Having “dedicated his career to civic engagement and grassroots empowerment”, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has been chosen to lead the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Charlotte this summer.

Villaraigosa will become the second Latino in history to chair the DNC, the first being former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson in 2004.

As the first Mexican-American to hold the office of Mayor of Los Angeles in a century, Villaraigosa was selected in part to help the Democratic Part sway Latino voters, as only 43 percent of Latino voters have said they are positive they will vote for Democratic President Brarack Obama in the upcoming election.

Watch a publicity video of Villaraigosa released by the Democratic Party here.