The 2020 DNC in Milwaukee has been pushed back to mid-August. Now what? Joe Biden, Tom Perez, Joe Solmonese weigh in

Bill Glauber
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

All of a sudden, the 2020 Democratic National Convention in Milwaukee is like one of those plucky Broadway musicals where, no matter what, the show must go on.

An event that is normally carefully planned over a year and stage-managed right down to the minute is now a work-in-progress.

Last week, convention organizers pushed the event back from mid-July to the week of Aug. 17 to cope with the coronavirus pandemic.

But what exactly would a Milwaukee convention even look like?

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All that organizers have is a start date. They don't have a schedule, format or even know exactly how many people will attend.

Democratic National Committee Chair Tom Perez.

"We want to make sure we can put on the most robust convention possible in Milwaukee as safely as possible," Democratic National Committee chair Tom Perez said in an interview.

There's no assurance that the outbreak will have passed.

Even former Vice President Joe Biden raised the possibility that Democrats "may have to do a virtual convention."

On Sunday, Biden told George Stephanopoulos of ABC News: "The idea of holding the convention is going to be necessary. We may not be able to put 10, 20, 30,000 people in one place, and that's very possible."

"Again let's see where it is — and what we do between now and then is going to dictate a lot of that as well," he said. "But my point is that I think you just got to follow the science."

Still, convention planners are moving forward.

"We're working toward the convention that we envisioned, but we have to be mindful of how many people are coming," said Joe Solmonese, chief executive of the Democratic National Convention Committee.

But that sort of convention, a spectacle that lures 50,000 people to Milwaukee, may turn out to be something quite different in look and feel.

"It will be appropriate, reflective to the times we find ourselves in," Solmonese said.

Joe Solmonese, chief executive of the Democratic National Convention Committee.

Solmonese said it was a little less than two weeks ago when he began planning for a shift in convention dates. He said one key was finding a period when Fiserv Forum, the principal venue, would be available.

Aug. 17 turned out to be the week.

Another factor that played into the decision was important contracts had to be executed, Perez said. He did not go into specifics.

"It's one thing for people to say you ought to move it," Solmonese said. "It's another thing to say when you're the guy who has to pick it up and put it back down again."

But here's what Solmonese bought: time.

He and others have no idea what course the pandemic will have taken by the week of Aug. 17, instead of the original convention dates of July 13-16, but they do know they have an added month to adapt.

And everyone has pitched in.

Solmonese said: "I will say the only reason that we're able to do this is because the City of Milwaukee and the people from Mayor Tom Barrett to the police to Gwen Moore to the labor unions and corporate folks they all just opened their arms and said, 'We can do this, we're going to make this great.' "

"Rather than stepping back, they all stepped up. This is the course this has taken. We're just going to roll up our sleeves, lean in and make it work."

Perez also lauded local and state officials.

"I'm hopeful that by August we're going to be in better shape," he said. "We're going to continue to follow the science and speak regularly with public health officials. We're in touch with hotels and transportation and other partners. The spirit of Wisconsin is remarkably collaborative."

Solmonese acknowledged that "it remains to be seen" how many delegates, "progressive partners" and activists attend and that organizers will have to adjust for crowd size.

Fundraising is a challenge with the economy now in free-fall as a result of the pandemic. The local host committee had a $70 million goal to stage the event and has raised around half that, Solmonese said.

"This is a very challenging moment, but people continue to step up," Perez said.

Cutting the convention back from the original four days doesn't yield cost savings, Solmonese said. But if fewer people attend, there can be significant savings in transportation costs.

Originally, there was going to be a large gap between the Democratic convention and the Republican convention in Charlotte, North Carolina, Aug. 24-27.

Now, the events are going back to back. That's not unusual. But the U.S. Secret Service and media organizations will have to adjust. It's also unclear how large a media contingent will be at the conventions, given the present public health and economic crises.

Solmonese said his team is up to the task of putting together the event. He has experienced hands in transportation, security and other key logistics, he said.

For the eighth straight DNC, production is overseen by Ricky Kirshner, who has produced awards shows like the Tonys and the recent Shakira-Jennifer Lopez Super Bowl halftime show.

For that halftime show, they put together the stage in 7½ minutes.

Kirshner may have to pull off similar magic here.

Journal Sentinel reporter Mary Spicuzza contributed to this article.