ST. PAUL, Minn. — The pigeons have been shooed away.
The cabs have been scrubbed.
Red, white and blue bunting has been hung.
The $12,000 bottles of single-malt scotch have been ordered.
And the location of the convention has been corrected, again and again and again.
Two years after St. Paul was named host of the 2008 Republican National Convention and more than a century after the last national political convention came to the Twin Cities, the event everyone has waited for is finally here.
The signs are all over this city. Giant white tents have been set up for the 15,000 members of the media expected to crowd the Xcel Energy Center, the convention venue. Parties have been booked. Hotels are jammed, and restaurants are putting on their best faces.
The city that always seems to live in the shadow of its larger neighbor to the west — Minneapolis — is getting a turn in the international spotlight. This heavily Democratic city hopes to capitalize on its Republican guests, seeing an opportunity to show off the city — its parks, its neighborhoods, its European charm.
“It’s the biggest thing that’s happened in St. Paul’s 150-year history,” said former Mayor George Latimer.
It’s safe to say this convention is more important to St. Paul than past conventions have been to their host cities. New York in 2004? Nothing’s going to change New York. Boston? They were throwing tea in the harbor generations before St. Paul founder Pierre “Pig’s Eye” Parrant started running whiskey to soldiers at Fort Snelling.
St. Paul wants visitors to see the sweep of the Mississippi River as it glides through downtown. They want people to see the limestone bluffs and the tree-lined neighborhoods and the brick warehouses of Lowertown. They want people to know about the city’s traditions and the decency of its people and about their industriousness.
“It’ll bring changes here we’re not even sure of yet,” said Mayor Chris Coleman. “People will look at St. Paul before the convention and St. Paul after the convention.”
Of course, there are risks for the city. It is the smallest city to host a national political convention since the events evolved into the spectacles they are today. Internet chatter and past conventions demonstrate that some people are bent on creating havoc, and the city is amassing the largest police force in Minnesota history to keep the peace.
Mailboxes have been removed, and flowerpots have been chained to lampposts. Fences are going up. The county jail is preparing for detainees.
“I think we are as prepared as we can possibly be for this event,” Coleman said.
The event will inconvenience many in downtown. Security measures in place for the convention will force road closures — and not just for cars and bikes, but even for pedestrians. Business owners are encouraging telecommuting, and some bars and restaurants are fretting the convention will be a bust, rather than a boom.
From the beginning, city officials have worked hard to ensure the convention is a success. They’ve encouraged folks to stay in town and observe the event firsthand.
While state officials predict the convention could provide a $150 million to $160 million economic boost to the region, St. Paul hopes the benefits last beyond Republican nominee John McCain’s last wave to the crowd and the last bit of confetti being swept from the Xcel Energy Center aisles.
The city is putting its best foot forward so people visiting for the first time take away fond memories.
“Part of it is to let people know it’s a great place to come and visit. And who knows, maybe it’s a great place to come and live after a visit,” said St. Paul Parks and Recreation director Bob Bierscheid.
Latimer said that once people get a feel for Minnesota, it’s hard to get the charm out of their system.
“I always remember 3M executives saying the hardest thing was to recruit talented people to come to St. Paul. And the second-hardest thing was getting them to (transfer),” Latimer said.
Of course, it is through the lens of the media that most will see St. Paul during the convention — not the thousands coming for the event, but the millions who aren’t.
In his mind, Latimer imagines the images.
“The camera is going to come down between the (St. Paul) Cathedral and our beautiful Capitol. That’s going to be the picture,” Latimer said. “That’s the statement.”
