Special committees to help with DNC planning

CHARLOTTE, N.C.,None — The group that will make the decisions for the biggest event ever to come to Charlotte is set.

"We need to start being very intentional in engaging the citizens in this city, across the state and region in our planning," said former Charlotte Mayor Harvey Gantt.

More than 80 people make up the Democratic National Convention Host Committee.

Their role is to stay on top of updates and events. They are also responsible for making sure that information gets out to the public in Charlotte and beyond.

More 30 people make up the Steering Committee. This group will act as an advisory group and connect with the community and give feedback to the Host Committee.

The groups are very diverse and include Republicans such as Charlotte city Council member Andy Dulin.

"We're going to be bringing hundreds of jobs in and out as we ramp this thing up and as a Republican on the Host Committee, I am zeroed in on making sure we have a safe and profitable convention in September of 2012," said Dulin.

Charlotte resident Angeles Ortega-Moore, the former executive director of the Latin American Coalition, is on the Steering Committee.

"My role as I see it, is to promote Latino businesses, connecting visitors with the best restaurants in town or if they need child care, or connecting them to language interpreters," said Ortega-Moore.

Some South Carolinians are also in the mix.

Former U.S. Rep. John Spratt said people there are eager to get in on the DNC action. "Hardly a day goes by where someone doesn't say 'Hey, get me some tickets' or 'Hey, I'd be happy to volunteer,'" said Spratt.

Everyone on the committees is donating their time and will not get any kind of payments or benefits for their work.

The groups plan to meet regularly leading up to the convention but meeting dates haven't been set yet.

WSOC