Mayor Villaraigosa to Chair Democratic National Convention

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has been selected by democratic officials to chair this summer's Democratic National Convention, which will take place in Charlotte, N.C.

President Barack Obama's campaign manager, Jim Messina, and the head of the Democratic National Committee, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, contacted him last week and offered him the postion of chairman.

A formal announcement is scheduled Wednesday night in Washington when Villaraigosa attends a fundraiser for President Obama in Holmby Hills.

The convention will begin with a festival scheduled for Sept. 3, with the rest of the convention following for the next three days.

Some of his duties as a chairman include serving as a convention spokesman, beginning with the release of a Web video on Wednesday that will be in both English and Spanish. He will also be in charge of overseeing the flow of events and raising money to help pay for the convention.