SAN DIEGO — California and San Diego County dignitaries are on the floor of the Democratic National Convention.
In the crowd, you may have spotted San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria. He was seen several times Wednesday night when the camera cut away to people cheering during speeches.
He’s experienced three national party conventions, but this is his first as a delegate and he says the energy is electric.
“I feel so fortunate and so honored and so humbled to be able to sit on the floor of the convention hall on San Diego's behalf and really have a front row seat to history. And the energy is incredible. You could power the city of San Diego for a year with all the energy and enthusiasm that is there,” said Gloria.
A feeling that Gloria admits he didn’t expect 32 days ago when President Joe Biden dropped out of the race.
“It’s nothing short of remarkable. I have to confess, I had real hesitations about should the president step back, as some were asking him to do, whether or not the party could come together, that we could unite, that we could rally, and then we can move forward as one. And those doubts have not materialized. Quite the opposite. We have, in fact, rallied around Kamala Harris,” said Gloria.
Gloria says he’s been a longtime supporter and friend of Vice President Kamala Harris, who is from the Golden State.
The mayor says their relationship was further solidified when the vice president called to help secure FEMA funding for the families impacted by January’s destructive floods.
“Her simple call was to say, 'how can I help?,'” said Gloria. “That is what having a chief executive who knows about San Diego, who understands our needs and who’s willing to reach out, not wait for my call, but to call me,” he added.
While Gloria spends his nights on the floor of the DNC as a delegate, during the day he’s speaking or attending panels.
CBS 8 spoke to him right after he joined other mayors from across the nation to talk about housing.
"I'm also here as the leader of our city, recognizing that the progress I want to make for us when it comes to fixing our roads, housing our homeless people, helping families make ends meet, is absolutely intertwined with who's next president United States," said the mayor.
As Gloria looks ahead to the final night of the DNC, he’s reflecting on his first democratic national convention as a delegate.
“It’s a pinch me moment just so honored and grateful for the opportunity to be here on behalf of San Diego,” said Gloria.
Mayor Gloria says his first experience at a national party convention was in 1996 when the RNC was held in San Diego. He says he was a high schooler protesting outside the convention on Harbor Drive.
He volunteered at the 2000 DNC in Los Angeles and is now attending the 2024 DNC in Chicago as a delegate.
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