Based on recommendations from Al Gore, DNC Chair Joe Andrew announced
the leadership of the Platform Committee and the Platform Drafting Committee
on June 14, 2000. The Platform Drafting Committee, which prepares
a working draft for the Platform Committee, held a hearing on July 6 at
the University of Missouri in St. Louis, taking testimony from about fifty
individuals. It met again the next day to consider the testimony.
The full Platform Committee is to meet July 29 in Cleveland, Ohio, and
the final document must then be approved by the delegates at the Democratic
National Convention this August in Los Angeles.
One new feature in the platform process this year was the solicitation of input from citizens through the Internet; on April 6 the DNC launched an "Interactive Platform" in conjunction with SpeakOut.com; over the course of the following two months, thousands of people submitted suggestions and comments. Platform Committee
Platform Drafting Committee (prepares working draft)
Platform Director Andrew Cherny
St. Louis, MO July 6, 2000 Although the DNC had a few individuals it specifically wanted to testify at its platform hearing, the majority of participants asked to be involved. All told the DNC received about 120 requests to testify; those who did not fit in the hearing could submit written testimony. After a leadership breakfast, the hearing started at about 9:30. Presenters had from five to fifteen minutes to speak, and by the end of the day the program was running about two hours over. |
Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, MD
Vice Chair, Platform Drafting Committee
Sen. Dick Durbin, IL
Chair, Platform Committee
Mayor Sharon Sayles Belton, MN
Chair, Platform Committee
Josh King
Speakout.com
Professor Alan Blinder
Princeton University
Reed Hundt
Former FCC Commissioner
Ron Pollack
Families USA
Dr. James Wade
Fred Krupp
Environmental Defense
Deborah Knopman
Progressive Policy Institute
Tom Soto
President, PS Enterprises
Barry Thacker
Coal Creek
East Tennessee Watershed Committee
Mary Leigh Blek
President, Million Mom March
Jim Bueermann
Police Chief, Red Winds, CA
Mark Klaas
Father of Polly Klaas
Samuel Maury
President, Business Roundtable
William Detweiler
Past National Commander, American Legion
Dr. Cozette Buckney
Chief Educational Officer, Chicago Public Schools
Jim Long, Principal
Cheryl McGoff, Teacher
Audrey Stewart, Student
Cordova Elementary School
Patty Judge
Iowa Secretary of Agriculture
Alice Travis Germond
Vice President, NARAL
Steve Hancock
Motor Vehicle Fatality Memorial
Winnie Stachelberg
Political Director, Human Rights Campaign
Congressman John Conyers
Melvin P. Foote
President, Constituency for Africa Coalition
for U.S. Policy to End HIV/AIDS in Africa
Dr. Eugene Oliveri, D.O.
President, American Osteopathic Association
Rick Boxer
Cancer Survivor
Hans Reimer
2030 Group
FATHERHOOD PANEL
Ron Mincy, Fatherhood
Joe Jones, Fatherhood
Bob Stone
Reinventing Government
Dorothy Stoneman
Youth Build U.S.A.
Dr. Robert Whitelaw
Stonewall Democrats
Jim Grosfield
Anti-Defamation League
Frank LaMere
Winnebago Tribe
Amy Isaacs
National Director, Americans for Democratic Action
Dr. Julianne Thomas
American Academy of Pediatrics
Fred Brown
Immediate Past President, American Hospital Association
Mont Levy
Past President of St. Louis Chapter, American Jewish
Committee
Richard Foltin
Legislative Director, American Jewish Committee
Claude Fontheim
Fontheim International
Maya Berry
Arab American Institute
Michael Cuervorst
Democrats Abroad
Frank Durkan
Irish American Unity Conference
Bob Blancato
Chairman, Italian American Democratic Leadership
Council
Janet Haroian
Armenian National Committee of America
Ron Drach
National Coalition for Homeless Veterans
Larry Quandt
Farmer, President of Illinois Farmers Union
Jerry Howard
Senior Staff Vice President, National Association
of Homebuilders
Mayor Thomas Carper
Chair, National Mayors Council, Amtrak Reform
Board
Chris Owens
Director of Legislation, AFL-CIO
Charles Loveless
AFSCME
Neil Molloy
Executive Director, Housing Authority of St. Louis
County
Karl Altau
Joint Baltic American National Committee