Perez appoints Ellison deputy DNC chair
Tom Perez used his first motion as chairman of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) on Saturday to appoint his top rival for the position, Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), as deputy chair of the DNC.
“I would like to begin by making a motion, it is a motion that I have discussed with a good friend, and his name is Keith Ellison,” Perez said during his acceptance speech, announcing the appointment.
“Did I hear a second?” asked Perez, the former Labor secretary during the Obama administration.
{mosads}”Second!” the DNC audience shouted.
Ellison and Perez embraced. When Ellison took the mic, he congratulated Perez for “successfully passing his first motion” and called on his supporters to back the new DNC chairman.
“We don’t have the luxury to walk out of this room divided,” Ellison said during his speech. “If we waste even a moment of going at it over who supported who, we are not going to be standing up for those people.”
Perez secured the top DNC spot on the second ballot Saturday, winning 235 votes to Ellison’s 200, with 218 votes needed to reach a majority. Perez fell short of winning on the first round of voting by a single ballot.
Former Vice President Joe Biden and other Obama administration officials had backed Perez in the race, while Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and other lawmakers supported Ellison.
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