Business leaders back Charlotte’s Republican National Convention bid
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) – The Latest on a bid by Charlotte, North Carolina to host the Republican National Convention in 2020 (all times local):
3:50 p.m.
Business owners have made up the majority of speakers asking the Charlotte City Council to host the 2020 Republican National Convention.
Many of those speakers represented the hotel industry at Monday’s meeting. Dan Hooks said the council should look past political rhetoric and see what’s good for the city.
Hooks said to reject the RNC would be to reverse the good done by hosting the Democratic National Convention in 2012.
Other business people said hosting the convention would mean jobs and paychecks for people who would work extra hours during the week of the convention. Some mentioned that the city would be showcased to the nation by hosting the convention.
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3 p.m.
Several speakers have cited policies and statements of the Trump administration in asking the Charlotte, North Carolina, city council not to host the 2020 Republican National Convention.
Local resident Ray McKinnon told the said President Barack Obama didn’t speak about people the way this president does. A woman who followed McKinnon to the podium urged the council to reject the convention because Trump criticized NBA star and Charlotte native Steph Curry.
However, former Charlotte city councilman Kenny Smith urged the council to support the bid. He said a “no” vote would only hurt Charlotte and he asked the council to cast politics aside.
Brenda-Jackson Little told the council the convention would be a “tremendous economic boon for the region.”
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2:10 p.m.
More than 130 people have signed up to address a North Carolina city council on a bid to host the 2020 Republican National Convention.
The Charlotte City Council meeting chamber began to fill about 45 minutes ahead of Monday’s 2 p.m. start.
Speakers are being given minute apiece to express themselves. Some entered with green-and-white signs reading “No RNC In CLT” and #defendcharlotte. Some of who brought the signs held them up as the meeting began.
Several walked in with white sheets of paper that read “2020 RNC Supporter.”
Outside the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Government Center, one man held up a white flag with the red, white and blue GOP logo on it.
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1:34 p.m.
More than 100 people have signed up to weigh in on whether the Democrat-friendly city of Charlotte, North Carolina, should host the Republican National Convention in 2020.
The Charlotte City Council has scheduled a special meeting Monday to debate hosting the convention at which President Donald Trump will be seeking the nomination for a second term.
The Republicans have not yet extended an offer, but Charlotte is considered the front-runner.
Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles has championed the bid, saying in a recent newspaper column that it’s a chance for the city to show its inclusiveness at a time when the nation is at “a tipping point of incivility.”
Lyles is the city’s first black female mayor.
Opponents cite Trump’s statements denigrating minorities, Muslims, women and the LGBTQ population.
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