We were delighted with yesterday’s announcement that the Democratic National Convention is returning to Denver. Like many things Western, the event will celebrate the old and the new.
The old: It was in 1908 that Denver hosted its most recent presidential nominating convention, and the 2008 conclave will mark a century of Western growth and progress.
The new: Politics have become a bipartisan enterprise in Colorado and the West. With Nevada hosting an early primary and Colorado the August convention, campaign activity will only intensify in 2008.
Hosting the convention will be an unequalled opportunity for Denver. The area’s beautiful natural surroundings will be featured as a convention backdrop, which will boost the state’s identity for tourism and convention business.
The city’s responsibilities will be enormous, and it’s essential that the planning process go into high gear now. Minneapolis has had four extra months to plan the Republicans much smaller convention.
Denver’s bid will involve hundreds of host-city employees and hundreds of volunteers, said Councilwoman Elbra Wedgeworth, who first broached the idea of a Denver bid with DNC Chairman Howard Dean in July 2005. Debbie Willhite, executive director of the host committee, also was instrumental in landing the convention as she tended to the labor union concerns.
Tax dollars will not be used on the project and so private fundraising – to the tune of $70 million – will be an ongoing requirement. Logistics can be mind-numbing, and the security precautions must be thorough. A temporary facility for media from around the globe needs to be constructed outside the Pepsi Center, and the revamped Colorado Convention Center will get quite a workout with countless meetings, lunches, concerts and gatherings expected throughout that week.
But with 35,000 visitors, tangible benefits can be substantial, with upwards of $160 million pumped into the regional economy.
Politically, Denver was a smart choice for Democrats hoping to build upon the gains their party has made in the interior West since 2004. “If we win the West, we’ll win the presidency,” Dean said today. He chose Denver over liberal stronghold New York City largely because of that calculation.
“Denver sends a political message to the country that we’re going to be competitive in the whole country,” Dean said.
Denver will allow Democrats to showcase a moderate face. Surely the region’s new crop of governors will play a role.
Mayor John Hickenlooper has promised a “world-class convention,” which will take a Herculean effort, plenty of planning and enthusiastic volunteers.
