Economy

DNC Moves Convention Online, Milwaukee Businesses Lose Out

Published

3 years ago

June 25, 2020

The Democratic National Committee announced Wednesday that the August convention where former Vice President Joe Biden is expected to accept his party’s nomination, is being moved mostly online and delegates should not plan to attend in person. For many businesses in the area, the decision means losing out on a highly profitable week they were banking on following COVID-19 lockdowns.

The New York Times, citing party officials, reported that the convention will be moved from Milwaukee’s professional basketball arena. Moreover, state delegates will be asked to not travel to the event over health concerns.

The Wisconsin city will still be the base for much of the live streaming and virtual events. The host site was moved from the Fiserv Forum to the Wisconsin Center.

Democrats will hold an almost entirely virtual presidential nominating convention in Milwaukee in August using live broadcasts and online streaming, party officials say. Joe Biden will accept the nomination in person. https://t.co/i2aNq7BWtE

— The Associated Press (@AP) June 24, 2020

“Milwaukee would anchor the events for the week,” the DNC press release says. “Programming would include both live broadcasts and curated content from Milwaukee and other satellite cities.”

The release adds that Biden will still travel to Wisconsin and accept the title in person. “Vice President Biden intends to proudly accept his party’s nomination in Milwaukee and take the next step forward towards making Donald Trump a one-term president,” said Biden Campaign Manager Jen O’Malley Dillon.

The drastic decrease in expected guests means a lessened need for hotel rooms, meals, and shopping.

“John Vassallo, the owner of Mo’s, A place for Steaks and Mo’s Irish Pub was expecting a sell-out week during the convention and a busy few weeks leading up to it as guests arrived,” according to an interview by local station TMJ-4. “The scaled down convention now means less guests and all auxiliary events, including state delegation parties connected to the convention, have been canceled.”

Vassallo goes on to say that he lost several buyouts, and great amounts of walk-in traffic. “We were expecting the busiest year, busiest 30 days since 2008,” said Vassallo.

With DNC downsizing, Milwaukee-area hotels and other businesses are again being clobbered by pandemic https://t.co/1SA6WHvbPs

— Journal Sentinel (@journalsentinel) June 25, 2020

After weeks of closed inside seating and trying to survive on take-out orders, Milwaukee restaurants are struggling. In fact, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinal is keeping a running list of Milwaukee restaurants that have had to close permanently. At the time of publishing, this list had ten restaurants closed forever.

As Democrats celebrate Biden in August, local businesses will see much less profit after months of struggling through lockdown orders.

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Economy

Massachusetts Democrat Mayor wants to end ‘right-to-shelter’ law amidst migrant crisis

Published

2 weeks ago

September 12, 2023

Sara Carter Staff

More Democrat leaders from non-border states are wising up to the immigration crisis our nation faces. Woburn mayor Scott Galvin, of the progressive state of Massachusetts, is hoping that lawmakers will overturn a 40-year-old law because the reality of being “bleeding heart liberals” is resulting in the demise of his town.

The 40-year-old “right-to-shelter” law has got to go, says mayor Galvin, because of the immense strain the thousands of migrant families are putting on the area’s residents. By Friday, there were about 150 families living in the city’s hotels, an “unsustainable” arrangement for his 40,000 constituents.

Galvin told the New York Times the right-to-shelter law, which only exists in Massachusetts, was “passed at a different time, and was not meant to cover what we’re seeing now.”

National Review reports:

Under the 1983 right-to-shelter law, Massachusetts officials are legally required to offer housing to any homeless families seeking shelter in the state. The law now covers a rising influx of migrant families, although individuals are not covered under its provisions.

“We’re going above and beyond, while some communities around us are not being impacted, and we don’t have endless capacity in our schools,” said Galvin. “The benefits that are bestowed on migrants make the state a very attractive destination, and without some changes, this challenge is not going to abate.”

Massachusetts Democrat Governor Maura Healey already declared a state of emergency on August 8th, requesting help from the federal government. On August 31, Healey activated up to 250 Massachusetts National Guard members to assist the more than 6,000 migrant families already in the state’s shelter system.

Approximately 6,300 families are living in emergency shelters and hotels across the state, up roughly 50 percent from the year prior. The cost for such accommodations for all the migrants is approximately $45 million per month, National Review reports.