The four-day Young Democrats of America National Convention will begin Wednesday at the Millennium Biltmore, with three Los Angeles County elected officials set to address the expected 500-700 delegates.
West Hollywood Mayor Lindsey P. Horvath, Los Angeles Community College Board of Trustees member Sidney K. Kamlager and Cudahy Councilman Chris Garcia are Wednesday’s scheduled speakers.
Former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, is scheduled to speak at the convention Thursday, along with Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Torrance and California Secretary of State Alex Padilla.
Rep. Karen Bass, D-Los Angeles, is scheduled to speak Friday. Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Sen. Holly J. Mitchell, D-Los Angeles, are scheduled to speak Saturday.
Organizers invited all five candidates for the Democratic presidential nomination to speak at the convention, with O’Malley the only one to commit to speaking in person, convention communications director Ryan Basham told City News Service.
The top two candidates in the polls, former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, will send video messages, Basham said.
The delegates will attend workshops, training sessions and panel discussions. The Young Democrats bill themselves as the nation’s largest youth partisan political organization with 49 state chapters, more than 2,300 local chapters and more than 150,000 members under 36 years old.
—City News Service