According to published reports, San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro has been chosen to deliver the keynote address at the Democratic National Convention. He would be the first Latino to have that honor.
NewsTaco.com said, “The choice may be seen as a way to solidify the President’s Latino support that, although polling in the high 60%, is still lackluster in enthusiasm.” He is scheduled to make the high profile speech on Sept. 4.
The speech is seen as significant because President Obama was the keynote speaker at the 2004 convention and that was seen as the springboard to his nomination and eventual election in 2008. President Clinton overcame a lackluster speech at the 1988 Democratic Convention to eventually become the nominee in 1992.
According to his official bio, a 37-year-old San Antonio native, Mayor Julián Castro is the youngest mayor of a Top 50 American city. First elected on May 9, 2009, Mayor Castro handily won re-election in 2011 with nearly 82 percent of the vote.
Throughout his tenure, Mayor Castro has focused on attracting well-paying jobs in 21st century industries, positioning San Antonio to be a leader in the New Energy Economy and raising educational attainment across the spectrum. In 2011, the Milken Institute ranked San Antonio the nation’s top-performing local economy.
Mayor Castro created SA2020, a community-wide visioning effort turned nonprofit that has galvanized thousands of San Antonians around a simple, but powerful vision for San Antonio — to create a brainpower community that is the liveliest city in the nation.
In March 2010, Mayor Castro joined executives from Google and Twitter in being named to the World Economic Forum’s list of Young Global Leaders. Later that year, Time magazine placed him on its “40 under 40” list of rising stars in American politics. Mayor Castro also serves on the board of directors of the National League of Cities, is a member of the Inter-American Dialogue and is an Aspen-Rodel Fellow. In addition to his community service, Mayor Castro has taught courses at The University of Texas at San Antonio, Trinity University, and St. Mary’s University.
Mayor Castro earned his undergraduate degree from Stanford University with honors and distinction in 1996 and a juris doctorate from Harvard Law School in 2000. In 2001, at the age of 26, Castro became the youngest elected city councilman at that time in San Antonio history.
He is married to Erica Lira Castro, an elementary school teacher, and they are the proud parents of Carina, born in 2009.
