The National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) will hold its annual conference on June 23 in Washington D.C. NALEO is a non-profit organization whose purpose is to facilitate the full participation of Latinos in the American political process. The conference has now added Democratic Party presidential candidate Bernie Sanders to their roster of guest speakers.
Democratic Presidential Candidate @BernieSanders to Address #NALEOConf16 in Washington D.C. https://t.co/7DeJRI6fnM pic.twitter.com/3VZ2esCush
— NALEO (@NALEO) June 21, 2016
Although Sanders’ campaign is reaching its end, the candidate shows no signs of slowing down. The NALEO is prepared to #FeelTheBern with a 20 minute speech from “the Vermont bone crusher” at 8:30 a.m. this Thursday. Candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump were also invited to speak at the conference, but the two declined the offer.
“Secretary Clinton came to our conference last year the day of the South Carolina shooting,” Executive director Arturo Vargas told BuzzFeed. “Exactly a year later, now our community is also reeling from what happened in Orlando, all the more that we have to hear from her and from Trump.” The Orlando shooting killed 49 individuals at a gay club, all of whom were largely of Latino descent. Vargas, to say the least, was not happy to hear about their absence.
This, however, comes a week after Sanders announced he will be working with Hillary Clinton in an effort to defeat Donald Trump.
I look forward to working with @HillaryClinton in the coming weeks. pic.twitter.com/f5zcVRgfnv
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) June 17, 2016
Joining forces with Obama and Clinton, Sanders’ appearance at the conference will at least show face for the Democratic platform. But what about Trump? Criticized by many for his view on immigration policies and bigotry toward Mexicans in particular, it comes as no surprise that the business tycoon will not being attending.
For more information on the NALEO 33rd Annual Conference click, here.