Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia has been selected as one of 17 “rising stars” to give the keynote address, Aug. 18, at the Democratic National Convention, with the theme “Leadership Matters.”
Garcia’s selection arrives after a difficult few weeks for the Long Beach Mayor. Within two weeks Mayor Garcia lost both his mother, Gaby O’Donnell and his stepfather stepfather, Greg O’Donnell, to COVID-19.
The convention will take place virtually in Delaware, Biden’s home state, where presidential nominee Joe Biden and running mate Kamala Harris will accept their nominations from the Chase Center.
Besides Harris and Garcia, other scheduled California speakers include House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Governor Gavin Newsom and Secretary of State Alex Padilla.
Speakers have been encouraged to give their speeches at places of symbolic, historic or cultural relevance. There is no word yet where in Long Beach Garcia plans to give his speech.