LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — When Helen Foley was running for office in Nevada in the early 1980s, she had one of the best political slogans in Nevada history: "Give 'em Helen!"
And now, the former state lawmaker is using that same energy to keep the Democratic National Convention running smoothly.
Foley, now a Nevada lobbyist and public relations consultant, has been a volunteer for the DNC for decades. Her job is backstage manager, the person responsible for getting speakers to the podium looking their best and ready to address the crowd of thousands in the United Center and millions watching on TV at home.
Foley has volunteered at every convention since then-Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis was nominated in 1988. That means she's seen winners (Bill Clinton in 1992 and 1996, Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012, and Joe Biden in 2020) and losers (Al Gore in 2000, John Kerry in 2004 and Hillary Clinton in 2016).
"It is so exciting backstage to be able to meet all of these people," Foley said. "I come from a very political family, and politicians are almost like meeting movie stars or rock stars. It just invigorates me, it excites me."
But Foley said despite the celebrity, she most likes to meet average citizens who have been invited to speak to the crowd.
"But the thing that I enjoy the most about these conventions are what we refer to as real people, those people who will come forward who are not public speakers, who present their case," she said. "They end up being the heart and soul of what conventions should be."
That's people such as Kaitlyn Joshua of Louisiana and Amanda Zurakski of Texas, who sought medical care to deal with complicated pregnancies, and Hadley Duvall of Kentucky, who sought an abortion after being raped by her stepfather. It's also people such as Khizr Khan, the Gold Star father who was the surprise hit of the 2016 convention when he offered to loan Donald Trump his copy of the U.S. Constitution.
Foley said she tries to create a "Zen-like" atmosphere backstage, where she prohibits all food and drink save for water, green tea and shortbread cookies, lest a speaker spill something on themselves before taking the stage. She and her team also make sure speakers have their remarks loaded in the teleprompter.
Sometimes, she says, she has to get creative, like the time in 2012 when the U.S. Secret Service took over the green room and the makeup area used for speakers. Foley realized it was fruitless to argue over the evictions.
"Let's just start improvising, and so, that's what I'm really good at," she recalled. "I had gotten to know all the facilities people and they helped me with curtains and rods and we were just setting up makeshift things and moving things all over the place and getting into hallways. Because the show has to go on."
Although she's generally backstage, Foley does take the time to see speakers from the floor, as she did Monday when Biden gave his speech. It wasn't the first time she'd witnessed history in the making.
Foley remembers a 2004 speech by a little known Illinois state senator who was running for the U.S. Senate. Four years later, Barack Obama was running for president, and Foley was on his Nevada steering committee.
But her favorite convention moment came in 2016, when Hillary Clinton accepted the party's nomination.
"When the first woman was nominated for president of the United States, that had to be the most exciting, fulfilling time with the races," she said.
Clinton addressed the convention on Monday, preparing the crowd for Thursday's speech by the second woman nominated by a major party for president, Kamala Harris.
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