Highland Park Mayor Helps DNC With Platform

Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering spent last weekend in downtown Detroit with Newark Mayor Cory Booker and about 100 other Democrats to help the finalize the Democratic National Committee's platform.

The new platform, which supports gay marriage, immigration reform and a hike on the minimum wage, gets formally approved in September at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C.

"It all came down to a conversation about how do we best serve the people we represent," Rotering told Patch about the experience. "Whether its a major urban city or our suburban city, there's definitely a desire to do the best job possible."

The new platform adopts support for gay marriage, a significant step according to Booker, who co-chaired the DNC platform meeting.

"We as a party have really embraced the president's ideas on this matter," Booker told the Detroit News.

Committee members also discussed amendments that would address the nation's struggling economy during the three-hour-long meeting. The new platform advocates for increasing the minimum wage annually at least to the rate of inflation. 

"This campaign is not going to turn on gay marriage," Booker said, according to the Detroit News. "This campaign is going to turn on who has the best ideas for the economy."

A reflection of Highland Park

One aspect of the conversation that interested Rotering was how much of the party's platform reflects the work she and the City Council are doing in Highland Park. The platform advocates for a focus on transparent and accountable government, cutting waste and supporting local businesses.

"Those are all things we're working on in Highland Park," Rotering said.

A draft of the platform was assembled in July. The Democrats gathered in Detroit this weekend went through it page-by-page.

"It was really fine-tuning the platform," Rotering said. "Looking at nuances in terms of various peoples' concerns."

Rotering said she got charged up from the experience of working with Democratic leaders from across the country. She was hesitant, however, to say how she thought the November election would go.

"It's going to be a tight race," she said, "but I don't have a crystal ball."

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