BALTIMORE – Ten candidates – including former U.S. Labor Secretary and Snyder native Thomas E. Perez – took to a convention center stage here Saturday to make their cases that they can fix a broken-down Democratic Party. But the two-hour forum among candidates for Democratic National Committee chairman showed that Democrats are still fighting with each other while also fighting the new Republican president. Months removed from a primary battle that pitted progressive Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont against the establishment candidate, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the Democrats at Saturday's forum seemed, at times, to be reliving that battle. And at the center of it was Perez, a close ally of Clinton's. Asked if he favored ending the "superdelegate" system that padded Clinton's lead in the fight for the nomination, Perez offered a long, meandering answer before saying that he favored changing it. That drew boos from the Sanders supporters in the room. Perez was the only one of the 10 candidates to offer a detailed description of what he would do as DNC chair.
But once he spelled it out, Sam Ronan – a long-shot candidate who has been working to woo Sanders supporters – held up his notepad and said: "Tom, I think, has adopted my policies." Perez found himself a target not just because of his closeness with Clinton, but also because Democratic activists say he's vaulted toward the front of the race for DNC chair. Former Vice President Joe Biden recently endorsed him, and Democratic insiders say Obama's allies are actively pushing Perez nationwide as an experienced hand and passionate speaker who could turn around the DNC. In other words, Perez has upended a race that at first looked like it would probably be won by Rep. Keith Ellison of Minnesota. A longtime progressive activist as well as the first Muslim elected to Congress, Ellison entered the race soon after November's election and quickly won the support of not only Sanders, but also Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and even Sen. Charles E. Schumer of New York, the new Senate Democratic leader.
Not surprisingly, Perez and Ellison both filled the room with large numbers of supporters, as did Pete Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Ind., and a charismatic figure popular with younger Democrats. The three main candidates offered very different sales pitches to DNC members who will gather in Atlanta to vote for a new chairman on Feb. 25. Perez portrayed himself as a turnaround artist who had worked his magic on three government agencies: the U.S. and Maryland departments of labor, and the U.S. Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division. He said he could revive the DNC through a series of actions, including starting a voter-protection unit and a center for best practices where successful Democrats from around the country can learn from one another. "Focus on the basics: Organizing, organizing, organizing," said Perez, who promised to work to revive Democratic organizations in all 50 states and seven territories. Ellison, meantime, touted his electoral successes and his ability to raise more than $1 million for other Democrats while promising to sharpen the party's messaging.
Looking back at Clinton's loss, Ellison said: "I think we stopped telling the American people we are fighting for them every single day." Buttigieg said the party should look beyond the candidates who were allied with either Clinton or Sanders. "Why not go to somebody who's not part of one faction or another faction, but who's here for a fresh start?" he asked. Several other candidates, though, couldn't help but play the recrimination game. Ray Buckley, chairman of the New Hampshire Democratic Party, noted that Clinton – by focusing her campaign on attacking Republican Donald Trump, now the president – lost her way with the lower-income voters like those he grew up with. "We were funneling hundreds of millions of dollars into commercials telling people Donald Trump was offensive" without saying a thing about what a Clinton presidency would mean for lower-income voters, Buckley said. Another long-shot candidate, D.C. Democratic activist and strong Clinton backer Robert Vinson Brannum, took a shot at the Sanders voters in the room.
"We protested but we didn’t vote," he said. "Some of us walked away in November. And some of them are in this room. You want to talk truth? Hearing such truths from the stage, Yvette Lewis, a DNC member from Maryland, offered some sharp advice to the deeply divided DNC candidates on the stage above her. "We cannot move forward if we continue to sink in this quicksand of anger," she said.Last fall, you may have heard about LA25, an initiative we launched in 25 of our Los Angeles Target stores. Pull together a bunch of the enhancements and updates happening in departments across our stores and put them all together in one experience, to see how they impact sales and the guest experience. The tests are designed with our signature categories, like style and wellness, in mind, along with some of our new and updated services. The latest group of updates are popping up in stores throughout May. “At Target, we're always looking for ways to create an exceptional shopping experience for guests,” says Mark Schindele, senior vice president, Target Properties.
“Our teams are learning a lot from LA25, and we’re excited to see how these newest enhancements fit into the mix.” Take a look at the some of the newly unveiled updates: The front of our stores is the first thing guests see as they walk in, so it’s the perfect spot to showcase some of our latest product. Style is front and center, featuring the latest trends in apparel or home items, and the display will transition about every eight weeks. We’re also incorporating locally and seasonally relevant products, like beach chairs and coolers for summer, in an easy-to-spot area right up front. We’ll continue featuring Bullseye’s Playground, which we updated from The One Spot last fall, because we know our guests love the exceptional value they find there. We’ve updated the Guest Service counter to feel fresh and inviting, with plenty of storage space and user-friendly signs to make the Order Pickup experience quick and seamless. -only products or downloading the Cartwheel app.
To give our guests more of the better-for-you food options they crave, we’re testing three new food vendors—Freshii, Which Wich? and Pizza Hut Artisan—for our front-of-store cafés. And since Starbucks is still a favorite stop on guests’ Target runs, we’ve added Starbucks Cafés to all LA25 stores that didn’t have one yet, and remodeled existing ones with new fixtures and seating. We’re testing several changes to the Women’s Apparel and Accessories departments that refine the shopping experience. For example, C9 Champion, our exclusive brand of activewear, shoes and accessories, got a major refresh including a new, easy-to-navigate presentation with more space and updated fixtures, signing and mannequins. We’ve also added LED track and valance lighting here (and throughout the entire store) to better highlight the product. We’re trying out new ways to display products and offer guests samples in the Grocery to create a more inspiring experience. The new look features woodgrain signs overhead and updated shelves with a black and grey color scheme.
We’re also using more space to cross-merchandise products normally located in separate aisles—say, grilling must-haves like ketchup, mustard and hot dog buns—making it easy for families to round up all the products they need to create easy and delicious meals. Additionally, we’ve updated our lighting, flooring and signage in the fresh market area, and added new bins to help enhance the produce presentation for our guests. By updating our signs, interactive displays and other visuals, we’ve created a space in our Toys aisles that draws parents and kids in and invites them to find, explore and get hands-on with their favorite brands and products—from Barbie to LEGO to the mega-popular Star Wars franchise. , along with clear, intuitive signage that helps guests easily order the products from our full assortment online. We tested this concept in Denver in 2015 and saw solid results, so we’re expanding it for our LA guests. Remember those Service Advisors we talked about before?
They can help answer questions and help guests use our technology to place their orders. We’ve reimagined the Home department, curating products in lifestyle vignettes like you’d see in specialty stores. For example, guests might find a set dinner table with plates, napkins, lighting and chair covers, all in one place. The vignettes inspire guests to mix, match and shop everything they need for a certain area of their home without having to visit different sections of the store. , with clear signage and instructions for ordering and shipping exactly what the guests needs. Many locally produced products and brands have a loyal following with our guests, so we’re adding more of them to our mix, and putting them in the spotlight on endcaps and other featured spaces. Here, guests will find several beloved LA brands, including Jones County Road grooming supplies, snack confections from Zlicious, and a jewelry collection by artist Michelle Chang. “In the coming months," Mark says, "we’ll continue to watch and learn as our guests dig in and experience these latest updates, and we’ll use the feedback to make our next store prototype and new store formats even better.”