Gore Picks ‘Rising Star’ to Keynote Democratic National Convention

Forget Mario M. Cuomo or Ann Richards, keynoters of conventions past. The main speaker for the Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles will be a 30-year-old congressman from Memphis who is virtually unknown in national politics.

Meet Harold E. Ford Jr., the son of Tennessee’s first African American congressman. He won his father’s seat in 1996, becoming the youngest member of Congress. Ebony magazine voted him one of America’s most eligible bachelors.

“Harold E. Ford Jr. is a rising star of the Democratic Party,” Vice President Al Gore said in a statement announcing the choice. Gore has known Ford for years; he helped get him into his alma mater prep school, the exclusive St. Albans in Washington.

“He is a young but proven leader on issues including education and health care and exemplifies the positive vision our party has for the future,” Gore said.

Ford’s won’t be the only new face.

The Democrats announced Sunday that the four-day convention, which starts Aug. 14, will highlight working people and the issues that affect their daily lives. Each night, a prominent Democrat will moderate panel discussions with citizens concerning topics such as health care, education, crime and the economy in a series of conversations dubbed “American Dialogues.”

Among those appearing will be actor Jimmy Smits, Secretary of Labor Alexis M. Herman, Rep. Charles B. Rangel of New York, Sen. John D. “Jay” Rockefeller IV of West Virginia and Sen. Charles E. Schumer of New York.

“You’ll see a real sharp difference between our convention and theirs,” Gore campaign spokesman Douglas Hattaway said of last week’s GOP gathering. “Where in Philadelphia you were given an illusion of inclusion--and they went to great lengths to show diversity--in Los Angeles you’ll see that the Democratic party does represent average working people.”

President Clinton will arrive Friday and is to speak during the opening night session. First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton also is scheduled to speak Monday. Gore arrives in California on Aug. 16.

Other featured speakers include Sen. Minority Leader Tom Daschle of South Dakota, House Minority Leader Richard A. Gephardt of Missouri and from California, Gov. Gray Davis, Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, Reps. Maxine Waters and Lucille Roybal-Allard and Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante.

The final day focuses on Gore’s vision for the future. Speakers will include people who knew him as a child, in college, during his service in Vietnam and in Congress. Gore will deliver his acceptance speech, then leave for a Mississippi boat journey.

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Times staff writer Edwin Chen contributed to this story.