The Democratic National Committee’s has moved its fall meeting to Tysons Corner after a planned union picket at the original site in Baltimore led the party to change venues.
The decision means Northern Virginia will see a rare cluster of Democratic presidential hopefuls gathered at a single meeting, which is set for the Sheraton Premiere from Nov. 29 to Dec. 1.
The move, DNC Chairman Howard Dean said, was to show solidarity with the picketing workers at the Sheraton Baltimore City Center. The employees, organized under the Unite Here union, are in the midst of a labor dispute with the hotel’s owners.
“The Democratic Party has long championed the ideals of America’s working families, and championed the fundamental American value that everyone deserves an honest day’s pay for an honest day’s work,” Dean said.
Besides allowing the national party to pass resolutions and handle official business, the fall meeting – the second of two meetings annually – serves as “sort of a launching ground for the candidates when they start their campaigns,” said Luis Miranda, a DNC spokesman.
Ginny Peters, chairwoman of the Fairfax County Democratic Committee, did not expect the move to have any great effect on the party locally, especially because there won’t be enough space at the meeting for local Democrats.
She hoped the event would, however, bring some national party attention to Fairfax County and Virginia.
“With the win we had last Tuesday, everybody would love to see Virginia in play,” she said, referring to major Democratic gains in Tuesday’s election.
