Live from Yakima: Day One Reflections
The first day of the 2006 Democratic Convention is finally over - and what a day it's been. The real action is tomorrow, when we'll hear from candidates, vote on a platform, and consider resolutions.
The signs are already going up in the main hall at the Yakima Convention Center. Following the conclusion of the gala dinner earlier this evening, campaigns scrambled to claim wall "real estate", which went fast as staff quickly tacked up large blocs of rally signs promoting their particular candidate.
It really is amazing how many people are here. The convention center and the hospitality suites at the Red Lion Hotel were packed all evening long with Democrats. And though there are a number of activists who have gripes with the party or a particular candidate (like Maria Cantwell) they're still here participating in the party process along with their fellow Democrats.
One thing I forgot to mention earlier: I talked directly with Governor Christine Gregoire and Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown before they spoke at the banquet and congratulated them for providing outstanding leadership for Washington State - especially the landmark civil rights legislation and the 2005 Transportation Package that both deserve credit for making a reality.
The Governor was clearly having a good time; she was especially delighted to hear that the party had eliminated the debt from the election challenge.
Two Yakima TV stations provided television coverage of the convention this evening. KIMA TV (the CBS affiliate) made it their top story and gave Senator Maria Cantwell fairly generous airtime. They carried her remarks on multiple issues, including gas price gouging and immigration. KIMA also showed footage of the gala banquet and aired a few snippets of Governor Christine Gregoire's speech.
They have an article online here, but the second paragraph contains an embarrassing mistake:
(KIMA, by the way, followed their convention coverage with a clip of Mike McGavick, who is also apparently in Yakima this weekend).
KAPP (the ABC affiliate) had coverage from reporter Tania Reyes, which didn't lead off the news, but was near the top of the broadcast. Like KIMA, they showed footage from the gala banquet, but they also had a sound bite cut from an interview they did with Governor Gregoire after she addressed the banquet. KAPP also aired a clip prominently showing Rep. Maralyn Chase's booth and signs out in the lobby of the convention center. Their coverage is summarized online here.
Other convention coverage: Chris McGann filed this report for the Seattle P-I, and Times chief political reporter David Postman is also commentating on the convention at his blog (and he was kind enough to link to NPI earlier, too!)
I'll check around for new articles about the convention in the morning; there's bound to be a few more then.
It's hard to anticipate how the convention will go tomorrow, but if today is any indicator, I think tomorrow will be a great day for Washington Democrats. A few other Democrats who participated in the platform process earlier today have told me they're pretty confident our platform this year is going to be solid. And hopefully that's the case.
It's off to bed now for some much needed rest; I'll resume live updates starting tomorrow morning.
The signs are already going up in the main hall at the Yakima Convention Center. Following the conclusion of the gala dinner earlier this evening, campaigns scrambled to claim wall "real estate", which went fast as staff quickly tacked up large blocs of rally signs promoting their particular candidate.
It really is amazing how many people are here. The convention center and the hospitality suites at the Red Lion Hotel were packed all evening long with Democrats. And though there are a number of activists who have gripes with the party or a particular candidate (like Maria Cantwell) they're still here participating in the party process along with their fellow Democrats.
One thing I forgot to mention earlier: I talked directly with Governor Christine Gregoire and Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown before they spoke at the banquet and congratulated them for providing outstanding leadership for Washington State - especially the landmark civil rights legislation and the 2005 Transportation Package that both deserve credit for making a reality.
The Governor was clearly having a good time; she was especially delighted to hear that the party had eliminated the debt from the election challenge.
Two Yakima TV stations provided television coverage of the convention this evening. KIMA TV (the CBS affiliate) made it their top story and gave Senator Maria Cantwell fairly generous airtime. They carried her remarks on multiple issues, including gas price gouging and immigration. KIMA also showed footage of the gala banquet and aired a few snippets of Governor Christine Gregoire's speech.
They have an article online here, but the second paragraph contains an embarrassing mistake:
"We consider Yakima a very important place for the 2006 elections. It's gotta lot of attention lately and we're going to keep coming back.," says Senator Maria Cantwell (R).Hmmm...how did that happen? Apparently somebody forgot to proofread the report and hastily threw it up there. It's always important to get your R's and D's in order so you don't confuse people. Hopefully KIMA will correct their mistake.
(KIMA, by the way, followed their convention coverage with a clip of Mike McGavick, who is also apparently in Yakima this weekend).
KAPP (the ABC affiliate) had coverage from reporter Tania Reyes, which didn't lead off the news, but was near the top of the broadcast. Like KIMA, they showed footage from the gala banquet, but they also had a sound bite cut from an interview they did with Governor Gregoire after she addressed the banquet. KAPP also aired a clip prominently showing Rep. Maralyn Chase's booth and signs out in the lobby of the convention center. Their coverage is summarized online here.
Other convention coverage: Chris McGann filed this report for the Seattle P-I, and Times chief political reporter David Postman is also commentating on the convention at his blog (and he was kind enough to link to NPI earlier, too!)
I'll check around for new articles about the convention in the morning; there's bound to be a few more then.
It's hard to anticipate how the convention will go tomorrow, but if today is any indicator, I think tomorrow will be a great day for Washington Democrats. A few other Democrats who participated in the platform process earlier today have told me they're pretty confident our platform this year is going to be solid. And hopefully that's the case.
It's off to bed now for some much needed rest; I'll resume live updates starting tomorrow morning.
