[img_assist|nid=94|title=Gov. Deval Patrick (D-Milton)|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=128|height=180]The Democratic National Committee announced Tuesday that Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano will head its platform drafting committee this summer. Michael Yaki, a lawyer and former aide to U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), will serve as national platform director and Karen Kornbluh, who is on leave from her position U.S. Sen. Barack Obama's (D-Ill.) Senate policy director, will be the principle author of the platform.

Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick (D-Milton) will serve as one of three chairs of the full platform committee when it meets on August 9 in Pittsburgh, Penn.

The DNC also announced that this year, for the first time, Democrats will be able hold platform meetings in all fifty states and their input will be taken into account when the platform is drafted. To accomplish this, the DNC and the Obama campaign will send staff to as many of these meetings as possible to aide each meeting in producing a "summary" to be reviewed by the platform committee.

"From the beginning, we said we were going bring down the traditional walls of the Democratic Convention and make this event more accessible and include as many people as possible," said DNC Chairman Howard Dean in a statement. "This process will empower Americans in all 50 states to make their voices heard as they help write the document that embodies our Party's values and vision for the future. Barack Obama will bring real change to Washington, and as we write the Democratic Platform, there will be a clear choice between more of the same failed policies of the Bush Administration with John McCain or real change with Barack Obama who will make the American people, not the special interests, the priority again."

These meetings are to occur between July 19 and July 27. On August 1, the proposals will be presented to the platform drafting committee in Cleveland, Ohio. That committee will then have August 2 and 3 to draft the platform for review by the whole platform committee on August 9 in Pittsburgh. That committee will be chaired by Patrick, former New Mexico Attorney Patricia Madrid and former Discovery Communication President and CEO Judith McHale.

For the DNC release, click here.