Yes We Can!

It's Friday afternoon, and I'm sitting in the lobby of the Sheraton Hotel in Denver.

It's been a wonderful, amazing week here during the DNC convention. I have had the opportunity to be part of history - throughout the week as a delegate to the convention and then last night, as I sat in the seats on the floor of Invesco Field, I heard Sen. Barack Obama give an eloquent and inspiring speech.

There were speeches and receptions and breakfasts and parties. I got to spend time with some of my best friends and meet new friends. I connected with people I only knew through Facebook or had heard of through others and I shared this experience with 80,000 people at Invesco Field last night.

The following posts are my impresions of the week, breaking it down by events or time at the Pepsi Center.

But beyond the fun photos and the great opportunities that I had this past week is a unified message of hope that was sent throughout this convention. Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. Joe Biden offer a change of course for our country, and opportunity to move to a new legacy, a 21st Century America, that deals with the tough realities that working men and women in our country face. Together, we have the ability to reject the failed policies of the last eight years and focus on the

During last night's speech I was most struck when Obama spoke not only of our differences, but our shared vision. To quote Sen. Barack Obama:

We may not agree on abortion, but surely we can agree on reducing the number of unwanted pregnancies in this country.

The reality of gun ownership may be different for hunters in rural Ohio than for those plagued by gang-violence in Cleveland, but don’t tell me we can’t uphold the Second Amendment while keeping AK-47s out of the hands of criminals.

I know there are differences on same-sex marriage, but surely we can agree that our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters deserve to visit the person they love in the hospital and to live lives free of discrimination.

Passions fly on immigration, but I don’t know anyone who benefits when a mother is separated from her infant child or an employer undercuts American wages by hiring illegal workers.

This too is part of America’s promise – the promise of a democracy where we can find the strength and grace to bridge divides and unite in common effort.

What a message.

When I got involved in politics 5 years ago, it was because I was inspired by Gov. Howard Dean's candidacy. But Sen. Obama has brought that to a whole new level, and inspired a whole new group of young people and those who have felt disenfrancished by politics.

This week was not the end -- it is the beginning of the next stage of the '08 presidential campaign.

Sen. Obama cannot do this alone. Each one of us must take the responsibility to talk to our friends and neighbors. To volunteer at a phone bank or register voters. Together we can make a statement to the world that the United State of America is ready to for CHANGE and ready to tackle the real problems that we face.

Thursday Night Photos

Here are photos from Invesco Field - in opposite chronological order.

After the speeches...

(Becca, Cecilia Cabello and Jim Kennedy.)

(Becca and Board of Equalization Chairperson Judy Chu.)

(The crowd celebrates!)

California for Obama!


Senator Obama inspires the nation!

(Mayor Newsom and his new wife watch the Obama speech.)

Becca is ready to hear Sen. Obama speak!


Joe Biden -- the next Vice President of the United States.

(Joe Biden is ready to hit McCain and Palin hard during the campaign.)

Al Gore!

(Al Gore speaks as the sun starts to set on Invesco Field)

(Al Gore gets an energetic welcome.)

Becca takes a moment to get pictures with fellow delegates and special guests...

(Becca poses with CDP Chairman Art Torres, who was so happy to have his work done for the convention!)

(San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, who sat two rows behind me.)

(West Hollywood City Councilmember John Duran, who sat next to me for the Obama speech.)

(Super Delegate Ed Espinosa - on of my two Obama speech watching seatmates.)

(Former CA Governor Gray Davis - looking a little blurry.)

At Inveco Field -- and the musical performances ...

(Sheryl Crow rocks out!)

(will.i.am performs "Yes We Can" and fires up the crowd.)

(Nancy Pelosi opens up the ceremonies at Invesco Field.)

(Outside the field ... but inside security.)

Monday Night - On the Convention Floor

I am in absolute awe of this amazing opportunity to be at this '08 DNC Convention. I was in Boston, but not as a delegate. And it was fun and a great experience. But yesterday, when I walked into the Pepsi Center, it took my breath away. The place was decked out with red, white and blue.

The perimeter was pretty far out - and the whole week is going to include a LOT of walking. But you walk through the securtiy gates and see the huge Pepsi Center with all the DNC banners. You walk by the CNN Grill, where the exposed brick building has been painted with the CNN logo. And then you get into the convention center itself, and you can feel the buzz...

(Holding up my credentials outside the Pepsi Center)

I got there extremely early (2:30 PM), because Fox 11 was following around myself and another Young Democrat, Rachel Pellam, and asked us to get there early. So while the energy of the crowd was just beginning to build, it gave us a great chance to walk around and get up close to the stage.

Wow.

(On the floor, waiting for the Convention to begin)

(Near the stage, at the beginning of the programming)

The CA Delegation is not on the actual floor, but our seats aren't horrible. We're actually right behind the CNN booth...

