Richardson To Chair 2004 Convention

New Mexico Governor and Tufts graduate Bill Richardson will become the first Hispanic to hold the top post at a Democratic National Convention.

Boston [07.29.03] No stranger to Boston, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson will return to the city where he spent five years as a student to preside over the 2004 Democratic National Convention next July. Richardson, who earned two degrees from Tufts in the 1970s, will be the first Hispanic to hold the chairman’s position at the national convention.

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“I think it’s recognition that Hispanics are major players in the presidential race,” Richardson – who earned an undergraduate and a graduate degree from Tufts – said in an interview with the Associated Press following Monday’s announcement.

It’s also an indication of Richardson’s rising position in the Democratic Party.

The former Energy Secretary and United States Ambassador to the United Nations, Richardson is viewed as a strong running mate for the party’s presidential nominee. During the 2000 elections, the former Clinton cabinet member was believed to be on a similar short list of possible nominees for vice president.

“Whether its 2008 or 2012 or further down the road, you have a limited number of national Democratic figures who you can imagine as serious contenders for presidential nomination or just simply as major national spokesmen,” Norman Ornstein, an expert on politics and the presidency, told the Associated Press. “[Richardson] clearly fits into those categories.”

As convention chairman, the Tufts graduate will control the agenda, run the daily sessions and will likely deliver a major speech.

“For millions of Americans, Bill Richardson will be the face of the Democratic Party – a young, Hispanic governor and former national official,” Fred Harris, a former chairman of the Democratic National Committee, told the Associated Press.

As Democrats gear up for another tight battle for the White House, many experts and party leaders agree that Hispanic voters will play a key role. During the 2000 elections, George W. Bush received more than 35 percent of the Hispanic vote, the first Republican presidential candidate in recent years to break the 25 percent mark.

“We’ll be trying to keep Hispanics in the Democratic column,” Richardson told the Associated Press. “There’s been some erosion.”