Hotline calls Denver union hotel deal "huge"

WE'VE MOVED! Democratic Convention Watch is now at http://www.DemocraticConventionWatch.com

While I would note we had the info here three days ago, the Hotline catches up to the announcement that workers at the Denver Hyatt Regency have formed a union:

This is a huge deal for the city's 2008 convention bid. National unions will likely withdraw their unofficial hold on Denver's bid, and that means that the only obstacle between the city and a convention comes from some of the party's major donors, who'd prefer New York. But since when has Howard Dean listened to the provincial complaints of his major donors? This column has noted before that Denver's attempt at a bid this year wasn't up to snuff. But two subsequent submissions were better, and the city now meets all of the DNC's technical requirements and even exceeds NYC in some intangibles.

Well the word they used about that first submission was "disatrous", but they've been walking that back ever since. And the Hotline gets the point about the unofficial hold exactly right. The local unions removed their objections a while back, because they have to keep good relations with government and business in Denver. But the national Democratic party obviously has strong labor interests running through it, and would not put up with a convention in a non-union city. This quote from August basically summed up Denver's problem:

Democratic delegates from states with strong union presences say they're uneasy about staying in non-union hotels. "We simply cannot," said Vivian Guinan, comptroller of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party.

The Hotline is basically saying that with the new bid and the union hotel, Denver is the front-runner again. Very cool.