(CNN's Wolf Blitzer reporting -- right in front of the CA Delegation)

(CNN's John King, checking his blackberry at the CNN stage)

... which is how I was able to get this picture with Anderson Cooper!

(CNN's Anderson Cooper poses with Rachel Pellam and me)

Once the event really got rolling, we got to see just how impressive the production was. The stage has huge video screens that wrap above the stage to the ceiling, where images, colors and shapes are played, accenting the speaker. For instance, for the innvocation and benediction, they played what looked like stained glass. For the Sen. Kennedy introduction, there was a video and behind the major speakers are shapes or colors.

(The stage during Speaker Nancy Pelosi's speech)


(The stage during Jesse Jackson, Jr.'s speech)

In between the speakers, there are short Obama videos and lots of shots of delegates on the floor, waving and dancing. Yes, there are a lot of the stereo-typical delegates - decked out in buttons and weird hats. Several delegations have themes - for instance, Florida is wearing flamingo sunglasses and Alaska has matching jackets.

(Yep, this is Florida!)

As the evening moved on, more and more of our well-known local delegates showed up -- Mayor Villaraigosa (and his son), Controller Laura Chick, Councilmembers Garcetti, Greuel and Hahn, Congressmembers Maxine Waters and Diane Watson and School Board Member Yolie Flores Aguilar. I also sat two seats away from Delores Huerta for the majority of the major speeches. There were sightings of San Francisco District Attorney Kamala D. Harris (a wonderful young, dynamic political figure) and, celebrity-wise, Bill Maher.

(Council President Garcetti shows off his Obama Pride)

(Councilmember Janice Hahn was a huge fan of Michelle Obama's speech)

.... I'll break down the individual speechs in a later post. But the initial impression of the experience was a breathtaking one, and reminded me how incredibly lucky I am to be a part of this historic convention.

Hanging with the Minnesota Delegation

So, as a girl from Minnesota, I can't help but be excited that the California delegation is right next to the MN delegation. And though I have yet to see Garrison Keller, I did get to see a couple of my Minneapolis City Councilmember friends and they introduced me to the mayor of Minneapolis, R. T. Rybak...


... and (this is so cool to me!) former Vice President and Minnesotan Walter Mondale!


I just missed Al Franken (running for Senate in MN), but did yell "yay Minnesota!" to him when he walked by, and he waved. :)

Since we often have time to mill about and chat with people during the early convention proceedings, I expect to be stopping by there again!

Fox 11 News -- Becca & Rachel are Interviewed

I was on Fox 11 News tonight. Check out me and California College Democrat Rachel Pellam here:

Sunday Night - Sen. Padilla's Reception

The final party that I went to Sunday night was a "Project Vote Strong" party hosted by California State Senator Alex Padilla. It was held at the Limelight Supper Club, right down the street from the Convention Center and the hotel. (Denver reallyis a great city -- almost all of the events have been near the main pedestrian mall (16th Street), and there is a free bus that runs along until 1:30 AM or so. Very helpful for those of us walking around with high heels...!)

What I really liked about this reception was that it wasn't too full or crazy -- it was a good number of people, but with a very comfortable atmosphere. Lots of friends from Los Angeles, including Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Sen. Padilla's former colleague, City Councilmember Tony Cardenas and the Democratic Candidate for the 40th AD, Bob Blumenfield.


It's great to see the Los Angeles Delegation and other local Democratic activists out.

That's the last main party of the year ... went back to the Sheraton Hotel and hung out with a few friends...



... before going to sleep WAY too late! Have to get to the CA Delegation breakfast in the AM!

More Sunday Night Parties - At the Convention Center

After leaving the Phil Angelides party on Sunday night, I moved on to the Denver Convention Center which was hosted for all of the delegates at the convention.

(Reggie Jones Sawyer, Kellie Hawkins and me at the Convention Center)

The theme was "Salute to New Orleans" and I got there just in time to see the end of a speech by Governor Howard Dean. He is still a rock star to a lot of us - especially me.

I actually got involved in politics for the first time because of the 2004 Dean for President campaign. So it's always a pleasure to hear him speak.

The speech was good, but nothing new. Unity. Needing to get beyond the failed Bush policies. The 50-state strategy and taking it to the Republicans in every city and every state. And for mt superficial comment of the day -- boy has Gov. Dean lost weight! :)

After the speech I roamed around with a few friends and ran into a Facebook friend of mine that I actually met during the Dean campaign - Minneapolis City Councilmember Ralph Remington. And he introduced me to City Council Vice Chair Robert Lilligren and Andrew Falk, who is running for the Legislature in Minnesota. Here's picture:

(Minneapolis City Councilmember Robert Lilligreen, myeslf and Councilmember Ralph Remington)

This place was packed ... it was a wonderful start to the convention, with old friends, new friends and hundreds of delegates ready and excited about the coming week. Not to mention New Orleans themed food, include some kind of macaroni with crawfish and gumbo.