Rahm Isn't Speaking At The Democratic National Convention, But The Mayor Of Flint Is
By Mae Rice in News on Jul 21, 2016 9:17PM
Photo credit: Scott Olson/Getty Images
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel is not slated to speak at next week's Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, and it feels like a noteworthy omission—especially because the mayors of New York, Los Angeles, Boston, Atlanta and even Flint, Michigan (Yes, this Flint) are on the DNC roster.
Rahm probably wouldn't be an ideal speaker, given his administration's handling of the fatal shooting of Laquan McDonald at the hands of a Chicago police officer. It was so wildly mishandled, the incident that got Rahm named one of the world's most disappointing leaders and one of 2015's worst people. To review: Though the shooting took place on Oct. 20, 2014, the footage wasn't released until more than a year later, on Nov. 25, 2015. The long lag on the release of the footage—which calls into question testimony of officers at the scene—suggested an effort to conceal what really happened to McDonald. Damningly, Rahm was reelected mayor in an incredibly close race in February 2015, during the period between McDonald's death and the release of the video.
This isn't new information, and as police brutality becomes an increasingly pressing national issue, it would be understandable if the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton doesn't want him at the DNC. He endorsed her for president in May, and has been close to the Clintons for years—he advised Bill Clinton during his time in the White House—but like, politics is politics.
Still, it is a bit of a surprise that Flint Mayor Karen Weaver is a DNC speaker. Weaver has presided over an unprecedented lead poisoning epidemic in Flint. Though she was not responsible for the catastrophic decision to draw Flint's water from the Flint River, and parsing out who was responsible for what in the water crisis will take years, Flint's local government certainly struggles with corruption; at least three local officials will face criminal charges related to the poisoned water supply, and the whole saga is a labyrinth of redacted emails and murder.
It's unclear if Rahm is going to the DNC at all. He'll make a public announcement if he's going to attend, according to his press office, and as of yet, he hasn't made one—but he typically only announces his public schedule a day in advance.
Rahm's absence from the schedule could, at the end of the day, be for a totally innocuous reason. Maybe he has a haircut scheduled during the event, and there's a big appointment cancellation fee! As is, though, it looks like quite the snub. Maybe Rahm's distract-everyone-with-parks plan isn't working as well as he thought.
[H/T Dan Lopez]