Upcoming GOP Convention in Burlingame already met with protest

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ByDavid Louie KGO logo
Friday, April 29, 2016
Trump's presence at GOP Convention in Burligame already met with protest
The California Republican Party Convention will begin Friday at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Burlingame. All of the major GOP presidential candidates will be there.

BURLINGAME, Calif. (KGO) -- The Peninsula is getting ready for the national spotlight.

The California Republican Party Convention will begin Friday at the Hyatt Regency hotel in Burlingame. All of the major GOP presidential candidates will be there.

Donald Trump and John Kasich are expected to address convention-goers Friday. Ted Cruz is expected to speak at noon Saturday. His newly named vice-presidential candidate Carly Fiorina will deliver Saturday evening's keynote speech.

The Friday through Sunday gathering is going to attract about a 1,000 Republicans to this hotel. Barricades are already set up for crowd control that's because protests against a certain candidate have already started.

A banner first flew over Google headquarters in Mountain View before making its way north to fly over the Golden Gate Bridge and the Bay Bridge. It's message is aimed at Google, "Don't be evil. Dump Trump."

"This rhetoric is amplifying hostility towards black people, towards Latino people, towards Muslim people, towards women, LGBT people, and we think companies like Google need to take a stand," Arisha Hatch, Color of Change campaign manager.

Color of Change and other allies collected nearly a half-million petition signatures, delivering them on a thumb drive to Google headquarters. Google has sponsored convention lounges and provided other support to the GOP in 2012. The head of government and public affairs for Google's YouTube accepted them but would not react to them.

Donald Trump will be in Burlingame for the GOP state convention and so will Cruz, who will be accompanied by his running mate, former HP CEO and former U.S. Senate candidate Fiorina.

Kasich is holding town hall meetings in Oregon Thursday. The senior policy advisor to his California campaign co-chair Steve Poizner, says it'll be a spirited gathering.

"Well, I think California is important to all of the candidates that remain, not only Gov. Kasich, but also Donald Trump and Sen. Cruz. We've been saying here for a while, because of the delegate math and the way that it's shaking out, California is really going to matter for once," Poizner said.

The campaigns are thinking big. Trump is expected to address more than 1,000 Republicans at the convention.

"That is going to be the big show. John Kasich is giving a town hall meeting in San Francisco. Does that tell you how important California is in this race?," said ABC7 political analyst Carla Marinucci.

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