CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Republican National Committee officials unveiled a new logo and a call for 8,000 volunteers Thursday ahead of the 2020 convention in Charlotte but are refraining from addressing a security plan just yet.
Now, less than 13 months away, RNC Committeeman Ron Kaufman said he's confident in Charlotte's leadership.
"Charlotte's got good leadership and good people and I think it's going to be a great conference," Kaufman said Thursday. "The city's been terrific. The police chief, God bless his soul, he's right out of central casting and the mayor's leadership has been phenomenal, so I'm excited where we are."
In the months before the 2012 DNC in Charlotte, afraid of anarchists, the Charlotte City Council passed a so-called extraordinary events ordinance. It allowed the city to declare certain big events extraordinary. As a result, it allowed police to enforce stricter rules and banned items considered dangerous or potentially dangerous uptown.
Council members repealed the law in 2017. At the time, CMPD Chief Kerr Putney pushed for the change, saying the ordinance was overused. He instead argued for security on an event-by-event basis, aimed more toward specifically preventing terrorism.
CMPD would not go into specifics about its planning at the moment, but a spokesperson said since the RNC is designated a National Special Security Event, the Secret Service is technically the lead agency. Still, CMPD is working closely alongside the federal government.
"The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department works in partnership with the Secret Service and other participating law enforcement agencies," Rob Tufano said.
"During the formation of the Service's overall security plan, each participating agency is tasked based on their jurisdiction and particular area of expertise. The goal is to develop and implement, with the numerous participating agencies, a seamless security plan that will create a safe and secure environment for community members and event participants," Tufano added.
Mecklenburg County Young Republicans Chairman Larry Shaheen said Charlotte will be ready.
"We're going to be more than ready for what comes," he said. "We've got the best police staff that we can ask for and not only that, they have experience in this."
Mayor Pro Tem Julie Eiselt said city leaders have not had any discussion about a specific safety plan yet. She expects it will be driven by what the RNC Host Committee eventually requests.
"We are still a solid year out so I wouldn't expect that to come up at the moment if it does at all," Eiselt said.