Kamala Harris at Netroots Nation
Hey Daily Kos.
It’s been a while since I posted here. It is amazing how much more time I had for politics before I started doing it for a living.
I’m Eric Thut, the Executive Director of Netroots Nation. NN is the largest annual gathering of progressive activists, with a history of strong ties to the Daily Kos community. Some might think of us as the left’s alternative to CPAC (just more thoughtful). If you’ve followed us at all, you know that we normally move the convention around each year and make a big announcement about where we’re going next. Of course, nothing was normal last year, so we had to cancel our planned Denver convention, transition to a virtual event, and hold off on announcements.
This year we are holding the convention a bit later in the year than normal—as a hybrid event October 7-9. There will be both a virtual component and an in-person component in Washington DC. Tickets are limited for in-person participation, so consider registering soon. But this diary is not about the ‘21 event.
Usually, we select dates and locations 2-3 years in advance. There are multiple factors that go into choosing a city each year, much of which is dictated by the proposals we get from various facilities. The meetings industry was, of course, severely affected last year and things are still a bit crazy. People who canceled events in 2020 and 2021 are trying to move them to later this year or next year, where there were already crowded calendars. Other groups are still figuring out what a meeting might look like for them in the next few years.
For Netroots Nation, we had planned to get bids for 2022 and scout locations last summer, but couldn’t due to the pandemic. Now we find ourselves scrambling a bit to finalize next summer’s event. While we hoped to get back to Denver (and still do), there was no availability there. But we have two good options—both with strong advantages—and we are torn on which city to choose. The circumstances are special, so we want to take the pulse of our community as we make a decision.
We’re deciding between two cities, both of which we have been to before:
- New Orleans, LA – July 28-30, 2022
- Pittsburgh, PA – August 18-20, 2022
If you are someone who might come to Netroots Nation, we'd love to know which city you would rather see host NN22, given that:
- The relative hotel cost is about the same
- NN was held in New Orleans in 2018
- NN was held in Pittsburgh in 2009 (but in 2019, we were across the state in Philadelphia)
Both Pittsburgh and NOLA were good cities for NN in the past. And not to put a thumb on the scale, but since it has been so long since we have been in Pittsburgh, I dug up my diary from the lead up (I was a volunteer then).
Please go to this survey and let us know what you think. We are collecting responses through Monday 7/12 and appreciate your time.
