DNC Chairman Howard Dean to Keynote Convention

We are pleased to announce that Democratic National Committee Chairman Governor Howard Dean will keynote the first General Session of the 2007 Oklahoma Democratic Party State Convention Saturday, May 19th at the Bricktown Coca-Cola Event Center in Oklahoma City.

As Chairman of the Democratic National Committee, Gov. Howard Dean is making the Democratic Party competitive in every race, in every district, in every state and territory, while integrating national and state party operations and standing up for Democrats' core values. His election to this post on February 12, 2005 is the most recent chapter in a life dedicated to shaping the future of the Democratic Party.

Most recently, after achieving national prominence in his bid for the Democratic nomination for president, Governor Dean founded Democracy for America in 2004 to build on the groundswell of support and the wave of new energy sweeping the Party. And since that time, Democracy for America has been working with the grassroots to elect fiscally responsible and socially progressive candidates to all levels of government -- local, state, and federal -- all over the country.

The breadth of Governor Dean's political experience has given him a unique perspective. He began his political career in the early 1980's as the Chittenden County (Vermont) Democratic Party chair. In 1983, Dean was elected to the Vermont House of Representatives. He was then elected lieutenant governor in 1986 and was re-elected in 1988 and 1990. He became Vermont's governor upon the death of Governor Richard A. Snelling on August 14, 1991.

Elected to a full term in November 1992, Governor Dean was re-elected four more times and created a record based on fiscally conservative principles that promoted equality and opportunity for all the citizens of Vermont. Under his leadership, Vermont paid down its debt and by 2001 enjoyed a $100 million surplus. Through his innovative health care plan, 96 percent of Vermont's children now have health care coverage and more than a third of Vermont's Medicare recipients receive state help in paying for their prescription drugs. His 'Success by Six' program ensures that more resources like day-care and home nurses are available to parents if they need them. And with strong support from Governor Dean, Vermont officials instituted an Interactive Learning Network that wired almost all the state's high schools, even in the most rural areas.

Governor Dean's successes prompted Governing magazine to proclaim him "Public Official of the Year" in 2002.

Dean's leadership roles also include turns as chairman of the National Governors' Association, the Democratic Governors' Association, and the New England Governors' Conference.

Before entering politics, Dean received a medical degree from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City in 1978. Upon completing his residency at the Medical Center Hospital of Vermont, he went on to practice internal medicine in Shelburne, Vermont.

He is married to Dr. Judy Steinberg and they have two children, Anne and Paul.