Georgia’s Stacey Abrams won’t be coming to San Diego next month after all.
The Lawyers Club of San Diego had slated the potential running mate for Joe Biden as main speaker for its July 29 annual dinner — delayed from May 14.
But Thursday, club executive director Elaine Lawrence said: “Due to restrictions currently in place for large events, Lawyers Club has canceled the annual dinner featuring keynote speaker Stacey Abrams.”
In a blog post announcing the cancellation, club president Elvira Cortez said the decision was made by the club.
“Lawyers Club remains committed to our mission as the issues affecting women in the law and society remain, and in many respects, they have been exacerbated by the pandemic,” Cortez wrote. “The theme chosen for this year’s dinner, Driving Change, has been our inspiration during these trying times and pushed us to remain committed to our mission.”
The dinner theme was inspired by a combination of the 150th anniversary of ratification of the 15th Amendment and 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, giving women the vote.
Cortez also said: “We continue to serve the needs of our members by providing valuable virtual programming for networking and connecting, joining amicus briefs for important cases, and ensuring that our organization remains inclusive and diverse.”
She thanked dinner sponsors, including Casey Gerry, the title sponsor, and dinner co-chairs Kim Ahrens and Amanda Singer and the Annual Dinner Committee for all of their hard work in planning our dinner.
“I look forward to seeing you all at our future events,” Cortez said.
In 2010, Abrams became the first woman to lead either party in the Georgia General Assembly and the first African American of any gender to lead in the Georgia House of Representatives.
In 2018, Abrams became the first black woman to become the gubernatorial nominee for a major U.S. party as the Democratic nominee for Georgia governor. She lost to Republican Brian Kemp by fewer than 55,000 votes in an election she said was fraught with voter suppression.
The Lawyers Club dinner was to have been at the Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina in downtown San Diego.
Founded in 1972 with the aim “to advance the status of women in the law and society,” the local Lawyers Club boasts more than 1,300 members including female and male attorneys, judges, elected officials, business owners, law students and others.