SALT LAKE CITY – Democratic Party Chair Wayne Holland announced Friday that Connecticut Sen. Christopher Dodd, a candidate for president of the United States, will speak at the party’s organizing convention on July 14.
Dodd will address the convention immediately after a speech by New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, another Democratic presidential candidate.
The visits reflect an unprecedented level of recognition of the Utah Democratic Party and the growing political significance of the West. Cal Rampton, a three-term Democratic governor of Utah beginning in 1964, could not recall two Democratic presidential candidates ever attending the same state convention.
“These are exciting times for Democrats in Utah,” said Holland. “Visits from the presidentials – Sen. Edwards two weeks ago and Gov. Richardson and Sen. Dodd in July – reflect a changing political landscape across the West. Nevada, Arizona, Montana and Idaho are turning a sage-colored shade of blue, and Utah will not be left behind.”
Dodd is Connecticut’s senior U.S. senator. He chairs the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, which oversees America’s financial institutions.
Dodd has been called the “Children’s Senator” because of his advocacy for children and families. Dodd formed the first Children’s Caucus in the Senate and spent seven years working to enact the Family and Medical Leave Act that has helped 50 million working Americans never have to choose between the job they need and the family they love. A longtime supporter of early childhood education, he also authored and enacted landmark child care legislation, was named “Senator of the Decade” by the National Head Start Association and has secured funding for federal research into autism and outreach efforts aimed at mothers who give birth prematurely.
Dodd’s reputation for independence, vision, and effectiveness extends to even the toughest issues. Even before the tragedy of September 11th, he recognized the importance of America’s first responders, authoring and passing landmark legislation that has provided more than $3 billion to help towns and cities hire, equip, and train firefighters.
In the aftermath of the disputed 2000 presidential election, Dodd authored the Help America Vote Act which has been called the most important voting rights legislation since the Voting Rights Act of 1965. And he has long championed bringing fiscal discipline into the federal budget-making process, introducing a “pay-as-you-go” budget proposal early in his Senate career and co-sponsored the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings deficit reduction legislation.
The public is invited to hear the two speeches, which are scheduled to begin at 10:30 a.m. at Skyline High School, 3251 E. 3760 South, in Salt Lake City. The event is free and open to the public.
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