Behind the Scenes of Democratic Convention

The Democratic National Convention won’t hit town until August, when thousands of delegates and journalists are expected to boost the local economy. But some small businesses already have grabbed a slice of the pie.

The convention committee, or DNCC, recently deposited a cool million in each of three minority-owned banks: Founders National Bank, Los Angeles’ only black-owned and -operated commercial bank; San Marino-based East West Bank, which specializes in serving the Chinese American community and has branches in Los Angeles, Orange, San Francisco and Santa Clara counties; and San Mateo-based United Pan Am Bank, California’s largest Latino-owned bank, whose Southern California network includes a branch in Panorama City and seven lending offices in Los Angeles and Orange counties.

Of course that’s chicken feed compared with the $10 million or so that the committee deposited with giant Bank of America. But Rod O’Connor, DNCC chief of staff, says aggressive outreach is underway to make sure that local women-owned, minority-owned and disadvantaged small businesses get a shot at convention contracts for everything from food and flowers to transportation and temp services.

O’Connor says the committee met last week with African American small-business owners. It is planning similar sessions with other local ethnic business communities as well as women entrepreneurs.

Overall, this summer’s convention is expected to pump more than $132 million into the coffers of local businesses, according to the Los Angeles Convention & Visitors Bureau.

For information on how to become a vendor for the event, contact the DNCC at (213) 362-2000 and ask to speak with the business development department.