Milwaukee’s greatest moment in the political spotlight will not happen, now that presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden will not come here to speak during the Democratic National Convention. The move is a safety measure against coronavirus.
“Of course, we’re disappointed. We had so much pride that Milwaukee was chosen,” said Mayor Tom Barrett.
While unable to hide his sadness over the fact Milwaukee would not get the prime time political convention coverage, Barrett said that the DNC made the right choice by selecting Brew City.
“I want to say thank you to everyone from the business community to the labor community, to the visitor’s bureau…you name it,” said Barrett.
“Everyone in our community should be proud (to) put Milwaukee on the global stage. I thank you for your commitment.”
Barrett said he was working on finding answers to whether the broadcasts of the convention’s virtual events would originate from Milwaukee or other locales.
“Right now, we’re in sort of a ‘Let’s get more information’ mode on that,” he explained.
The mayor says the city’s next clear focus was on meeting the current COVID-19, economic and racial challenges of the present.
“Our priorities have to be on helping people get their lives back in order,” he said.
“We can’t forget the fact that we are in the middle of a pandemic. Over 155,000 people have lost their lives. 4,000,000 people have gotten sick. Countless people have lost their jobs.”