Duggan, Weaver, Granholm to speak at Dem convention
Michigan will see significant stage time next week at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, where four speakers with deep ties to the Great Lakes state will join a lineup that includes past, current and potential presidents.
Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, Flint Mayor Karen Weaver and former Gov. Jennifer Granholm will speak at the convention, Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign announced Thursday.
Detroit resident Henrietta Ivey, a home care worker the campaign says Clinton met while campaigning in Michigan, was named as a speaker Monday.
Attorney General Bill Schuette was the lone Michigan speaker this week at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, where delegates officially nominated businessman Donald Trump for president.
Clinton, who is a former secretary of state, U.S. senator and first lady, is expected to formally accept the Democratic presidential nomination at the Philadelphia convention, which runs Monday through Thursday at the Wells Fargo Center.
It’ll be the first speaking slots at a national convention for Duggan and Weaver, who was thrust onto the national stage after taking over a city in the midst of a water contamination crisis highlighted by both Clinton and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont in the Democratic primary.
Granholm, who moved to California for a teaching job after leaving office at the end of 2010, delivered a rousing speech at the 2012 Democratic convention. She serves as a Clinton surrogate and works for Correct the Record, a super political action committee working to combat attacks on Clinton.
Duggan and Wayne County Executive Warren Evans are scheduled to host a convention kickoff reception Sunday night at a restaurant in Philadelphia.
Clinton is expected to announce her vice presidential selection ahead of the convention, where several possible picks are slated to speak, including U.S. Sens. Tim Kaine of Virginia, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Cory Booker of New Jersey and Sherrod Brown of Ohio.
The Democratic convention will officially begin Monday with prime-time speeches from First Lady Michelle Obama and Sanders, who endorsed Clinton this month after a spirited primary fight.
Other planned speakers include President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and former President Bill Clinton, the husband of the presumptive nominee. Daughter Chelsea Clinton is also expected to speak.
joosting@detroitnews.com