The Pacific Palisades Democratic Club (PPDC) will hold a grand-opening event at its new 2012 PPDC Westside Democratic Headquarters at 1408 Third Street Promenade, third floor in Santa Monica this Thursday, Sept. 6
A public ribbon-cutting ceremony and convention-watching party will run from 4:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. following an open house from noon to 5 p.m.
Dignitaries scheduled to appear include Congressman Henry Waxman, Santa Monica Mayor Richard Bloom, and L.A. Deputy Mayor for Neighborhood & Community Services Torie Osborn.
The evening is co-hosted by Organizing for America – California (OFA – CA), which is subleasing space at the headquarters and will hold daily phone banks and other Get Out The Vote activities there between now and Election Day.
The West L.A. Democratic Club is also lending support, and other local clubs may come on board as well.
The Sept. 6 grand opening is set to coincide with the climax of this year’s Democratic Convention, at which President Obama will accept the party’s nomination as candidate for re-election in November.
Attendees will enjoy food and beverages, hear live speeches from the dignitaries on hand, and watch the evening’s convention speeches on one of multiple widescreen TVs throughout the headquarters.
The office will be open seven days a week through Election Day, likely 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. — though some days may go longer or shorter.
While OFA – CA concentrates on the re-election of the Obama/Biden ticket, PPDC will do the same, but also focus on helping state and local Democratic candidates and on passage or defeat of the various ballot propositions on the November ballot.
In addition to phone banking and Get Out The Vote operations, the PPDC Westside Democratic Headquarters will be a hub for organizing bus trips to Nevada or other nearby swing states, as was the case in 2008.
Besides the grand opening convention-watching party on Sept. 6, PPDC will also host public viewing parties for each of the three scheduled presidential debates and the vice-presidential debate as follows:
First presidential debate: Wednesday, October 3
University of Denver, Denver, CO
Moderator: Jim Lehrer, Executive Editor of the PBS NewsHour
Vice presidential debate: Thursday, October 11
Centre College, Danville, KY
Moderator: Martha Raddatz, Senior Foreign Affairs Correspondent, ABC News
Second presidential debate (town meeting format): Tuesday, October 16
Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY
Moderator: Candy Crowley, Chief Political Correspondent, CNN and Anchor, CNN’s State of the Union
Third presidential debate: Monday, October 22
Lynn University, Boca Raton, FL
Moderator: Bob Schieffer, Chief Washington Correspondent, CBS News and Moderator, Face the Nation
All debates will take place from 9 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. Eastern Time.
Other activities and events are also in the works, but the central mission of the headquarters is to provide space for volunteers and campaign officials to come together to fight for Democratic victories on Election Day.
For more information, visit www.palisadesdemclub.org.
