Platform-Democrats
 
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
Co-Chairs     Sen. Dick Durbin (IL) 
                     Mayor Sharon Sayles Belton of Minneapolis

Platform Drafting Committee (prepares working draft)
Chair            Gov. James B. Hunt Jr. (NC)
Vice Chair    Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend (MD)

Platform Director    Andrew Cherny


Democratic Party Platform Hearing 
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.

Testimony
Gov. Jim Hunt, NC
Chair, Platform Drafting Committee

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 Mayor’s 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