NORTHAMPTON — Delegates from across the country, including 116 Massachusetts delegates and eight alternates, are in Chicago this week to solidify the Democratic presidential ticket that contains presumptive nominees Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.

In the Pioneer Valley, local Democratic organizers and thought leaders are waiting anxiously to see how candidate speeches this week will set the tone for their candidacy as the countdown to Election Day begins, with hopes that economic policy and national unity will arise as prevalent talking points.

“This feels like a really exciting time,” said Larry Pareles of Indivisible Northampton—Swing Left Western Massachusetts. “I think Democrats are waiting to see what the platform will be.”

Between breakfasts featuring guest speakers such as Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Gov. Maura Healey, various caucuses, and convention programming, Easthampton Mayor Nicole LaChapelle has a busy week ahead of her as one of the delegates selected to represent the Bay State. LaChapelle was not available for comment, but spoke to her hopes for the convention on WHMP’s “Talk the Talk” with Bill Newman and Buz Eisenberg on her way to Chicago Monday morning.

Since President Joe Biden announced that he was stepping down from his second presidential candidacy, LaChapelle told Newman and Eisenberg that the race has been characterized by “enthusiasm and joy that I have not seen in my lifetime.” While the shortened timeframe of Harris’s campaign has centered a lot of “hype” around her convention speech, LaChapelle believes that the convention as a whole presents opportunities to get voters excited about the Harris-Walz platform.

“This is four days of telling a story,” LaChapelle said, stating that the days leading up to the speech are a chance to “really define what the campaign is about — her position, her objectives, and some more detail about how she gets it done.”

Expectations of positive messaging are high, but local Democrats are also looking to the candidates to take hard but unifying stances on pressing issues such as economic policy, climate change, and the potential for a cease-fire agreement between Israeli and Palestinian forces.

Nathan Markee, the newly appointed chair of the Easthampton Democratic City Committee, said he sees the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as “particularly divisive, even among the party,” and believes that Democrats nationwide will be looking to Harris and Walz to meaningfully address the issue, which he sees as an area that could have an impact on post-convention polling.

Pareles echoed this sentiment, saying that he and other members of the Indivisible Massachusetts Coalition “clearly would like a resolution on the Israeli-Palestine conflict.”

“I think everyone feels that its past time for a cease-fire,” he said.

But one issue Pareles and other local Democrats will be paying close attention to is one closely monitored on both sides of the political aisle — the national economy.

He thinks “the country is looking for economic answers,” particularly in the wake of burgeoning inflation. Specifically, Pareles and his coalition colleagues are “hoping for policy that will help the middle class and the poor.”

For Catherine Kay, chair of the Northampton Democratic City Committee, economic issues go hand in hand with environmental ones, and she is looking forward to hearing how Harris and Walz plan to use their past leadership experience to bring unifying leadership and decision making to their candidacy. Kay will be keeping a close eye on the candidates’ economic agenda, as she views economic issues as “the most important issues” in this election cycle.

“These are the issues that Americans want to hear about,” she said. “I want to hear about continued support for job and wage growth … I want the party to address their climate change agenda in a way that promotes economic and job growth and really unites the country along this existential crisis that we face.”

“Climate change should not be a divisive issue, it affects all of us,” she added.

Fostering unity has become a major theme in this election cycle, even among those who align themselves more closely with particular issues than individual candidates.

Dave Roitman, member of the Unitarian Society of Northampton and Florence’s (USNF) Team USNF the Vote, is concerned primarily with nonpartisan efforts, especially strengthening voter turnout in swing states, regardless of party leanings. However, Roitman has noticed that in the years following Donald Trump’s administration “people were really anxious about the continuous slide into authoritarianism.”

Roitman hopes that during convention speeches this week, the candidates will coalesce around a “movement to build power and community so people can have more influence over their lives.”

“There is also a heart and a soul and a spirit to democracy,” he said. “If you don’t bring that to the civic arena, democracy fails.”

The unity and spirit that local party affiliates hope for may not simply come from the candidates’ messaging itself, but also from the tone and delivery of those messages. Since Harris stepped into the presidential campaign in Biden’s wake, a new wave of energy has been apparent throughout the party in forms ranging from speedy endorsements and fundraising to viral Harris-themed memes perpetuating across social media platforms.

Elizabeth Silver, vice chair of the Northampton Democratic City Committee, said in a message to the Gazette that she is “excited about the convention as a kick-off to a great and energetic campaign season.”

It’s exactly this energy and potential for unity that Beth Lev, member of the Steering Committee for Indivisible Northampton—Swing Left Western Massachusetts, believes sets up a “stark contrast” between this year’s Democratic and Republican tickets.

“What I’m looking for is a coalescing of people and views around the Harris-Walz ticket,” said Lev, who classified the messaging of the two parties as “‘danger danger’ on the Republican side and joy and community on the Democratic side.”

Lev noted her belief that the Democratic mobilization strategy of “community over fear” displays that the Harris-Walz administration would be more “receptive to change” upon election to office.

Right now, Lev is looking to the Democratic candidates to sustain the “energy” and “momentum” they’ve gained since Harris took over the candidacy. She said that advocacy and change will be more “feasible” once Harris is in office than it is during the campaign season.

“Once they get elected, then there will be areas where I want to push them to move their position,” she said.

The convention began Monday, and runs through Thursday. Walz is expected to accept the vice-presidential nomination Wednesday night, and Harris is expected to accept the presidential nomination and give her speech Thursday night.

Alexa Lewis can be reached at alewis@gazettenet.com.