Luzerne County Dems gather for socially distant watch party on last night of DNC

PLAINS TWP. — Only a few hours after President Donald J. Trump left northeastern Pennsylvania, some local Democrats gathered on the deck at River Grille to watch the final night of the Democratic National Convention as Joe Biden officially accepted the party’s nomination for president.

The watch party was organized in order to have a socially distant and outdoors way to watch the last night of the DNC. Kathy Bozinski, chair of Luzerne County’s Democratic Party, said that, after watching the convention throughout the week, she’s left energized by where the party is headed.

“When I watched start to finish the past three nights, and with what’s coming up tonight, it made me laugh, it made me cry, it inspired me and it gave me great hope for the future,” Bozinski said. “Just to see the really incredible team that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris make; both bring something to the table that balances each other in a way.

“Their leadership abilities, their expertise and what they’ve already accomplished in their careers, that’s what’s exciting me about it,” she went on. “I’m glad the President stopped by, but it’s not really a factor.”

Bozinski was referring, of course, to Trump’s trip to Old Forge on Thursday, touring Mariotti Building Products and getting a pizza at Arcaro and Genell. Bozinski wasn’t surprised by Trump’s tour of a Scranton suburb on the same day a Scranton native accepts the Democratic Party’s nomination as an obviously political decision.

“There’s no coincidence there,” she said.

Bozinski said that she sees a lot of excitement about the Biden/Harris ticket, even compared to Hillary Clinton’s unsuccessful bid with Tim Kane in 2016, saying that there’s been a “tsunami of requests ” for Biden yard signs.

“We can’t believe how enthusiastic people are,” she said.

Bozinski’s statements were echoed by Karen Metta, an elected committee member of the county’s Democratic Party, saying the Biden/Harris ticket gives her hope.

“It gives me hope for the country,” she said. “We need something to end this four-year nightmare. I wasn’t raised to feel the way Trump does.

“This is not the country I grew up in,” she went on. “It’s time to take it back.”