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Former Presidential Candidate and Schenectady Native Andrew Yang to Speak at the Democratic National Convention

By Will Levith

August 14, 2020

Get ready for a lot more mentions of Schenectady on the national news next week. Former 2020 presidential hopeful and entrepreneur Andrew Yang, who was born in the Electric City, has been added to the list of speakers at the Democratic National Convention (DNC), to be held August 17-20 at the Wisconsin Center in Milwaukee, WI.

Yang, who as a presidential candidate proposed to give each American a monthly check of $1,000—i.e. the Freedom Dividend—was born in Schenectady, the son of two Taiwanese immigrants. (His boyhood home was actually in Niskayuna.) His father was a researcher at the General Electric Company. The family moved to Westchester County in 1979, when Yang was four.

And it’s official – we have been added to the DNC Convention speaker lineup! Thank you #YangGang and everyone else who made this happen! ????#YangIsSpeaking

— Andrew Yang??? (@AndrewYang) August 13, 2020

Yang announced the news on Twitter on August 13, thanking his supporters, who have become known as the “Yang Gang.” He’ll appear at the DNC on Thursday, August 20 at about 9pm.

Will Levith

Will Levith is Editorial Director at Saratoga Living and Capital Region Living magazine. He's a native Saratogian and graduate of Saratoga Springs High School. His work has been published by Esquire, Playboy, Condé Nast Traveler, Men's Health, RealClearLife and many others. He lives in Troy with his wife, Laura, and dog, Esopus.