GOVERNOR, CONGRESSIONAL LEADERS AND STATEWIDE OFFICERS TO HEADLINE CALIFORNIA DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION IN SAN DIEGO THIS WEEKEND

February 10, 2012 (San Diego) – Democratic delegates and party activists from East County are among the participants at the three-day California Democratic Party Convention taking place Friday through Sunday at the San Diego Convention Center. 

Governor Jerry Brown heads a star-studded list of speakers, along with numerous other federal, state and local political leaders—as well as comedian-turned-Senator Al Franken, formerly of Saturday Night Live fame, and Van Jones, former green jobs advisor to President Barack Obama and author of the New York Times bestseller The Green Collar Economy.

Other nationally prominent speakers include House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, California Senator Dianne Feinstein, U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis, Congresswoman Barbara Lee, and Congressman Bob Filner, also a candidate for San Diego Mayor.

Statewide office holders in California include Governor Jerry Brown, Lt. Governor Gavin Newsom, Attorney General Kamala Harris, Secretary of State Debra Bowen, Superintendent of Public Education Tom Torlakson, Treasurer Bill Lockyer, and State Controller John Chiang.

California legislative leaders including Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg and Assembly Speaker John Perez will also speak, along with state and national party leaders including Democratic National Committee Secretary Alice Germond and California Democratic Party Chair John Burton.   

Soul singer and recording artist Eli “Paperboy” Reed band will headline a concert for convention goers on Saturday night. 

Members of the East County Democratic Club, La Mesa-Foothills Democratic Club and local candidates will also be on hand. David Secor, a Democrat running against Congressman Duncan Hunter, will be among the candidates featured at the Rural Caucus' "Red to Blue California" event.  

"With more than half a million Democrats here, we continue to be California's battleground county," San Diego County Democratic Party Chairman Jess Durfee has stated.  "We are honored to be hosting the California Democratic Party Convention once again in San Diego."

The convention also presents opportunities for citizens to voice their views and gain the attention of party leaders and media with demonstrations outside the convention hall by groups as diverse as the Occupy movement and the Tea Party. 

Inside, observer passes are available only to guests of appointed or elected delegates.   Some delegates are elected by the Democratic membership, while others are appointed by office holders and party nominees. 

For more information, visit http://cademconvention.org.

For the agenda, see http://cademconvention.org/convention-information/event-schedule.