Chairman  Rep. Elijah Cummings

Has represented Maryland 7th CD (Baltimore) since April 1996.  Previously served in Maryland House of Delegates, Jan. 1983-Jan. 1986. J.D. from University of Maryland School of Law,1976; B.A. from Howard University, 1973.

Hon. Howard Berman - senior advisor at Covington & Burling LLP; former Congressman from San Fernando Valley to Jan. 2013 (+)

Paul Booth - executive assistant to AFSCME President Lee Saunders

Hon. Carol Browner - senior counselor at Albright Stonebridge Group; EPA Administrator, 1993-2001 (+)

Rep. Keith Ellison - represents MN-5, Minneapolis, first elected in Nov. 2006 (+)

Rep. Luis Gutiérrez - represents IL-4, Chicago, first elected in 1992 (+)

Rep. Barbara Lee - represents CA-13 (East Bay...Oakland, Berkeley area), first elected in a special election in 1998 (+)

Bill McKibben - author and environmentalist (+)

Deborah Parker - served as a Legislative Policy Analyst in the Office of Governmental Affairs for the Tulalip Tribes from 2005-12.

State Rep. Alicia Reece - represents the Ohio's 33rd District, eastern Cincinnati, initially appointed March 3, 2010 (+)

Bonnie Schaefer - owner of Westglow Spa and Resort, former CEO of Claire's Stores, Inc., philanthropist

Ambassador Wendy Sherman - senior fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University (+)

Neera Tanden - president and CEO of the Center for American Progress (+)

Dr. Cornel West - professor of Philosophy and Christian Practice at Union Theological Seminary (+)

James Zogby - founder and president of the Arab American Institute (+)

Ex-officio
Clinton Campaign - Senior Policy Advisor Maya Harris
Sanders Campaign - Policy Director Warren Gunnels

Platform Executive Director  Andrew Grossman

Principal at Grossman Heinz in Simsbury, CT from Jan. 2013.  Director of the Democratic National Convention Platform Committee in 2012.  Grossman served as  Owner of Grossman Solutions, Feb. 2007-Dec. 2012.  President of the Health Information Campaign, an organization founded in 2010 to educate the public about the Affordable Care Act.  Founder and President of Wal-Mart Watch, Dec. 2004-Jan. 2007.  Director of polling and targeting for America Coming Together (ACT) during the 2004 general election campaign.  Executive director of the DSCC to Jan. 2004, previously political director, started there in 1999.  B.A. in government from Colby College, 1991.

[Communications  Dana Shelley]

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Ed. note:
Sanders picks: Ellison, McKibben, Parker, West and Zogby.
Clinton picks: Booth, Browner, Gutiérrez, Reece, Sherman, Tanden.
Wasserman-Schultz picks: Cummings, Berman, Lee, Schaefer

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May 23, 2016

Democratic National Convention Committee Announces Platform Drafting Committee Members

Members Represent Diversity of Party including Significant Appointments from Both Campaigns

PHILADELPHIA – Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz announced the appointment of the 15-person Platform Drafting Committee. The Drafting Committee is responsible for developing and managing the process through which the Democratic Party’s National Platform is established.

According to DNC rules, the members of the drafting committee are appointed at the discretion of the DNC Chair.  This year, in an effort to make this the most representative and inclusive process in history, the DNC Chair elected to allocate 75% of the committee’s seats to the presidential campaigns, awarding the slots proportionally according to the current vote tally.

Chairwoman Wasserman-Schultz also named Congressman Elijah Cummings (D-MD) as Chair of the drafting committee.

"We are delighted to bring together this talented group of Democrats," said DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz. "These individuals represent some of the best progressive thinking from across the nation. I am confident that the members of this committee will engage Americans in a substantive dialogue of ideas and solutions that will inform our Party Platform."

"The Democratic Party has always fought to create a better life for all Americans," said Representative Cummings. "I am pleased that we have some of our best and brightest gathered here to assemble our collective vision of our nation's future. We will be going to unprecedented lengths to ensure that the drafting of our party's platform is the most inclusive, open and representative process in the long history of our two major parties."

Also appointed to serve on the Platform Drafting Committee are:

Hon. Howard Berman, Paul Booth, Hon. Carol Browner, Rep. Keith Ellison, Rep. Luis Gutiérrez, Rep. Barbara Lee, Bill McKibben, Deborah Parker, State Rep. Alicia Reece, Bonnie Schaefer, Ambassador Wendy Sherman, Neera Tanden, Dr. Cornel West, and James Zogby. 

The Clinton Campaign’s Senior Policy Advisor Maya Harris and the Sanders Campaign’s Policy Director Warren Gunnels will represent their respective campaigns as official, non-voting members of the Committee.

Andrew Grossman was named Platform Executive Director. Grossman is the former Director of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.  In 2012, he served as the Director of the Democratic National Convention Platform Committee.   

 

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About the Democratic National Convention

The 2016 Democratic Convention will be held at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia July 25-28, 2016.   Working in partnership with the Philadelphia Host Committee, the City of Philadelphia and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, our goal is to make this the most engaging, innovative and forward looking Convention in history.  The 2016 Democratic National Convention will leverage technology to take the Convention experience well beyond the hall in an effort to engage more Americans than ever before in the event.  With the birthplace of American Democracy as a backdrop, the 2016 convention in Philadelphia will highlight our shared Democratic values and help put the Democratic nominee on a path to victory.

The Democratic Convention is the formal nominating event for the Democratic candidates for President and Vice President.  At the Convention, the Democratic Party also adopts the official Democratic Party platform as well as the rules and procedures governing party activities including the nomination process for presidential candidates in the next election cycle.

The CEO for the 2016 Democratic National Convention is Reverend Leah D. Daughtry. The official website of the 2016 Democratic National Convention is www.demconvention.com.