, all the money the Biden-Harris ticket has raised could continue to fund the election. But Vera voiced concerns about Harris’ popularity.

“If it is Harris,” Vera said, “then she’s got her own challenges. She’s a woman of color running for president, and it’s going to fire up all those people that hated Barack (Obama).”

Like Vargas, this will be Vera’s first convention.

“It was going to be a nice quiet convention,” he said. “Then we had Gaza, now we’ve got this. I don’t even know if I’ll have time to go out and get a Chicago dog.”

Longtime Democratic consultant and two-time Democratic National Convention attendee Steve Maviglio said that the disarray among the Democratic Party is par for the course — but that the stakes are too high for it.

Last week’s GOP convention was “Crazy Town,” said Maviglio, an alternate delegate for the 7th U.S. Congressional District. And now, more than ever, Democrats need to show a united front.

“I got more fired up watching that convention than I’ve been in years, because I know we really need to stop the things being promoted ... Dems are notorious for being disorganized and at each others throats, and we’re living up to that. The question now is: how do you herd all these cats going in different directions?”

Like Vargas and Vera, Maviglio is a pledged delegate for Biden, and said he’s prepared to vote for Biden’s endorsed successor.

“We’re all biting our nails,” he said. “But I’ve always thought that we should take our cues from the voters, and voters said Biden and Harris, so that’s the natural hand-off.”

Vargas and Maviglio both said that it’s not lost on them that they are participating in an unprecedented political moment.

“The fact that its unprecedented brings new energy to the race,” Maviglio said.

“The next 30 days are going to be absolute chaos,” said Vargas. “But honestly, after the convention and after November, it’s going to be a great story.”

NEWSOM CELEBRATES SIX MONTHS OF JOB GROWTH — BUT CA STILL RANKS HIGHEST IN UNEMPLOYMENT

Gov. Gavin Newsom is celebrating six months of steady job growth, with 107,100 new jobs so far in 2024 — more than double the number of new jobs during the same period in 2023, according to a report from the state’s Employment Development Department.

The report showed that seven of the state’s 11 industries experienced job growth, with the Trade, Transportation, and Utilities industry creating close to 10,000 jobs in June.

In a Friday press release, the governor boasted that California “continues to lead the nation’s economy and create good jobs.”

But despite the good news, California’s unemployment rate is still 5.2%, the highest in the country.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“It’s hard to believe it’s possible for Democrats to fall further into disarray, but here we are.”

- Jessica Millan Patterson, California Republican Party Chairwoman.

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